The site on the left bank of the Nive and the Adour was probably occupied beforeancient times; a fortified enclosure was attested to in the 1st century, while theTarbelli occupied the territory.[citation needed] Archaeological studies have confirmed the presence of a Romancastrum in the 4th and 5th centuries.[6]
In 1023, Bayonne was the capital ofLabourd. In the 12th century, it extended to the confluence of the Nive River and beyond. During that time, its first bridge spanning the Adour was built. The city came under English control in 1152 through the marriage ofEleanor of Aquitaine; it became important commercially and, to a lesser degree, militarily thanks to maritime trade.[citation needed] In 1177,Richard the Lion Heart of England took control of the city, separating it from the Viscount of Labourd.[7]
In 1451, the city was taken by the Crown of France after theHundred Years' War. The loss of trade with the English was followed by the river gradually filling with silt and becoming impassable to ships. As the city developed to the north, its position was weakened compared to earlier times. The district of Saint-Esprit developed initially from settlement bySephardic Jewish refugees fleeing theSpanish expulsions dictated by theAlhambra Decree. This community brought skill in chocolate making, and Bayonne gained a reputation for chocolate.[8]
The course of the Adour was changed in 1578 by dredging under the direction ofLouis de Foix, and the river returned to its former mouth. Bayonne flourished after regaining the maritime trade that it had lost for more than a hundred years. In the 17th century, the city was fortified byVauban, whose works were followed as models of defense for 100 years.[citation needed] In 1814, Bayonne and its surroundings were the scene of fighting between the Napoleonic troops and the Spanish-Anglo-Portuguese coalition led by theDuke of Wellington. It was the last time the city was undersiege.[citation needed]
In 1951, the Lacq gas field was discovered in the region;[9] most of its extracted oil and sulphur are shipped from the port of Bayonne.[10] During the second half of the 20th century, many housing estates were built, forming new districts on the periphery. The city developed to form a conurbation withAnglet andBiarritz; the agglomeration became the heart of a vast Basque-Landes urban area.[citation needed]
In 2014, Bayonne was a commune with more than 45,000 inhabitants, the heart of the urban area of Bayonne and of theAgglomeration Côte Basque-Adour. This includesAnglet andBiarritz. It is an important part of the BasqueBayonne-San Sebastián Eurocity and it plays the role of economic capital of the Adour basin. Modern industries—metallurgy and chemicals—have been established to take advantage of procurement opportunities and sea shipments through the harbour. Business services today represent the largest source of employment. Bayonne is also a cultural capital, a city with strong Basque and Gascon influences, and a rich historical past. Its heritage is expressed in its architecture, the diversity of collections in museums, its gastronomic specialties, and traditional events such as the notedFêtes de Bayonne.
The inhabitants of the commune are known asBayonnais orBayonnaises.[11]
While the modernBasque spelling isBaiona and the same inGasconOccitan,[12][13] "the nameBayonne poses a number of problems both historical and linguistic which have still not been clarified".[14] There are different interpretations of its meaning.
The termination-onne inBayonne can come from many in hydronyms-onne or toponyms derived from that. In certain cases the element-onne follows an Indo-European theme:*ud-r/n (Greekhúdōr giving hydro,Gothicwatt meaning "water") hence*udnā meaning "water" givingunna thenonno in the glossary ofVienne.[15]Unna therefore would refer to the Adour. This toponymic type evoking a river traversing a locality is common. The appellativeunna seems to be found in the name of theGaronne (Garunna 1st century;Garonna 4th century). However, it is possible to see a pre-Celtic suffix-ona in the name of theCharente (Karantona in 875) or theCharentonne (Carentona in 1050).[16]
It could also be an augmentativeGascon from the originalLatin radicalBaia- with the suffix-ona in the sense of "vast expanse of water" or a name derived from the Basquebai meaning "river" andona meaning "good", hence "good river".
The proposal by Eugene Goyheneche repeated by Manex Goyhenetche and supported by Jean-Baptiste Orpustan isbai una, "the place of the river" orbai ona "hill by the river"—Ibai means "river" in Basque andmuinoa means "hill".
"It has perhaps been lost from sight that many urban place names in France, from north to south, came from the elementBay- orBayon- such as:Bayons,Bayonville,Bayonvillers and pose the unusual problem of whether they are Basque or Gascon" adds Pierre Hourmat.[PiH 1] However, the most ancient form of Bayonne:Baiona, clearly indicates a feminine or a theme of-a whereas this is not the case for Béon or Bayon. In addition, theBayon- in Bayonville or Bayonvillers in northern France is clearly the personal Germanic nameBaio.[17]
The names of the Basque province ofLabourd and the locality of Bayonne have been attested from an early period with the place nameBayonne appearing in the Latin formLapurdum after a period during which the two names could in turn designate a Viscounty or Bishopric.[18]
Labourd andBayonne were synonymous and used interchangeably until the 12th century before being differentiated: Labord for the province and Bayonne for the city.[18] The attribution of Bayonne asCivitas Boatium, a place mentioned in theAntonine Itinerary and by Paul Raymond in his 1863 dictionary, has been abandoned. The city of theBoïates may possibly beLa Teste-de-Buch but is certainly not Bayonne.[Note 1]
The following table details the origins of Labord, Bayonne, and other names in the commune.
Name
Spelling
Date
Source
Page
Origin
Description
Bayonne
Tribunus cohortis Novempopulanoe: Lapurdo
Raymond
24
Notary of Provinces
City
In provincia Novempopulana tribunus cohortis Novempopulanæ in Lapurdo
In the absence of accurate objective data there is some credence to the probable existence of a fishing village on the site in a period prior toancient times. Numerous traces of human occupation have been found in the Bayonne region from theMiddle Paleolithic especially in the discoveries atSaint-Pierre-d'Irube, a neighbouring locality.[Note 2] On the other hand, the presence of a mound about 14 metres (46 feet) high has been detected in the current Cathedral Quarter overlooking the Nive, which formed a natural protection and a usable port on the left bank of the Nive. At the time, the mound was surrounded north and west by the Adour swamps. At its foot lies the famous "Bayonne Sea"—the junction of the two rivers—which may have been about 1,200 metres (3,900 feet) wide between Saint-Esprit and the Grand Bayonne and totally covered the current location of Bourg-Neuf (in the district of Petit Bayonne). To the south, the last bend of the Nive widens near the Saint-Léon hills.[26][27] Despite this, the narrowing of the Adour valley allows easier crossing than anywhere else along the entire length of the estuary.[28]
In conclusion, the strategic importance of this height was so obvious it must be presumed that it has always been inhabited.[27]
Map ofNovempopulania indicating the position of theTarbelli territory north-west of the Pyrenees
The oldest documented human occupation site is located on a hill overlooking the Nive and its confluence with the Adour.[PiH 1]
In the 1st century AD, during the Roman occupation, Bayonne already seems to have been of some importance since the Romans surrounded the city with a wall to keep out theTarbelli,Aquitani, or theproto-Basque who then occupied a territory that extended south of modern-dayLandes, to the modern French Basque country, theChalosse, the valleys of theAdour, the mountain streams ofPau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, and to theGave d'Oloron.[29]
