Bassussarry (French pronunciation: [basysaʁi]; Basque: Basusarri) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France.[3]

Bassussarry
Basusarri
Town hall
Town hall
Coat of arms of Bassussarry
Location of Bassussarry
Map
Bassussarry is located in France
Bassussarry
Bassussarry
Bassussarry is located in Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Bassussarry
Bassussarry
Coordinates: 43°26′50″N 1°30′38″W / 43.4472°N 1.5106°W / 43.4472; -1.5106
CountryFrance
RegionNouvelle-Aquitaine
DepartmentPyrénées-Atlantiques
ArrondissementBayonne
CantonUstaritz-Vallées de Nive et Nivelle
IntercommunalityCA Pays Basque
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Michel Lahorgue[1]
Area
1
7 km2 (3 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
3,301
 • Density470/km2 (1,200/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
64100 /64200
Elevation2–85 m (6.6–278.9 ft)
(avg. 8 m or 26 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Basusartars.[4]

Geography

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Bassussary is located in the former province of Labourd and within the urban area of Bayonne some 5 km south-east of Biarritz and 4 km south by south-west of Bayonne. Access to the commune is by the D932 road from Anglet in the north which passes through the commune on the eastern side and continues south to Ustaritz. The town is in the west of the commune and can be accessed by the D254 road which branches from the D932 on the northern border of the commune and continues through the town west to join the D810 south-west of Biarritz Airport. The D3 comes from the A63 autoroute Exit   5  (Bayonne-Sud) to the town then south forming the western border of the commune and continuing to Arcangues. South-east of the town is another urban area of Betbeder. Much of the commune is urbanised with some areas of forest and meadows. The eastern part next to the D932 contains an industrial estate.[5][6]

Two bus services pass through and have stops in the commune operated by Transports 64:

  • Service 860 Bayonne to Cambo-les-Bains
  • Service 880 Bayonne to Arbonne

The commune lies in the drainage basin of the Adour with the Nive river forming the whole eastern border of the commune as it flows north to join the Adour. The Ruisseau d'Urdains flows from a small lake just south of the commune northwards, forming the north-eastern border of the commune, before joining the Nive in the north-eastern corner. The Ruisseau de Harrieta flows from the south-west of the commune to the north-east joining the Ruisseau d'Urbaine near the D932. The Ruisseau de Pétaboure rises in the north-west of the commune and forms the northern border as it flows east to join the Ruisseau de Harrieta in the commune.[5][6]

Places and Hamlets

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  • Axerimendi
  • Behikenea
  • Betbeder
  • Borda Nasa
  • Bordaberria
  • Castanche
  • Dorriotz
  • Harrieta
  • Juanita
  • Juantipi
  • Larrebure
  • Lataste
  • Luberri
  • Martinaskoenea
  • Moussans
  • Oihenart
  • Peillé
  • Penen
  • Portukoborda
  • Urdains (château)[7]
  • la Vigne
  • Xemeto

[6]

Toponymy

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The commune name in Basque is Basusarri.[8] Jean-Baptiste Orpustan proposed a structure of baso meaning "forest" and sarri meaning "dense" or "tight" giving the overall meaning of "dense forest".[9]

The following table details the origins of the commune name and other names in the commune.

Name Spelling Date Source Page Origin Description
Bassussarry Bila-nave quœ vocatur Bassessarri 1150 Raymond
23
Bayonne Village
bila nave que nunc dicitur bassessarri 1170 Orpustan
30
Bassessarri 1186 Raymond
23
Bayonne
Bacessari 1256 Raymond
23
Bayonne
Bassissari 13th century Raymond
23
Bayonne
Bassissarri 1265 Orpustan
30
Sanctus Bartholomeus de Bassussary 1768 Raymond
23
Collations
Bassussarits 1771 Raymond
23
Collations
Bassussary 1801 Raymond Bulletin des Lois
Bassussarri 1926 Lhande
Urdains Urdaidz 1255 Raymond
171
Bayonne Chateau
Urdainz 1402 Raymond
171
Navarre
Ourdains 1739 Raymond
171
Register

Sources:

Origins:

Bassussarry appears as Baßußarry on the 1750 Cassini Map[14] and does not appear at all on the 1790 version.[15]

History

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During the Peninsular War on 10 December 1813 Bassussarry was the scene of a battle between General Suchet and the Spanish-English.

