Asson

Geography

Asson is a large commune in the Ouzom Valley some 30 km south by south-east of Pau and 35 km east by south-east of Oloron-Sainte-Marie which almost completely surrounds the commune of Arthez-d'Asson. The south-eastern border of the commune is the border between the departments of Pyrenees-Atlantiques and Hautes-Pyrénées. Access to the commune is by the D 35 road from Igon in the east which passes through the village and continues west to Bruges-Capbis-Mifaget. The D 36 road comes from Nay in the north to join the D 35 just west of the village. The D 126 road goes south from the village to Arthez-d'Asson. The D 226 branches from the D 126 and goes east by a circuitous route to Lestelle-Betharram. The southern half of the commune is mountainous and heavily forested while the north is farmland with scattered small patches of forest.

The Pyrénées-Atlantiques Interurban Network of buses has a stop in the commune on route 810 from Lys to Pau

Hydrographie

Located in the Drainage basin of the Adour, Asson has the Gave de Pau on a short section of the north-eastern border, a tributary of the Adour, and is traversed by its tributaries the Ouzoum and the Béez.

The Ouzoum is fed in Asson by the Ruisseaux of Gerse, Turonnet, de Thouet, le Goulet, d'Incamps, de Berdoulat, and the Arrieucourt which forms the eastern border of the commune (itself fed by the Ruisseau de la Fontaine Béra), and the Hèche, Hau, and Gat. Paul Raymond mentioned in the 1863 dictionary on p. 168 another tributary of the Ouzoum called le Touchet which rose in Asson and Arthez-d'Asson.

The Béez is joined in the commune by the Ruisseaux of Landistou, Trubés (itself fed by the Ruisseau de Marlies), Toupiette, Arrouy, Mourté, Lacot (joined in the commune by the Ruisseau de la Sègue), Jupé, Picas, Coudé, and Soulens.

Toponymy

The commune name in béarnais is also Asson. Michel Grosclaude said that the name probably comes from the basque aitz/as ("rocky point") with the locative suffix -on, giving "place where there is a high point".

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

Sources

History

Paul Raymond noted on p. 14 that before 1232 Asson was localised near the place called the Hermitage and that there was a Lay Abbey, vassal of the Viscounts of Béarn.

The village signed a Charter of Emancipation on 4 January 1282 with the consent of Gaston VII, Viscount of Béarn.

In 1385, Asson had 57 fires and depended on the bailiwick of Nay.

Asson came under the Notary of Nay as did Angaïs, Arros, Arthez-d'Asson, Baliros, Baudreix, Bénéjacq, Beuste, Boeil, Bordères, Bosdarros, Clarac, Coarraze, Igon, Lagos, Lestelle, Mirepeix, Montaut, Nay, Pardies, and Saint-Abit.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

(Not all data is known)

Inter-communality

The commune is part of five inter-communal structures:

the Community of communes of Pays de Nay;

the association for water and sanitation of Pays de Nay;

the Energy association of Pyrénées-Atlantiques;

the inter-communal association of Gave de Pau;

the joint association for the basin of the Gave de Pau;

Demography

In 2010 the commune had 2,000 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known from the population censuses conducted in the commune since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of communes with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants is held every five years, unlike larger towns that have a sample survey every year.

Population Change (See database)

Sources : Ldh/EHESS/Cassini until 1962, INSEE database from 1968 (population without double counting and municipal population from 2006)

Economy

The commune is part of the Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) zone of Ossau-iraty and has protected geographical indications (PGI) namely: Tarbais haricots, Tomme des Pyrénées, Duck foie gras of the South-west, and Bayonne ham.

Culture and heritage

The local language is occitan-gascon, called locally béarnais. A bilingual class offers courses in béarnais in the commune school from kindegarten to CM2.

Civil heritage

There is a Metallic Glasshouse at Lalanne in the Asson zoo built in 1900.

The owners of the Château of Abère have been known since the 12th century.

Religious heritage

The Church of Saint-Martin, partially dating from the 15th century, contains a Triptych of the Crucifixion from the 16th century.

Asson is a stage on the Chemin du piémont pyrénéen (or el cami deu pé de la coste), a secondary itinerary on the Way of St. James.

Environmental heritage

The Bétharram Caves

The Grottes de Bétharram (Bétharram Caves) are a series of Caves located on the border between the departments of Pyrénées-Atlantiques and Hautes-Pyrénées.Their extent cover some of the communes of Asson and Lestelle-Bétharram in Pyrénées-Atlantiques and Saint-Pé-de-Bigorre in Hautes-Pyrénées. They can be explored on foot, by boat, or by a small train.

Asson Zoo

Covering five hectares, Asson zoo displays a zoological collection composed of endangered or unusual species in zoos.

Mountains

The following mountain peaks are found in the commune:

The Castet-Ousset (718 metres)

The Soum de Camlong (881 metres)

The Céberi (891 metres)

The Soum d’Arangou (892 metres)

The Soum de la Bécole (947 metres)

The Pène de la Hèche (1,326 metres)

The Toupiettes (1,357 metres)

The Soum de Martî-Peyras (1,464 metres)

The Soume de Moulle (1,544 metres)

The Peak of Monbula (1,583 metres)

Éducation

Asson has two primary schools (The école du Bourg and the école du Pont Latapie).

Sport

Sports in Asson revolve around the Ladies Handball Championship of France, National 3.