The archaeological discoveries of October and November 1995 provided a shred of evidence to support this projection. In the four layers of sub-soil along the foundation of the Gothic cathedral (in the "apse of the cathedral" area), a 2-metre depth was found of old objects from the end of the 1st century—in particular sigillated Gallic ceramics fromMontans imitating Italian styles, thin-walled bowls, and fragments ofamphorae.[Note 3] In the "southern sector" near the cloister door, there were objects from the second half of the 1st century as well as coins from the first half of the 3rd century.[30]
A very high probability of human presence, not solely military, seems to provisionally confirm the occupation of the site at least around the third century.[citation needed]
A Romancastrum dating to the end of the 4th century has been proven as a fortified place ofNovempopulania. NamedLapurdum, the name became the name of the province ofLabourd.[Note 4] According to Eugene Goyheneche, the nameBaiona designated the city, the port, and the cathedral while that ofLapurdum was only a territorial designation.[31] This Roman settlement was strategic as it allowed the monitoring of the trans-Pyrenean roads and of local people rebellious to the Roman power. The construction covered 6 to 10 hectares according to several authors.[32][Note 5][Note 6]
The geographical location of the locality at the crossroads of a river system oriented from east to west and the road network connecting Europe to theIberian Peninsula from north to south, predisposed the site to the double role of fortress and port.[EG 1] The city, after being Roman, alternated between theVascones and the English for three centuries from the 12th to the 15th century.[citation needed]
The Romans left the city in the 4th century and the Basques, who had always been present, dominated the former Novempopulania province between theGaronne, the Ocean, and the Pyrénées.[citation needed] Novempopulania was renamedVasconia and then Gascony after a Germanic deformation (resulting from theVisigoth andFrankish invasions). Basquisation of the plains region was too weak against the advance of romanization. From the mixture between the Basque and Latin languageGascon was created.[33]
Documentation on Bayonne for the period from theHigh Middle Ages are virtually nonexistent,[Note 7][Note 8][34] with the exception of two Norman intrusions: one questionable in 844 and a second attested in 892.[EG 2]
When Labourd was created in 1023, Bayonne was the capital and the Viscount resided there.[Note 9] The history of Bayonne proper started in 1056 when Raymond II the Younger, Bishop of Bazas, had the mission to build the Church of Bayonne[Note 10][EG 2]
The construction was under the authority of Raymond III of Martres,Bishop of Bayonne from 1122 to 1125, combined with Viscount Bertrand for theRomanesque cathedral, the rear of which can still be seen today, and the first wooden bridge across the Adour extending the Mayou bridge over the Nive, which inaugurated the heyday of Bayonne.[EG 2] From 1120, new districts were created under population pressure. The development of areas between the old Roman city of Grand Bayonne and the Nive also developed during this period, then between the Nive and the Adour at the place that became Petit Bayonne. ADominican Order Convent was located there in 1225 then that of theCordeliers in 1247.[EG 2] Construction of and modifications to the defences of the city also developed to protect the new districts.[PiH 2]
In 1130, the King of AragonAlfonso the Battler besieged the city without success. Bayonne became anAngevin possession whenEleanor of Aquitaine marriedHenry Plantagenet, the future king of England, in 1152.[PiH 3] This alliance gave Bayonne many commercial privileges. The Bayonnaises became carriers of Bordeaux wines and other south-western products like resin, ham, andwoad to England.[EG 3] Bayonne was then an important military base. In 1177, King Richard separated the Viscounty of Labourd whose capital then becameUstaritz. Like many cities at the time, in 1215 Bayonne obtained the award of a municipal charter and was emancipated from feudal powers.[35]
The official publication, in 1273, of aCoutume unique to the city, remained in force for five centuries until the separation of Bayonne from Labourd.[EG 4][Note 11]
Bayonnaise industry at that time was dominated by shipbuilding: wood (oak,beech,chestnut from the Pyrenees, andpine fromLandes) being overabundant.[EG 5] There was also maritime activity in providing crews forwhaling, commercial marine or, and it was often so at a time when it was easy to turn any merchant ship into a warship, the EnglishRoyal Navy.[EG 6][Note 12]
View of the ramparts overlooking the riverTheBartizan on the Redoubt, restored in 2005The ramparts of Bayonne
Jean de Dunois – a former companion at arms ofJoan of Arc—captured the city on 20 August 1451 and annexed it to the Crown "without making too many victims", but at the cost of a war indemnity of 40,000 goldÉcus payable in a year,[PH 1]—thanks to the opportunism of the bishop who claimed to have seen "a large white cross surmounted by a crown which turns into a fleur-de-lis in the sky" to dissuade Bayonne from fighting against the royal troops.[Note 13][PH 2]
The city continued to be fortified by the kings of France to protect it from danger from the Spanish border. In 1454,Charles VII created a separate judicial district: theSeneschal of Lannes[38] a "single subdivision ofGuyenne during the English period" which had jurisdiction over a wide area including Bayonne,Dax andSaint-Sever and which exercised civil justice, criminal jurisdiction within the competence of the district councilors. Over time, the "Seneschal of the Sword", which was at Dax, lost any role other than protocol, and Bayonne, along with Dax and Saint-Sever, became the de facto seat of a separate Seneschal under the authority of a "lieutenant-general of the Seneschal".[PH 3]
In May 1462, KingLouis XI authorized the holding of two annual fairs[Note 14] by letters patent after signing the Treaty of Bayonne after which it was confirmed by the coutoumes of the inhabitants in July 1472 following the death ofCharles de Valois, Duke de Berry, the king's brother.[PH 4]
The golden age of the city ended in the 15th century with the loss of trade with England and the silting of the port of Bayonne created by the movement of the course of the Adour to the north.[EG 7]
At the beginning of the 16th centuryLabourd suffered the emergence of theplague. Its path can be tracked by reading theRegisters.[39] In July 1515, the city of Bayonne was "prohibited to welcome people from plague-stricken places" and on 21 October, "we inhibit and prohibit all peasants and residents of this city [...] to go Parish Bidart [...] because of the contagion of the plague". On 11 April 1518, the plague raged inSaint-Jean-de-Luz and the city of Bayonne "inhibited and prohibited for all peasants and city inhabitants and other foreigners to maintain relationships at the location and Parish of Saint-Jean-de-Luz where people have died of the plague". On 11 November 1518, the plague was present in Bayonne to the point that in 1519 the city council moved to the district of Brindos (Berindos at the time) inAnglet.[40]
The meeting in 1565 betweenCatherine de Medici and the envoy ofPhilip II: the Duke of Alba, is known as theInterview of Bayonne. At the time thatCatholics andProtestants tore each other apart in parts of the kingdom of France, Bayonne seemed relatively untouched by these troubles.[41] An iron fist from the city leaders did not appear to be unknown. In fact, they never hesitated to use violence and criminal sanctions for keeping order in the name of the "public good".[42] Two brothers, Saubat and Johannes Sorhaindo who were both lieutenants of the mayor of Bayonne in the second half of the 16th century, perfectly embody this period. They often wavered between Catholicism and Protestantism but always wanted to ensure the unity and prestige of the city.[43]
In the 16th century, the king's engineers, under the direction of Louis de Foix, were dispatched to rearrange the course of the Adour by creating an estuary to maintain the river bed. The river discharged in the right place to the Ocean on 28 October 1578.[PH 5] The port of Bayonne then attained a greater level of activity. Fishing forcod andwhale ensured the wealth of fishermen and shipowners.
