Accous

Location

Accous is located some 30 km south of Oloron-Sainte-Marie in the Aspe Valley, one of the three valleys of the High-Béarn, the other valleys being the Ossau Valley in the east and Barétous valley in the west. From the Spanish border on its southern edge, it stretches along Le Labadie river to the point where it joins the Gave d'Aspe. From this river junction, the Gave d'Aspe forms the western border of the rest of the commune which extends a further 10 kilometres to the east with the Lac du Montagnon at the northeastern edge.

Access

The commune is accessed from the north by the E7 motorway. This highway follows the western border of the commune along the Gave d'Aspe then crosses the narrow neck of the commune before continuing to the Spanish border near Candanchu. To access Accous village it is necessary to follow one of a number of country roads - the Daban Athas road probably being the most direct. Apart from country roads within the commune there is no other road access.

Hydrography

The commune is traversed by some tributaries of the Gave d'Oloron, the Besse stream and the Gave d'Aspe, as well as tributaries of the latter such as the Gave Lescun (itself joined in the commune by the Labadie creek) and the Berthe (Accous is fed by the torrent of Araille).

The Cotcharas stream and its tributary, the Congaets stream also flow in the territory of Accous, as tributaries of the Gave d'Aydius, the Gave de Bouren and the Sahun stream.

Relief

Accous is dominated by the Poey, a conical hill covered with ferns, culminating at 652 m. The Poey is of volcanic origin and is made of ophites. These green and harsh volcanic rocks from the Triassic belong to dolerites. They have resisted the erosion of glaciers and torrential rivers. This is the reason why the Poey of Accous markedly emerges from the plain.

Toponymy

The name Accous appears in the following forms:

The name of the commune in Gascon is Acós.

Brigitte Jobbé-Duval hypothesises that Accous originated from Acca or Acco, a woman's name mentioned in the inscriptions of Spain.

The name Appatie (cf. Basque Aphatea) came from the Lay Abbey of Jouers throygh corruption of the word Abbadie (Abadie in standard Gascon). Note that in the Aspe Valley the voiceless consonants of Latin are preserved. This fief was a vassal of the Viscounts of Béarn.

Le Bois d'Arapoup is attested in 1863 in the Topographical Dictionary.

Aület is mentioned in the form Aulet in 1863 by the Topographical Dictionary.

Lhers is also cited in the dictionary.

The name La Berthe, a tributary of the Gave d'Aspe, is cited in the dictionary of 1863.

Despourrins (The Hill of) is also mentioned in 1863 in the Topographical Dictionary as a name taken from the poet Cyprien Despourrins who was buried there.

Izaure was a farm mentioned by Paul Raymond with the spellings:

Jouers /juèrs/ was formerly Joertz (1345, Homages of Béarn), probably a metathesis of a Basque word Oïhartz a derivative of Oihan meaning 'forest'. It is found in the spelling Joers (1345) then Jouers (in 1712), and again Joers (1863).

The Col de Lourtica is the name of a hill between the communes of Accous and Aydius.

Saint-Christau was a chapel, mentioned by the dictionary of 1863.

Tillabé was a place in Accous reported by the dictionary in 1863 and also mentioned in the 18th century 2 in the form Le Tillaber (record of the proceedings of Accous). Paul Raymond said that Tillabé "was the place of meeting of the aldermen of the Aspe valley".

History

Paul Raymond noted that the commune had a Lay Abbey, a vassal of the Viscounts of Béarn. In 1385, there were 74 "fires". Accous was the capital of the Aspe valley.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors of Accous

(Not all data is known)

Inter-communality

The town is part of five inter-communal organisations:

Twinning

Accous has twinning associations with:

Demographics

In 2010, the commune had 426 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known through the population censuses conducted in the town since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of municipalities with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants is held every five years, unlike larger towns that have a sample survey every year.

Economy

The economy of the town is primarily oriented toward agriculture and animal husbandry. The cheese-making farms are also one of the resources of the commune, which is part of the Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) zone designation of Ossau-iraty.

The Toyal plant (a subsidiary of Toyo Aluminium, which produces aluminum powders and pigments, and anti-corrosive coatings), located at the edge of the commune, provides income to Accous through business tax, making of it the richest communes in the valley. This activity has created hundreds of jobs in the valley.

The 2006 INSEE classification, indicated that the median household incomes for each municipality with more than 50 households (30,687 communes out of the 36,681 communes identified) ranked Accous at 24495, for an average income per household of €14,199.

Sights

Accous has a number of old houses and farms registered as historical monuments. These are:

The Accous railway station on the Pau to Canfranc line has been closed to traffic since 1970.

The eco-museum of the Aspe valley is located in an old cheese factory. The manufacturing techniques of making mountain cheese and local culinary traditions are highlighted in the displays.

Several churches in the commune have been listed as historical monuments. These are:

Gallery

The Chapel of Saint-Christau at Aület was rebuilt in the 17th century near three miraculous fountains. Only the first remains, on the east side, consisting of a medieval stone basin and cover. Bathing there permits the casting away of evil spells and to cure fevers, sciatica and epilepsy. It has been renovated.

There is also an Abbey of the order of Norbertine in Accous.

Accous is on the route of the "via Tolosane": Latin name of one of the four trails in France for pilgrimage to St-Jacques-de-Compostolla. The via Tolosane starts in Arles via Toulouse (hence the name) to the Spanish border at Col du Somport.

Environmental heritage

Some peaks in the commune are:

Education

The town has a primary school, the école du bourg.

Sport and sports structures

Accous is a famous spot for paragliding in the Pyrenees. There are two paragliding schools in the commune:

Accommodations

Accous also has communal lodgings.

Notable People linked to the common