Ahetze | |
|---|---|
 A rainbow above the village | |
.svg) Coat of arms | |
 Location of Ahetze | |
  Ahetze  Ahetze | |
| Coordinates:43°24′24″N1°34′12″W / 43.4067°N 1.57°W /43.4067; -1.57 | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Nouvelle-Aquitaine |
| Department | Pyrénées-Atlantiques |
| Arrondissement | Bayonne |
| Canton | Ustaritz-Vallées de Nive et Nivelle |
| Intercommunality | Pays Basque |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2025–2026) | Ramuntxo Labat-Aramendy[1] |
Area 1 | 11 km2 (4.2 sq mi) |
| Population (2023)[2] | 2,104 |
| • Density | 190/km2 (500/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 64009 /64210 |
| Elevation | 7–100 m (23–328 ft) (avg. 25 m or 82 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Ahetze (French pronunciation:[a.ɛts]) is a village and acommune in thePyrénées-Atlantiquesdepartment in theNouvelle-Aquitaineregion in southwesternFrance. The commune is part of theurban area ofBayonne,[3] and of the traditionalBasque province ofLabourd.[4]
The commune is located some 13 km southwest of Bayonne and 30 km northeast of Donostia-San-Sebastion and only 4 km from the Atlantic beaches ofBidart andGuéthary.
Ahetze village is at the intersection of departmental roads D655 fromArbonne toBidart and D855 fromSaint-Pée-sur-Nivelle toSaint-Jean-de-Luz. The commune can be accessed from Exit 4 (Biarritz La Négresse) and Exit 3 (Saint-Jean-de-Luz nord) from theA63 autoroute.
TheBiarritz–Anglet–Bayonne Airport is 15-minute drive from the village.
The riverZirikolatzeko erreka, a tributary of theUhabia, flows through the commune,[5] as well as several of its tributaries, including the Amisolako, Uroneko, and Besaingo.
Paul Raymond also stated in hisTopographical dictionary of Bearn-Basque Country in 1863[6] that a tributary of the Alborga: theHaïstéchéhé flows through Ahetze after rising inSaint-Pée-sur-Nivelle.
The commune name inBasque is alsoAhetze.
Jean-Baptiste Orpustan suggested thatAhetze comes fromaiz meaning "stone" and by extension "high rock" (see also:Ahaitz).[8]
The following table details the origins of the commune name and other names in the commune.
| Name | Spelling | Date | Source | Page | Origin | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ahetze | Ahece | 1083 | Orpustan | Village | ||
| Ahese | 1170 | Orpustan | ||||
| Aheze | 1170 | Orpustan | ||||
| de Hetsa | 1249 | Orpustan | ||||
| Villa quœ dicitur Ahece | 12th century | Raymond | 3 | Bayonne | ||
| Aheze | 13th century | Raymond | 3 | Bayonne | ||
| Ahetce | 1302 | Raymond | 3 | Chapter | ||
| Ahetze | 19th century | Lhande | ||||
| Amisolako erreka | Amisola | 1863 | Raymond | 5 | Stream | |
| Larrustaldéa | Larungoriz | 13th century | Raymond | 95 | Bayonne | Village |
| Ouhas-Aldéa | Ouhas-Aldéa | 1863 | Raymond | 129 | Hamlet |
Sources:
Origins:
According to Eugène Goyheneche:[11] "two houses (…) had medieval names ofAkarreta andHaranbillaga".
In the Middle Ages theCompostela pilgrims who chose the passage along the Atlantic coast passed near Ahetze,Ibarron and the hospital (Ospitale Zaharra) inSare. Others preferred to fork through part of Ahetze to reach the chapel Saint-Jacques ofSerres and also visitVera by passing byOlhette and the Ibardin Pass.[12]
| Blazon: Party per pale, one of Or a lion rampant of gules supporting a processional cross with six small bells all sable; two azure a pilgrim's stick of Or surmounted by two escallops the same..[13] |
_Mairie_et_fronton.JPG)
 |
List of Successive Mayors of Ahetze[14]
| From | To | Name | Party | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | 1971 | Élie Charles Philippe Marie d'Elbée | ||
| 1995 | 2008 | Pierre Cocagne | ||
| 2008 | 2011 | Jean d'Elbée[15][16] | Oceanographer & Biologist | |
| 2011 | 2025 | Philippe Élissalde | DVD | School Teacher, Director |
| 2025 | 2026 | Ramuntxo Labat-Aramendy |
Ahetze is a member of 8 Intercommunal organisations:
The commune is a member of theBasque Eurocity Bayonne - San Sebastian.
The inhabitants of the commune are known asAheztars in French.[17]
Historical population | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Source: EHESS[18] and INSEE[19] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The flea market takes place every third Sunday of the month and regularly attracts lovers of antiques from the Paris region, to the Spanish communes all around and contributes to the economic revitalization of the village which has mainly agricultural activity.
The commune is part of theAppellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) zone ofOssau-iraty.
TheMap of the Seven Basque Provinces established by PrinceLouis-Lucien Bonaparte in 1863 indicated that the Basque dialect spoken in Ahetze wasLabourdin.
Established in 1971, the Committee of Festivals of Ahetze (Ahetzeko Mozkor Banda) organises the following events: wheat threshing, dance evenings, a gala ofBasque rural sports,loto, and employers' festivals that take place between 25 October and 11 November.
![Hilarri[20]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aAhetze_St%25C3%25A8le.JPG)
TheChurch of Saint Martin (16th century)
is registered as an historical monument.[21] The church contains a number of items that are registered as historical objects:
[22][23] This cross, whose arms are garnished with bells, was used in witchcraft trials in the year 1609 to the outrage of Councilor Lancre[24] who saw it as an evil object. The carvings on the Cross represent the faces of Christ, the Virgin, Saint John, a pelican, and two women's heads. On the back of the cross there is the representation of a bishop, undoubtedly Saint Martin.[11][25][26]Eugène Goyheneche[11] noted that the church quite exceptionally possessed a register of Catholics inBasque.
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_Autel.JPG)
_D%25C3%25A9tail_du_retable%2c_l%2527Annonciation.JPG)
_d%25C3%25A9tail_du_retable%2c_Anne_salue_Marie.JPG)
_Vitrail_Notre_Dame_du_Rosaire%2c_Mater_purissima.JPG)
_Vitrail_notre_Dame_du_Rosaire%2c_Rosa_mystica.JPG)
On the heights of Ahetze all the Basque mountains near the Atlantic are visible: theRhune, theMondarrain, theArtzamendi, and theUrsuia in France as well as theThree Crowns in Spain.
Ahetze has twoFrontons, one is old and built into the wall of the town hall, a second was completed in 2008 as part of the new development of the town.
ATrinquet calledPantxoa Sein is next to the primary school.
A markedfitness trail runs through the south-east of the village.
Ahetze has a primary school and a nursery.
Ahetze has several health services: a general practitioner, a dentist, a nurse, a physiotherapist, and a speech therapist.
Municipalities inLabourd (Lapurdi) | ||
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