From 1611 to 1612, the college Principal of Bayonne was a man of 26 years old with a future:Cornelius Jansen known asJansénius, the futureBishop of Ypres. Bayonne became the birthplace ofJansenism, an austere science which strongly disrupted the monarchy ofLouis XIV.[44][45]
During the sporadic conflicts that troubled the French countryside from the mid 17th century, Bayonne peasants were short of powder and projectiles. They attached the long hunting knives in the barrels of their muskets and that way they fashioned makeshift spears later calledbayonets.[46] In that same century,Vauban was charged byLouis XIV to fortify the city. He added a citadel built on a hill overlooking the district ofSan Espirit Cap deou do Punt.[47]
The Redoubt, a system of fortifications destroyed at the beginning of the 20th century, seen from the Quai de l'Amiral-Lesseps
Activity in Bayonne peaked in the 18th century. The Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1726.[PiH 5] Trade with Spain, the Netherlands, theAntilles, the cod fishery off the shores ofNewfoundland, and construction sites maintained a high level of activity in the port.[PH 6]
In 1792, the district of Saint-Esprit (that revolutionaries renamedPort-de-la-Montagne)[48] located on the right bank of the Adour, was separated from the city and renamedJean-Jacques Rousseau.[49] It was reunited with Bayonne on 1 June 1857. For 65 years, the autonomous commune was part of the department ofLandes.[PiH 6]
In 1808, at theChâteau of Marracq, the act of abdication of the Spanish kingCharles IV in favour ofNapoleon was signed under the "friendly pressure" of the Emperor. In the process, theBayonne Statute was initialed as the first Spanish constitution.[EG 8]
Also in 1808, the French Empire imposed on theDuchy of Warsaw the Convention of Bayonne to buy from France the debts owed to it byPrussia.[50] The debt, amounting to more than 43 millionfrancs in gold, was bought at a discounted rate of 21 million francs.[50] However, although the duchy made its payments in installments to France over a four-year period, Prussia was unable to pay it (due to a very large indemnity it owed to France resulting from theTreaties of Tilsit), causing the Polish economy to suffer heavily.
Trade was the wealth of the city in the 18th century but suffered greatly in the 19th century, severely sanctioned byconflict with Spain, its historic trading partner in the region.[PiH 7] TheSiege of Bayonne marked the end of the period with the surrender of the Napoleonic troops of MarshalJean-de-Dieu Soult who were defeated by the coalition led byWellington on 5 May 1814.[EG 9]
In 1854, the railway arrived from Paris bringing many tourists eager to enjoy the beaches ofBiarritz. Bayonne turned instead to thesteel industry with the forges of the Adour.[Note 16] The Port took on an industrial look but its slow decline seemed inexorable in the 19th century. The discovery of the Lacq gas field restored a certain dynamism.[citation needed]
The Treaty of Bayonne was concluded on 2 December 1856. It overcame the disputes in fixing the Franco-Spanish border in the area extending from the mouth of theBidassoa to the border betweenNavarre andAragon.[51]
Arms of Bayonne
Paul Raymond noted in 1863 that the arms of the city were blazoned:
Azure, a tower embattled and ramparted of Argent, wavy proper in base, cantoned to dexter with a letter N crowned of Or, between two pines Vert each fructed of seven Or and set with fruit pal, debruised by two lions langued confronting.[19]
The current arms are Blazoned: [Note 17] Gules, a tower turreted of Or, masooned, windowed, and porte of Sable on a sea wavy of Azure, Or and Sable in base and surmounted by a fleur-de-lis of Or, between two oaks proper fructed seven of Or debruised by two lions langued confronting of Or; the arms stamped with a county crown.
The city built three light railway lines to connect to Biarritz at the beginning of the 20th century. The most direct line, that of theTramway Bayonne-Lycée–Biarritz was operated from 1888 to 1948. In addition, a line further north served Anglet, operated by theChemin de fer Bayonne-Anglet-Biarritz company from 1877 to 1953. Finally, a line following the Adour to its mouth and to the Atlantic Ocean by the bar in Anglet, was operated byVFDM réseau basque from 1919 to 1948.[citation needed]
On the morning of 23 December 1933, sub-prefect Anthelme received Gustave Tissier, the director of theCrédit Municipal de Bayonne. He responded well, with some astonishment, to his persistent interview. It did not surprise him to see the man unpacking what became the scam of the century.[citation needed]
"Tissier, director of theCrédit Municipal, was arrested and imprisoned under suspicion of forgery and misappropriation of public funds. He had issued thousands of false bonds in the name ofCrédit Municipal [...]"[Note 19]
This was the beginning of theStavisky Affair which, together with other scandals and political crises, led to the Paris riots of 6 February 1934.[52][53]
The 249th Infantry Regiment, created from the 49th Infantry Regiment, was engaged in operations in theFirst World War, including action atChemin des Dames, especially on the plateau ofCraonne.[FL 1] 700 Bayonnaises perished in the conflict.[FL 1][Note 20] A centre for engagement of foreign volunteers was established in August 1914, in Bayonne. Many nationalities were represented, particularly the Spanish, the Portuguese, the Czechs,[Note 21] and the Poles.[Note 22][FL 2]
On 5 April 1942, the Allies made a landing attempt in Bayonne but after a barge penetrated the Adour with great difficulty, the operation was cancelled.[54]
On 21 August 1944, after blowing up twenty ships in port,[55] German troops withdrew. On the 22nd, a final convoy of five vehicles passed through the city. It transported Gestapo Customs agents and some elements of theFeldgendarmerie. One or more Germans opened fire with machine guns killing three people.[Note 23][56] On the 23rd, there was an informal and immediate installation of a "special municipal delegation" by the young deputy prefect Guy Lamassoure representing theProvisional Government of the French Republic which had been established inAlgiers since 27 June.
TheGramont family provided captains and governors in Bayonne from 1472 to 1789 as well as mayors, a post which became hereditary from 28 January 1590 by concession ofHenry IV to Antoine II of Gramont. From the 15th century, they resided in the Château Neuf then in the Château-Vieux from the end of the 16th century:[57][Note 24]
Roger de Gramont, (1444–1519), Lord of Gramont, Baron of Haux, Seneschal of Guyenne, hereditary mayor of Bayonne. He was an advisor and chamberlain ofLouis XI in 1472 and thenCharles VIII in 1483. He was Ambassador forLouis XII inRome in 1502. He became governor of Bayonne and its castles on 26 February 1487. He died of the plague in 1519.[57]
Jean II de Gramont, Lord of Gramont, mayor and captain of Bayonne from 18 March 1523. On 15 September 1523, as a lieutenant in the company ofMarshal Lautrec, he rescued Bayonne from the siege by the forces ofCharles V under the command of thePrince of Orange. He died during the wars in Italy;[57]
Antoine I of Gramont, born in 1526, he was appointed at the age of nine years (1535) as mayor and captain of Bayonne. In 1571, he charged Louis de Foix with the changes to the mouth of the Adour along the fortifications of the city;
Antoine II de Gramont (1572–1644), Count of Gramont, Guiche and Toulonjon, Viscount then Count of Louvigny, ruler of Bidache, Viscount of Aster, lord then baron of Lescun. He was aDuke de Brevet in 1643, but unverified by Parliament. On 28 January 1590,Henry IV granted him and his descendants the perpetual office of Mayor of Bayonne. He then became the Viceroy of Navarre. In 1595, Antoine II de Gramont charged Jean Errard (1599) then Louis de Millet (1612) to strengthen the defenses of the city;
Antoine III of Gramont-Touloujon (1604–1678), Count and then, in 1648, Duke of Gramont, Prince of Bidache, Count of Guiche, Toulonjon, and Louvigny, Viscount of Astern, Baron of Andouins and Hagetmau, and lord of Lesparre, peer of France in 1648,Marshal of France in 1641. As Ambassador ofLouis XIV, in 1660 he sought the hand of theInfanta Maria Theresa. The king gave him power of attorney to represent him in the marriage which was celebrated in Madrid. It was he who welcomed Louis XIV,Anne of Austria,Mazarin, and the rest of the Court to Bayonne. He died on 12 July 1678 at the Château-Vieux;[57]
Antoine Charles IV of Gramont (1641–1720), Duke of Gramont, Prince of Bidache, Count of Guiche and Louvigny, Viscount of Aster, Baron of Andouins and Hagetmau, Lord of Lesparre, peer of France, Viceroy of Navarre. In 1689, he continued the fortification works undertaken byVauban in Bayonne, where he remained from 1706 to 1712. He supportedPhilip V during theWar of the Spanish Succession, using Bayonne to supply his troops, weapons, reinforcements and subsidies. In retaliation, the opponents of Philip V organized two attacks in 1707: one at Château-Vieux leaving Antoine IV unharmed.[57]
As per the Decree of 22 December 1789, Bayonne was part of two cantons: Bayonne-North-east, which includes part of Bayonne commune plusBoucau,Saint-Pierre-d'Irube,Lahonce,Mouguerre, andUrcuit; and Bayonne Northwest which consisted of the rest of Bayonne commune plusAnglet,Arcangues, andBassussarry.
