Arhansus

Arhansus Arhantsusi
Commune
Arhansus sign
Coat of arms
Location of Arhansus
Arhansus Arhansus
Coordinates: 43°15′30″N 1°02′04″W
Country	France
Region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department	Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Arrondissement	Bayonne
Canton	Pays de Bidache, Amikuze et Ostibarre
Intercommunality	CA Pays Basque
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Christine Erdozaincy-Etchart
Area 1	5.32 km2 (2.05 sq mi)
Population  (2021)	70
• Density	13/km2 (34/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	64045 /64120
Elevation	60–370 m (200–1,210 ft) (avg. 291 m or 955 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Arhansus (French pronunciation: [aʁɑ̃sys]; Basque: Arhantsusi) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-western France.

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Arhantsusiar or Arhantsusitar.

Geography

The Bidouze at Arhansus

Arhansus is located in the former basque province of Lower Navarre some 10 km south of Saint-Palais and 8 km north-east of Larceveau-Arros-Cibits. Access to the commune is solely by country roads with at least two country roads connecting the village to the D933 road from Larceveau-Arros-Cibrits to Uhart-Mixe which passes outside and parallel to the western border of the commune. The commune consists almost entirely of farmland with a few small patches of forest.

The Bidouze river forms the western border of the commune flowing north with two small streams rising in the commune and joining it. One stream is the northern border of the commune.

Places and Hamlets

• Aguerrengoyhenko Borda (ruins)
• Bidartia
• Bordaberria
• Carricondoa
• Castellu Cahara or Gastelusare
• Charcoa
• Cuçuluteguia
• Elgartia
• Etchessaria
• Eyhera
• Eyheraberria
• Goyhenetchea
• Haramberria
• Harispouria
• Hirrundoya
• Inchaurrague
• Ithurbidia
• Larrondoa
• Lastapia
• Mendionda
• Olieta
• Portasanse
• Solaquia
• Uligainia

Toponymy

The commune's name in basque is Arhantsusi (or Arhantsuse). The name is based on the basque radical Arhan-, Arran- from where Arhantz is derived but the etymology "where blackthorn abounds" is uncertain.

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

Name	Spelling	Date	Source	Page	Origin	Description
Arhansus	Sanctus stephanus de aranchiis	1160	Orpustan	93		Village
	Aranchus	1160	Orpustan	93
	Arhanssus	1291	Orpustan	93
	Eransus	1305	Orpustan	93
	Aransus	1305	Orpustan	93
	Arhansus	1365	Orpustan	93
	Arhansus	1413	Orpustan	93
	Aransus	1513	Raymond	10	Pamplona
	Aransusi	1621	Orpustan	93
L'Eldurne	L'Eldurne	1863	Raymond	58		Stream, tributary of the Bidouze crossing Arhansus
Etchepare	Etchepare	1863	Raymond	63		Fief, under the Kingdom of Navarre
Etcheverry	Etcheverry	1863	Raymond	63		Fief, under the Kingdom of Navarre
Gaztelu Zahar	Gastellusahar	1750	Cassini			Mountain between Arhansus and Juxue
	Gastelluçar	1863	Raymond	68

Sources:

• Orpustan: Jean-Baptiste Orpustan, New Basque Toponymy
• Raymond: Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, 1863, on the page numbers indicated in the table. (in French)
• Cassini: Cassini Map from 1750

Origins:

• Pamplona: Titles of Pamplona

History

Heraldry

Arms of the Arhansus family

Blazon of the Arhansus Family of Lower Navarre Blazon: Gules, 15 billets Or at orle.

Arms of the Etchepare (Arhansus) family

Blazon of the Etchepare (Arhansus) Family - former fief of the Kingdom of Navarre Blazon: Party per fesse, 1 Or, 2 Gules with a crescent inverted Argent.

Administration

Arhansus Town Hall

The fronton

List of Successive Mayors

From	To	Name
2001	2014	Marc Arrachou
2014	2026	Christine Erdozaincy-Etchart

Inter-communality

Arhansus is part of seven inter-communal structures:

• the Communauté d'agglomération du Pays Basque;
• the AEP association of Ostabaret;
• the Energy association of Pyrénées-Atlantiques;
• the inter-communal association for the single purpose of Oztibarre Garbi;
• the inter-communal association for the development and management of the slaughterhouse at Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port;
• the association for the operation of schools in Ostibarret;
• the association to support Basque culture.

Demography

In 2017 the commune had 74 inhabitants.

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 193 —     1800 159 −2.73% 1806 190 +3.01% 1821 171 −0.70% 1831 187 +0.90% 1836 213 +2.64% 1841 192 −2.05% 1846 181 −1.17% 1851 177 −0.45% 1856 163 −1.63% 1861 137 −3.42% 1866 150 +1.83% 1872 125 −2.99% 1876 146 +3.96% 1881 136 −1.41% 1886 120 −2.47% 1891 99 −3.77% 1896 115 +3.04%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 122 +1.19% 1906 117 −0.83% 1911 125 +1.33% 1921 121 −0.32% 1926 115 −1.01% 1931 114 −0.17% 1936 124 +1.70% 1946 131 +0.55% 1954 116 −1.51% 1962 109 −0.78% 1968 95 −2.27% 1975 102 +1.02% 1982 97 −0.72% 1990 98 +0.13% 1999 81 −2.09% 2007 72 −1.46% 2012 71 −0.28% 2017 74 +0.83%
Source: EHESS and INSEE

Economy

Economic activity is mainly agricultural. the commune is part of the Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) zone of Ossau-iraty.

Culture and Heritage

An old farm

Civil Heritage

Several sites in Arhansus are registered as historical monuments:

• The Protohistoric Camp at Castellu Cahara at an altitude of 361m
• A second Protohistoric Camp at Portasanse.
• Houses and Farms (18th-19th century)

Religious Heritage

The Church of Saint-Étienne

The Parish Church of Saint-Étienne (15th century) is registered as an historical monument.

The Church

• 
  Stained Glass
• 
  Relief

Hilarri in Arhansus

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See also

• Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department

External links

• Arhansus on Géoportail, National Geographic Institute (IGN) website (in French)
• Arhansus on the 1750 Cassini Map