Heraldry

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Arms of Bassussarry
Blazon:

Party per pale, at 1 Gules 2 wood pigeons Argent in pale; at 2 Vert 3 oak leaves Argent 2 and 1; in chief Sable charged with a fess wavy Argent.



Administration

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List of Successive Mayors[16]

From To Name
1820 Pierre Michel Larre
1850 Charles Larre
1995 2020 Paul Baudry
2020 2026 Michel Lahorgue

Intercommunality

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Bassussarry is one of nine inter-communal structures:

  • the Communauté d'agglomération du Pays Basque;
  • the SIVOM of Arbonne-Arcangues-Bassussarry;
  • the energy association of Pyrénées-Atlantiques;
  • the inter-communal association for the management of the Txakurrak centre;
  • the inter-communal association to support Basque culture;
  • the joint association for the management of drinking water Ura;
  • the joint association for collective and non-collective sanitation Ura
  • the joint association of maritime Nive;
  • the joint association of the drainage basin of the Nive.

Bassussarry is the seat of the SIVOM Arbonne-Arcangues-Bassussarry

The commune is part of the Bayonne-San Sebastián Eurocity.

Demography

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In 2017 the commune had 3,126 inhabitants.

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1793 263—    
1800 224−2.27%
1806 276+3.54%
1821 342+1.44%
1831 332−0.30%
1836 382+2.85%
1841 424+2.11%
1846 447+1.06%
1851 411−1.67%
1856 456+2.10%
1861 467+0.48%
1866 486+0.80%
1872 398−3.27%
1876 452+3.23%
1881 401−2.37%
1886 366−1.81%
1891 358−0.44%
1896 384+1.41%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1901 420+1.81%
1906 404−0.77%
1911 386−0.91%
1921 331−1.53%
1926 343+0.71%
1931 342−0.06%
1936 342+0.00%
1946 331−0.33%
1954 349+0.66%
1962 350+0.04%
1968 483+5.51%
1975 715+5.76%
1982 890+3.18%
1990 1,056+2.16%
1999 1,817+6.22%
2007 2,391+3.49%
2012 2,490+0.81%
2017 3,126+4.65%
Source: EHESS[17] and INSEE[18]
 
The War Memorial plaque in the church

Education

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The commune has a public primary school.[19]

Economy

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The commune is in the Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) zone of Ossau-iraty

Culture and heritage

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The Parish Church of Saint-Barthélemy
 
The Interior of the Church
 
Basque Hilarri in the Cemetery

Religious heritage

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The Parish Church of Saint-Barthélemy (19th century)  is registered as an historical monument.[20]

Language

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According to the Map of the Seven Basque Provinces by Louis Lucien Bonaparte the Basque spoken in Bassussarry is Northern Upper Navarrese dialect.

Notable people linked to the commune

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
  2. ^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ INSEE commune file
  4. ^ Inhabitants of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
  5. ^ a b c Bassussarry on Google Maps
  6. ^ a b c Bassussarry on the Géoportail from National Geographic Institute (IGN) website (in French)
  7. ^ a b Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, Paul Raymond, Imprimerie nationale, 1863, Digitised from Lyon Public Library 15 June 2011 (in French)
  8. ^ Euskaltzaindia - Academy of the Basque language (in French)
  9. ^ a b Jean-Baptiste Orpustan, New Basque Toponymy, Presses universitaires de Bordeaux, 2006, ISBN 2 86781 396 4, p. 30-31 (in French)
  10. ^ Manuscripts from the 18th century - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
  11. ^ Manuscript from the 14th century in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
  12. ^ Manuscripts from the 17th and 18th centuries in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
  13. ^ Titles of the Kingdom of Navarre in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
  14. ^ Baßußarry on the 1750 Cassini Map
  15. ^ Bassussarry on the 1790 Cassini Map
  16. ^ List of Mayors of France (in French)
  17. ^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Bassussarry, EHESS (in French).
  18. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
  19. ^ Schools in Bassussarry (in French)
  20. ^ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA64000718 Church of Saint Barthélemy (in French)
  21. ^ Interview with Christophe Hondelatte by the Journal du Pays basque on 24 January 2009 Archived 28 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine "I, who grew up in Bassussaury..." (in French)
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