In a first revision of cantons in 1973, three cantons were created from the same total; geographic area: Bayonne North, Bayonne East, and Bayonne West. A further reconfiguration, in 1982, focused primarily on Bayonne and, apart from Bayonne North Canton, which also includes Boucau, the cantons of Bayonne East and Bayonne West did not change.
Starting from the2015 French departmental elections which took place on 22 and 29 March, a new division took effect following the decree of 25 February 2014[59] Once again three cantons centred on Bayonne are defined:Bayonne-1—with part of Anglet;Bayonne-2—which includes Boucau; andBayonne-3 now define the cantonal territorial division of the area.
Bayonne is the seat of many courts for the region. It falls under the jurisdiction of theTribunal d'instance (District court) of Bayonne, theTribunal de grande instance (High Court) of Bayonne, theCour d'appel (Court of Appeal) ofPau, theTribunal pour enfants (Juvenile court) of Bayonne, theConseil de prud'hommes (Labour Court) of Bayonne, theTribunal de commerce (Commercial Court) of Bayonne, theTribunal administratif (Administrative tribunal) ofPau, and theCour administrative d'appel (Administrative Court of Appeal) ofBordeaux.[60]
the transport association of Côte basque-Adour Agglomeration (STACBA);
the intercommunal association for the management of the Txakurrak centre;
the intercommunal association for the support of Basque culture;
the Bil Ta Garbi joint association;
the joint association for maritime Nive;
the joint association for the Basque Museum and the History of Bayonne;
the joint association for the development and monitoring of SCOT in the agglomeration of Bayonne and south Landes;
the Kosta Garbia joint association;
the joint association for the development of the European freight centre of Bayonne-Mouguerre-Lahonce;
the joint association for operating the regional Maurice Ravel Conservatory.
the Energy association of Pyrénées-Atlantiques;
The city of Bayonne is part of theCommunauté d'agglomération du Pays Basque which also includes Anglet, Biarritz, Bidart, Boucau, Hendaye and Saint-Jean-de-Luz. The statutory powers of the structure extend to economic development—including higher education and research—housing and urban planning, public transport—through Transdev—alternative and the collection and recovery waste collection and management of rain and coastal waters, the sustainable development, interregional cooperation and finally 106.
Bayonne is located in the south-west of France on the western border betweenBasque Country andGascony. It developed at the confluence of theAdour and tributary on the left bank, theNive, 6 km from the Atlantic coast. The commune was part of the Basque province ofLabourd.
Bayonne occupies a territory characterized by a flat relief to the west and to the north towards theLandes forest, tending to slightly raise towards the south and east. The city has developed at the confluence of the Adour and Nive 6 kilometres (3.7 miles) from the ocean. The meeting point of the two rivers coincides with a narrowing of the Adour valley. Above this, the alluvial plain extends for nearly thirty kilometres (19 miles) towards bothTercis-les-Bains andPeyrehorade, and is characterized by swampy meadows calledbarthes. These are influenced by floods and high tides.[Note 25] Downstream from this point, the river has shaped a large, wide bed in the sand dunes, creating a significant bottleneck at theconfluence.
The occupation of the hill that dominates this narrowing of the valley developed through a gradual spread across the lowlands. Occupants built embankments and theaggradation from flood soil.[PH 7]
The Nive has played a leading role in the development of the Bayonne river system in recent geological time by the formation of alluvial terraces; these form the sub-soil of Bayonne beneath the surface accumulations of silt and aeolian sands.[PH 8] The drainage network of the westernPre-Pyrenees evolved mostly from theQuaternary, from south-east to northwest, oriented east–west. The Adour was captured by the gaves and this system, together with the Nive, led to the emergence of a new alignment of the lower Adour and the Adour-Nive confluence. This capture has been dated to the early Quaternary (80,000 years ago).[PH 8]
Before this capture, the Nive had deposited pebbles from theMindel glaciation of medium to large sizes; this slowed erosion of the hills causing the bottleneck at Bayonne. After the deposit of the lowest alluvial terrace (10 to 15 metres (33–49 feet) high at Grand Bayonne), the course of the Adour became fixed in its lower reaches.[PH 8]
Subsequent to these deposits, there was a rise in sea level in theHolocene period (from 15,000 to 5000 years ago). This explains the invasion of the lower valleys with fine sand, peat, and mud with a thickness of more than 40 metres (130 feet) below the current bed of the Adour and the Nive in Bayonne. These same deposits are spread across the barthes.[PH 7]
In the late Quaternary, the current topographic physiognomy was formed—i.e. a set of hills overlooking a swampy lowland. The promontory ofBassussarry–Marracq ultimately extended to the Labourdin foothills. The Grand Bayonne hill is an example. Similarly, on the right bank of the Nive, the heights of Château-Neuf (Mocoron Hill) met the latest advance of the plateau of Saint-Pierre-d'Irube (height 30 to 35 metres (98–115 feet)).[PH 7] On the right bank of the Adour, the heights of Castelnau (today the citadel), with an altitude of 35 to 40 metres (115–131 feet), and Fort (today Saint-Esprit), with an altitude of 20 to 25 metres (66–82 feet), rise above the Barthes of the Adour, the Nive, Bourgneuf, Saint-Frédéric, Sainte-Croix, Aritxague, and Pontots.[PH 7]
The area of the commune is 2,168 hectares (5,360 acres) and its altitude varies between 0 to 55 metres (0–180 feet).[66]
The confluence of theAdour and theNive from the right bank of the AdourConfluence of theNive in Bayonne in 1843, byEugène de Malbos
The city developed along the river Adour.[67] The river is part of theNatura 2000 network from its source atBagnères-de-Bigorre to its exit to the Atlantic Ocean after Bayonne, betweenTarnos (Landes) for the right bank andAnglet (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) for the left bank.[68][69]
Apart from theNive, which joins the left bank of the Adour after 79.3 kilometres (49.3 miles) of a sometimes tumultuous course, two tributaries join the Adour in Bayonne commune: theRuisseau de Portou and theRuisseau du Moulin Esbouc. Tributaries of the Nive are theRuisseau de Hillans and theRuisseau d'Urdaintz which both rise in the commune.[70]
The nearest weather station is that of Biarritz-Anglet.
The climate of Bayonne is relatively similar to that of its neighbour Biarritz, described below, with fairly heavy rainfall; the oceanic climate is due to the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean. The average winter temperature is around 8 °C, and around 20 °C in summer. The lowest temperature recorded was −12.7 °C on 16 January 1985 and the highest 40.6 °C on 4 August 2003 in the2003 European heat wave.[citation needed] Rains on the Basque coast are rarely persistent except during winter storms. They often take the form of intense thunderstorms of short duration.
Comparison of local Meteorological data with other cities in France[71]
Public transport around Bayonne: railway lines are black, the intercity bus lines Pyrénées-Atlantiques are green and those of Landes purple. The PTU (perimeter of urban transport, which operates the Chronoplus network is uncharted here) is bounded by a red line.Means of transport (water, roads, bridges, and railways)
Bayonne is located at the intersection of theA63 autoroute (Bordeaux-Spain) and the D1 extension of theA64 autoroute (towardsToulouse). The city is served by three interchanges—two of them on the A63: exit 6 (Bayonne Nord) serves the northern districts of Bayonne but also allows quick access to the centre while exit 5 (Bayonne Sud) provides access to the south and also servesAnglet. The third exit is the D1 / A64 via the Mousserolles interchange (exit 1 Bayonne Mousserolles) which links the district of the same name and also serves the neighbouring communes ofMouguerre andSaint-Pierre-d'Irube.
Bayonne was traversed byRoute nationale 10 connectingParis toHendaye but this is now downgraded to a departmental road D810.Route nationale 117, linking Bayonne to Toulouse has been downgraded to departmental road D817.
There are several bridges over both the Nive and the Adour, linking the various districts.
Coming from upstream on the Adour, there is the A63 bridge, then the Saint-Frédéric bridge which carries the D 810, then the railway bridge that replaced the old Eiffel iron bridge, the Saint-Esprit bridge, and finally the Grenet bridge. The Saint-Esprit bridge connects the Saint-Esprit district to the Amiral-Bergeret dock just upstream of the confluence with the river Nive. In 1845, the old bridge, originally made of wood, was rebuilt in masonry with seven arches supporting a deck 230 metres (750 feet) wide.[FL 3] It was then called the Nemours Bridge in honour ofLouis of Orleans, sixth Duke of Nemours, who laid the first stone. The bridge was finally called Saint-Esprit. Until 1868, the bridge had a moving span near the left bank. It was expanded in 1912 to facilitate the movement of horse-drawncarriages and motor vehicles.[FL 3]
On the Nive coming from upstream to downstream, there is the A63 bridge then thePont Blanc (White bridge)[Note 26] railway bridge, and then D810 bridge, the Génie bridge (orPont Millitaire), the Pannecau bridge, the Marengo bridge[Note 27] leading to the covered markets, and the Mayou Bridge.[Note 28] The Pannecau bridge was long namedBertaco bridge and was rebuilt in masonry underNapoleon III.[FL 4] According to François Lafitte Houssat, "[...] a municipal ordinance of 1327 provided for the imprisonment of any quarrellsome woman of bad character in an iron cage dropped into the waters of the Nive River from the bridge. The practice lasted until 1780 [...]"[FL 4] This punishment bore the evocative name ofcubainhade.[DN 2]
The commune is traversed by theVélodyssée.Bicycle paths are located along the left bank of the Adour, a large part of the left bank of the Nive, and along various axes of the city where there are some bicycle lanes. The city offers free bicycles on loan.[77]
Most of the lines of theChronoplus bus network operated by theTransdev agglomeration of Bayonne link Bayonne to other communes in the urban transport perimeter:Anglet,Biarritz,Bidart,Boucau,Saint-Pierre-d'Irube andTarnos[Note 29][78] The Bayonne free shuttle Bayonne serves the city centre (Grand and Petit Bayonne) by connecting several parking stations; other free shuttles perform other short trips within the commune.
Bayonne is connected to many cities in the western half of the department such asSaint-Jean-de-Luz andSaint-Palais by the Pyrenees-Atlantiques long-distance coach network ofTransport 64 managed by the General Council. Since the network restructuring in the summer of 2013, the lines converge on Bayonne.[79] Bayonne is also served by services from theLandes departmental network,XL'R.[80]
Bayonne commune is attached to the Academy of Bordeaux. It has an information and guidance center (CIO).[83]
As of 14 December 2015, Bayonne had 10 kindergartens, 22 elementary or primary schools (12 public and 10 private primary schools including two ikastolas). 2 public colleges (Albert Camus and Marracq colleges), 5 private colleges (La Salle Saint-Bernard, Saint Joseph, Saint-Amand, Notre-Dame and Largenté) which meet the criteria of the first cycle of second degree studies. For the second cycle,Bayonne has 3 public high schools (René-Cassin school (general education), the Louis de Foix school (general, technological and vocational education), and the Paul Bert vocational school), 4 private high schools (Saint-Louis Villa Pia (general education), Largenté, Bernat Etxepare (general and technological), and Le Guichot vocational school).
There are also the Maurice Ravel Conservatory of Music, Dance, and Dramatic Art and the art school of the urban community of Bayonne-Anglet-Biarritz.
Fêtes de Bayonne 2004, King LéonThe Bayonne bullfighting ring
For 550 years, every holy Thursday, Friday and Saturday theFoire au Jambon (Ham festival) is held to mark the beginning of the season.[84][Note 31]
An annual summer festival has been held in the commune since 1932 for five days,[Note 32] organized around parades, bulls races,fireworks, and music in the Basque and Gascon tradition. These festivals have become the most important festive events in France in terms of attendance.
Bayonne has the oldest French bullfighting tradition. A bylaw regulating theencierro is dated 1283: cows, oxen and bulls are released each year in the streets of Petit Bayonne during the summer festivals. The current arena, opened in 1893, is the largest in South-west France with more than 10,000 seats. A dozen bullfights are held each year, attracting the biggest names in bullfighting. Throughout summer severalnovilladas also take place. The city is a member of theUnion of French bullfighting cities.
Bayonne is the focus of much of the hospital services for the agglomeration of Bayonne and the southern Landes. In this area, all inhabitants are less than 35 km from a hospital offering medical, obstetrical, surgical, or psychiatric care. The hospitals for all the Basque Coast are mainly established in Bayonne (the main site of Saint-Léon and Cam-de-Prats) and also inSaint-Jean-de-Luz which has several clinics.[85]
Rowing, a popular sport for a long time on the Nive and the Adour near Bayonne. There are two clubs: the Nautical Society of Bayonne (SNB) (established in 1875) andAviron Bayonnais—established in 1904 by former members of the SNB and which later became a sports club.
Basketball.Denek Bat Bayonne Urcuit is a basketball club with a male section competing in NM1 (3rd national level of the French league). The club is based in the city ofUrcuit but plays in the Lauga Sports Palace in Bayonne.
Football.Aviron Bayonnais FC play their home games at Didier Deschamps Stadium inChampionnat National 3 (the 5th French division) since the 2013–2014 season after a year in CFA and three consecutive years in theChampionnat National.Didier Deschamps started his career at Aviron Bayonnais FC. The stadium, formerly called theGrand Basque, is now named after him. There are also three other football clubs in Bayonne: theCrusaders of Saint Andrew playing in the higher regional division, thePortuguese stars of Bayonne (first district division), and the Bayonne association on the right bank of the river (3rd district division).
Omnisports. Aviron Bayonnais, created in 1904, includes many sports sections and a large number of members.[Note 33] The pro rugby and football club are the most famous sections of the club. TheBayonne Olympic Club, created in 1972, is located in the district of Hauts de Sainte-Croix. The club offers a wide range of sports includingpelote, gymnastics, combat sports, and apool section. The club had nearly 400 members in 2007.
Basque Pelota Bayonne is an important place for Basque pelota. TheFrench Federation of Basque Pelota is headquartered atTrinquet moderne near the Bullring.[86] Many titles were won by pelota players from the city. The World Championships took place in Bayonne in 1978 in association with Biarritz.[87]
Rugby appeared in Basque Country at the end of the 19th century with the arrival, in 1897 at Bayonne High School, of a 20-year-old person from Landes who converts his comrades to football-rugby which he had discovered in Bordeaux.[88] Practicing in the fields near the Spanish Gate, they communicated their enthusiasm to other colleges in Bayonne and Biarritz leading to the creation of the Biarritz Sporting Club and Biarritz Stadium which merged in 1913 to becomeBiarritz Olympique. Bayonne has two rugby clubs: The Bayonne Athletic Association (ASB) plays inFédérale 3 while theAviron Bayonnais rugby pro in the 2014–2015 season played inTop 14, where they have played without interruption since the 2004–2005 season. Aviron Bayonnais has won three league titles in France (1913, 1934 and 1943). It was the first club from a small town to become champion of France. Its stadium is theStade Jean Dauger. There is also a women's team in the ASB, playing in the National Division 1B. This team won the 2014 Armelle Auclair challenge.[citation needed]
BesidesBayonne Cathedral in Grand Bayonne, Bayonne has Saint-Esprit, Saint Andrew (Rue des Lisses), Arènes (Avenue of the Czech Legion), Saint-Étienne, and Saint-Amand (Avenue Marechal Soult) churches.
TheCarmel of Bayonne, located in the Marracq district, has had a community ofCarmelite nuns since 1858.
TheWay of Baztan (alsoruta del Baztan orcamino Baztanés) is a way on the pilgrimage ofCamino de Santiago which crosses the Pyrenees further west by the lowest pass (by theCol de Belate, 847 m). It is the ancient road used by pilgrims descending to Bayonne then either along the coast on theWay of Soulac or because they landed there from England, for example, to join theFrench Way as soon as possible inPamplona. TheWay of Bayonne joins the French Way further downstream atBurgos.
The Protestant church is located at the corner of Rue Albert-I st and Rue du Temple.[90] A gospel church is located in the Saint-Esprit district where there is also a church belonging to theGypsy Evangelical Church of the Protestant Federation of France.[91]
Thesynagogue was built in 1837 in the Saint-Esprit district north of the town.[92] The Jewish community of Bayonne is old—it consists of different groups of fugitives from Navarre and Portugal who established at Saint-Esprit-lès-Bayonne after the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492 and Portugal in 1496. In 1846, theCentral Consistory moved to Saint-Esprit which was integrated with Bayonne in 1857.[citation needed]
TheJewish Cemetery of Bayonne was established in 1689 in the Saint-Étienne neighborhood in the northern quarter of the city.[93] It was remodeled and enlarged in the 18th and 19th century and covers and area of two hectares.[94]
In 2011, the median household income tax was €22,605, placing Bayonne 28,406th place among the 31,886 communes with more than 49 households in metropolitan France.[95]
In 2011, 47.8% of households were not taxable.[Insee 1]
In 2011, the population aged from 15 to 64 years was 29,007 persons of which 70.8% were employable, 60.3% in employment and 10.5% unemployed.[Insee 2] While there were 30,012 jobs in the employment area, against 29,220 in 2006, and the number of employed workers residing in the employment area was 17,667, the indicator of job concentration is 169.9% which means that the employment area offers nearly two jobs for every available worker.[Insee 3]
Bayonne is the economic capital of the agglomeration of Bayonne and southern Landes. The table below details the number of companies located in Bayonne according to their industry:[Insee 4]
Structure of the economy in Bayonne as at 1 January 2013
No. of establishments
Total
4,665
Industry
270
Construction
375
Trade, transport and services
3,146
Public administration, education, health, and social services
The table below shows employees by business establishments in terms of numbers:[Insee 5]
Active establishments by sector of activity on 31 December 2011
Total
%
0 staff
1 to 9 staff
10 to 19 staff
20 to 49 staff
50 staff or more
Ensemble
5,946
100.0
3,797
1,708
213
155
73
Agriculture, sylviculture and fishing
46
0.8
38
6
0
2
0
Industry
292
4.9
150
101
23
15
3
Construction
428
7.2
299
84
26
15
4
Trade, transport, services
3,953
66.5
2,390
1,346
117
73
27
including trade and car repair
1,115
18,8
579
457
38
32
>9
Public administration, education, health, social services
1,227
20.6
920
171
47
50
39
Scope: All activities
The following comments apply to the two previous tables:[Note 34]
the bulk of economic activity is provided by companies in the tertiary sector;
Agriculture is almost non-existent Note 54;[Note 35]
less than 5% of the activity is from the industrial sector which remains focused on establishments of less than 50 employees, as also are construction-related activities;
public administration, education, health and social services are activities of over 20% of establishments, confirming the importance of Bayonne as an administrative centre.
Bayonne has few of such industries, as indicated in the previous tables. There isPlastitube specializing in plastic packaging (190 employees).[85] TheIzarra liqueur company set up a distillery in 1912 at Quai Amiral-Bergeret and has long symbolized the economic wealth of Bayonne. Industrial activities are concentrated in the neighbouring communes ofBoucau,Tarnos (Turbomeca),Mouguerre, andAnglet.
Bayonne is known for its fine chocolates, produced in the town for 500 years, and Bayonne ham, a cured ham seasoned with peppers from nearbyEspelette.Izarra, the liqueur made in bright green or yellow colours, is distilled locally. It is said by some that Bayonne is the birthplace ofmayonnaise, supposedly a corruption ofBayonnaise, the French adjective describing the city's people and produce. Now bayonnaise can refer to a particular mayonnaise flavoured with the Espelette chillis.
Bayonne is now the centre of certain craft industries that were once widespread, including the manufacture ofmakilas, traditional Basque walking-sticks. The Fabrique Alza just outside the city is known for itspalas, bats used inpelota, the traditional Basque sport.
The active tertiary sector includes some large retail chains such as those detailed by geographerRoger Brunet:[85] BUT (240 staff),Carrefour (150 staff),E.Leclerc (150 staff),Leroy Merlin (130 staff), andGaleries Lafayette (120 employees). Banks, cleaning companies (Onet, 170 employees), and security (Brink's, 100 employees) are also major employers in the commune, as is urban transport which employs nearly 200 staff. Five health clinics, providing a total of more than 500 beds, each employ 120 to 170 staff.[85]
The cargo shipBBC-Magellan in the port of Bayonne in 2014
The port of Bayonne is located at the mouth of the Adour, downstream of the city. It also occupies part of communes of Anglet and Boucau inPyrenees-Atlantiques andTarnos inLandes.[96] It benefits greatly from the natural gas field of Lacq to which it is connected by pipeline. This is the ninth largest French port for trade with an annual traffic of about 4.2 million tonnes of which 2.8 is export. It is also the largest French port for export ofmaize.[85] It is the property of the Aquitaine region who manage and control the site.[97] Metallurgical products movement are more than one million tons per year and maize exports to Spain vary between 800,000 and 1 million tons. The port also receives refined oil products from theTotalEnergies oil refinery atDonges (800,000 tons per year). Fertilizers are a traffic of 500,000 tons per year andsulphur from Lacq, albeit in sharp decline, is 400,000 tons.[85][98]
The port also receivesFord andGeneral Motors vehicles from Spain and Portugal and wood both tropical and from Landes.[85]
Due to its proximity to the ocean and the foothills of the Pyrenees as well as its historic heritage, Bayonne has developed important activities related to tourism.[Insee 8]
On 31 December 2012, there were 15 hotels in the city offering more than 800 rooms to visitors, but there were no camp sites.[Insee 9] The tourist infrastructure in the surrounding urban area of Bayonne complements the local supply with around 5800 rooms spread over nearly 200 hotels and 86 campsites offering over 14,000 beds.[99]The Information site of the Bayonne Tourist Office, VisitBayonne.com is featuredon the Global Visit List[100]
The Nive divides Bayonne into Grand Bayonne and Petit Bayonne with five bridges between the two, both quarters still being backed byVauban's walls. The houses lining the Nive are examples of Basque architecture, with half-timbering and shutters in the national colours of red and green. The much wider Adour is to the north. The Pont Saint-Esprit connects Petit Bayonne with the Quartier Saint-Esprit across theAdour, where the massive Citadelle and the railway station are located. Grand Bayonne is the commercial and civic hub, with small pedestrianised streets packed with shops, plus the cathedral and theHôtel de Ville.[101]
Nearby is the Château Vieux, some of which dates back to the 12th century, where the governors of the city were based, including the EnglishBlack Prince.
Sainte-Marie Cathedral
The Musée Basque is an ethnographic museum of the entire Basque Country. Opened in February 1924, the museum has special exhibitions on Basque agriculture and history, seafaring,pelota, and handicrafts.[104]
At the back of Petit Bayonne is the Château Neuf, among the ramparts. Now an exhibition space, it was started by the newly arrived French in 1460 to control the city. The walls nearby have been opened to visitors. They are important for plant life now and Bayonne'sbotanic gardens adjoin the walls on both sides of the Nive.
The area across the Adour is largely residential and industrial, with much demolished to make way for the railway. The Saint-Esprit church was part of a bigger complex built byLouis XI to care forpilgrims to Santiago de Compostela. It is home to a woodenFlight into Egypt sculpture.
Overlooking the quarter is Vauban's 1680 Citadelle. The soldiers of Wellington's army who died besieging the citadelle in 1813 are buried in the nearby English Cemetery, visited byQueen Victoria and other British dignitaries when staying inBiarritz.
The distillery of the famous local liqueurIzarra is located on the northern bank of the Adour and is open to visitors.
Marguerite Brunet, calledMademoiselle Montansier, born in 1730 at Bayonne and died in 1820 at Paris, was an actress and director of theatre. The house where she was born still exists in Rue des Faures, at Bayonne.
Hélène Feillet (1812–1889), painter and lithographer, images of the Basque Country
Charles Lavigerie born at Bayonne in 1825 and died in 1892 atAlgiers (Algérie), was a 19th-century Cardinal. He was the founder of theSociety of Missionaries of Africa which is better known under the nameWhite Fathers.
InWyndham Lewis's novelThe Wild Body (1927) the protagonist, Ker-Orr, in the first story, "A Soldier of Humour", takes the train from Paris and stays in Bayonne before going to Spain.
InKim Stanley Robinson's novelThe Years of Rice and Salt (2002), Bayonne is the first city recolonized by the Muslims after the total depopulation of Europe by theBlack Death. Named "Baraka", its earliest colonizers were later driven out by rivals fromAl-Andalus and flee to theLoire Valley, where they found the city of Nsara.
^Achille Luchaire,Annals of the Faculty of Letters of Bordeaux (1879), note 12 and 24, regarding theNotitia Provinciarum mentioning thecivitas Boatium (var.Boasium, Bohatium, Boaccensium, Boacium) "whose identification with Bayonne, proposed by Scaliger and Valois, is absolutely inadmissible (see Desjardins, Gaule rom., II, 874, note 1)"(in French).
^Sigillata ceramics of red brick colour, the resulting relief decoration is decorated before firing by stamping
^TheNotitia Dignitatum imperii Romani, dating from 340 to 420 AD, mentions the seat of the tribune of the cohort of Novempopulania in these terms: "In provincia Novempopulana tribunus cohortis Novempopulanae Lapurdo"
^Gérard Coulon,The Gallo-Romains: life, work, beliefs, diversions—54 BC – 486 AD, Paris, 2006, Errance, Hespérides collection,ISBN2-87772-331-3, p. 21(in French), retains the number 10 hectares.
^According to Eugène Goyheneche inBasque Country: Soule, Labourd, Lower Navarre, Société nouvelle d’éditions régionales et de diffusion, Pau, 1979, BnF FRBNF34647711, the old Roman wall which is still visible in parts was in the shape of a polygon of 1,125 metres (3,691 feet) perimeter in an area of 6 to 9 hectares (15–22 acres).
^Peter Hourmat, (History of Bayonne from its origins to the French Revolution of 1789, Society of Sciences Letters Arts of Bayonne,1986, pp. 27 to 35(in French))deplores the lack of sources for the period 5th century to the 10th century: "If the existence of a major military site is attested by the remains of the tower walls of a castrum, the headquarters or refuge of a cohort in the last days of the Roman Empire, in the half a millennium that followed the collapse of the latter plunges us into an almost total ignorance of who occupied the area of the castrum and the identity of the people. A heavy silence covers the fate of Lapurdum and documents at our disposal for five centuries can be counted on the fingers of one hand and these lead to different or contradictory interpretations ... . So this story becomes a long series of question marks, for example that of Novempopulania".
^TheTreaty of Andelot signed in 587 betweenGuntram, king of Burgundy, andBrunhilda of Austrasia, mentions Lapurdo; it documents the return to Brunhilda of several cities including Aire, Couserans andLapurdo, each "with its territories" ("cum terminibus"). Manex Goyhenetche indicates that in the 6th century, the termcivitas was used to designate a fortress. "TheFrankish dynasties of Austrasia and Neustria by the Treaty of Andelot, consolidated their grip on part of the former territory of theNine Peoples [...] In the 4th century Lapurdum continued to exist and by the end of the 6th century returned to its function as a fortress. Lapurdum controlled firstly the routes leading to the Pyrenean passes and secondly thecabotage routes of the Frankish fleets fromBordeaux toAsturias ".
^The Vicount resided in Chatelet (lou Castet), next to the entry to the currentCinq Cantons (Five Cantons) which was the Roman gate leading to the port source: Eugene Goyheneche,The Basque Country: Soule, Labourd, Lower Navarre, New Society regional editions and distribution, Pau, 1979 (Record BNF FRBNF34647711).
^It can be deduced that it existed prior to that date.
^Relations with Labourd were often difficult and caused many bloody conflicts. The most famous of them took place in 1343 when the mayor of Bayonne, Pé de Poyane, killed five labourdin nobles: an episode which, according to Eugene Goyheneche, had its origin in a fictional story ofOn the Proudines bridge atVillefranque, retold byAugustine Chaho andHippolyte Taine.
^For example a Bayonnais fleet participated in theSiege of Calais led by the English in 1346 which consisted of 15 vessels and 439 men source: Eugene Goyheneche, The Basque Country: Soule, Labourd, Lower Navarre, Society new regional editions and distribution, Pau,1979 (Record BNF FRBNF34647711), p. 163.(in French).
^The siege lasted nine days from 12 to 20 August 1451 according to Pierre Hourmat,History of Bayonne origins to the French Revolution of 1789, Society of Arts Science & Arts of Bayonne,1986, p. 143.
^Two annual fairs: one on the first day of Lent and the other 1 August: "[...] grant them free fairs in perpetuity of all Aydes, imposicions, impostz and any other subsidies qualxconques, which one will be held the first day of karesme and the other on the first day of August [...]" asletters patent of Louis XI established atMontferrand in May 1462.
^The Forges of the Adour were actually located in the commune ofBoucau on the right bank of the river.
^This blazon was effective 3 August 1919, by the municipal council of the city of Bayonne, quoted by René Broca in the preface of the bookHistory of Bayonne from its origins to the French Revolution of 1789, Pierre Hourmat, Corporation Sciences Humanities & Arts, Bayonne, 1986
^The secondGare de Bayonne succeeded an earlier station made of wood and metal built in 1854 at the beginning of the 20th century.
^It was in these terms that the newspaperLe Courrier de Bayonne recounted the event a few days later.
^TheCourrier de Bayonne of 8 August 1914 described the departure of the Regiment in the following terms: "[...] As for the trains which carried our brave little poilus of the 49th, they were adorned with flowers. On the wagons were pleasant or patriotic inscriptions. We noted the following: "Pleasure Train for Berlin, out and back"; on others: "Vive la France! Long live England ! Long live Russia !" were framed by garlands and on the locomotives were the flags of the three countries fraternally chattering in the wind ... If the Germans saw it, perhaps they would not be very sure of victory. [...]" (Source: Maurice Sacx, Bayonne and the Basque Country—Witnesses of history, Biarritz, Basque Museum of Bayonne, 1968).
^The Avenue of the Czech Legion in Bayonne is in their honour.
^The Polish company was cited in an order of the Army dated 21 June 1918, byGeneral Petain (source: François Lafitte Houssat, Bayonne Nive and Adour, Joue-les-Tours, Alan Sutton, 2001 (ISBN2-84253-557-X)).
^The shooting took place at the Saint-Léon crossroads near the train station and near the citadel.
^The Château-Neuf was completed in 1507 by Roger de Gramont.
^InGascony and in Basque country, alluvial floodplains along a river are calledbarthe (from theGasconbarta).
^The successor to the iron railway bridgeRaccordement d'Aïtachouria, the Pont Blanc has been used since 2003 to link theFloride Sports Field to the wilderness area on the Ansot plain.
^The Mayou bridge, formerly calledMajor orMaior, was rebuilt in stone in 1857.
^The A1, A2, B, C, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 14 and N lines (as at 9 September 2014)
^Only a quarter of the area, the west end of the runway, is located in Biarritz commune.
^In 2014, the Ham Festival was held from 17 to 20 April
^Bayonne Celebrations traditionally begin on the Wednesday preceding the first weekend of August but the schedule has been changed and the start of celebrations has been advanced in recent years because the crowds become too large. They end the following Sunday.
^There are 20 sports sections including theAviron Bayonnais pro rugby and Aviron Bayonnais FC according to theAviron Bayonnais FC websiteArchived 9 November 2005 at theWayback Machine (accessed 29 July 2014).
^These remarks are not the result of a statistical study of the data presented; they are only indicative.
^Weigend, Guido G. (1953). "The Outlook for the Gas and Oil Industry of Southwest France".Economic Geography.29 (4):307–319.doi:10.2307/142532.JSTOR142532.
^Xavier Delamarre,Dictionary of the Gallic language. A linguistic approach to continental old Celtic, éditions Errance, Paris, 2003,ISBN2-87772-237-6, p. 48(in French)
^Chapter of Bayonne in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques(in French)
^Manuscript from the 14th century in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques(in French)
^Titles published by don José Yanguas y Miranda inDiccionario de Antiguedades del reino de Navarra, 1840,Pamplona,(in Spanish)
^Association Lauburu,The Cathedral in the heart of the city, 1992(in French)
^abEugène Goyheneche,Bayonne and the Bayonnaise Region from the 12th to the 15th century, Thesis by the E.N.C., 1949(in French)
^Pierre Laborde.History of Bayonne, 1991(in French).
^Charles Athanase Walckenaer,Ancient Historical Geography and comparison of the Cisalpine and Transalpine Gauls, followed by a geographical analysis of ancient routes and accompanied by a nine map Atlas, Vol. 1, P. Dufart, 1839, 1085 pages(in French).
^InThe Week in Basque Country, M. Esteban, March 1996(in French)
^Manex Goyhenetche,General History of Basque country, Prehistory, Roman era, Middle Ages, Vol. 1, Elkarlanean, Donostia and Bayonne, 1998, 492 pages,ISBN2-913156-20-7, BnF FRBNF37031711, p. 134(in French).
^On 12 April 1215John, King of England, granted Bayonne a legal personality that would last throughout the Middle Ages and, to some extent, until theFrench Revolution. The form of the charter resembled that ofLa Rochelle. According to Eugene Goyheneche, "the city is governed by the "Hundred Peers" who were actually a mayor, twelve deputies, twelve councilors, and seventy-five peers who were co-opted and proposed each year by the mayor for the king's choice. The mayor was head of the administrative, judiciary, and military: he had custody of the keys to the city and some mayors were admirals in the bayonnaise fleet. The king was represented by a marshal" source: Eugene Goyheneche, The Basque Country: Soule, Labourd, Lower Navarre, Societe new regional editions and distribution, Pau, 1979 (Record BNF FRBNF34647711)(in French).
^Gascon Registers, Vol. 1, pp. 44, 53, 141, 154, 158–159, 195, and 233—cited by Manex Goyhenetche,General History of Basque Country III: Economic and social revolution from the 16th to the 18th century, Vol. 3, Donostia / Bayonne, Elkarlanean,? 2001, 411 p. (ISBN8483317443 andISBN9788483317440,OCLC466971263), p. 42–43.(in French)
^Ferdinand Barbe,The Epidemics of pestilence in Bayonne in the 16th century, Bulletin de la Société des sciences et lettres de Bayonne, 1947—cited by Manex Goyhenetche,General History of Basque Country III: Economic and social revolution from the 16th to the 18th century, Vol. 3, Donostia / Bayonne, Elkarlanean,? 2001, 411 p. (ISBN8483317443 andISBN9788483317440,OCLC466971263), p. 42.(in French)
^Vincent Hiribarren,Bayonne at the beginning of theWars of Religion, Revue d’histoire de Bayonne, du Pays basque et du Bas-Adour, Vol. 159, 2004, p. 95–122(in French).
^Vincent Hiribarren,A lion at the head of a thousand sheep. the Sorhaindo family in Bayonne at the end of the 16th century, Vol. 166, Bulletin of the Basque museum, 2005, p. 19–34.(in French)
^Pierre Hourmat, Bulletin SSLAB, Collection No. 157,The City of Bayonne Library, p. 257(in French).
^Pierre Hourmat, Bulletin SSLAB, Collection No. 158,The City of Bayonne Library, p. 158(in French).
^Lobstein; Gros; Callier; Marin; Monteverde (22 February 2006)."Treaties and International Agreements"(PDF).United Nations Treaty Collection. Retrieved4 March 2025.
^InThe week in Basque Country, T. Laxalt, February 1996.(in French)
^Claude Duhau,Mayors and Councilors of Bayonne (1831–2001), 1999, p. 80(in French).
^"Biarritz–Pays–Basque (64)"(PDF).Fiche Climatologique: Statistiques 1981–2010 et records (in French). Meteo France. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 6 March 2018. Retrieved6 March 2018.
Eugène Goyheneche,Basque Country: Soule, Labourd, Lower-Navarre, Société nouvelle d’éditions régionales et de diffusion, Pau, 1979, BnF FRBNF34647711(in French). Noted "EG" in the text.
Pierre Hourmat,History of Bayonne from its origins to the French Revolution of 1789, Société des Sciences Lettres & Arts de Bayonne, 1986(in French). Noted "PH" in the text.
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