Accous


Accous is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwestern France.
WWW Official Site

Geography

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 and the Berthe.
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.

Localities and hamlets

  • Borde Apiou
  • Appatie
  • Arapoup
  • Aulet north
  • Aumet
  • Balet
  • Castet de Bergout
  • Borde Boudrux
  • Bouhaben
  • Cabane de Cambou
  • Campagnet
  • Camy
  • Camy Lapassatet
  • Candarrameigt
  • Casala
  • Borde de Casteigbou
  • Borde Castillou
  • Chapelet
  • Borde de Couyepetrou
  • Cabanes de la Cuarde
  • Colonne Despourins
  • Embielle
  • l’Estanguet
  • Fontaine de l’Espugna
  • Gouaillard
  • Guiraute
  • Jouers
  • Borde Laborde
  • Labourdette
  • Lagahe
  • Lalheve
  • Cabane du Lapassa
  • Borde Laplacette
  • Borde Larraux
  • Borde Larré
  • Lauda
  • Lhers
  • Lourtica
  • Borde Lousteau
  • Borde Maria
  • Mariet
  • Moulia Jean-Baptiste
  • Borde Mirassou
  • Nouque
  • la Palue
  • Pelet
  • Cabane de Pourcibo
  • Borde de Soudious
  • Borde Soule
  • Borde Souperbie
  • Cabanes de Souperret
  • Borde Suza

Toponymy

The name Accous appears in the following forms:
  • Aspa Luca
  • Achoss and Achost
  • Acos
  • Aquos d'Aspe
  • Aquos
  • Abadie de Cos
  • Sanctus Martinus de Acous
  • Acous.
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 came from the Lay Abbey of Jouers through corruption of the word Abbadie. 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 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:
  • Usaure,
  • Ixaure, Isaurs, and Isaure.
Jouers /juèrs/ was formerly Joertz, probably a metathesis of a Basque word Oïhartz a derivative of Oihan meaning 'forest'. It is found in the spelling Joers then Jouers, and again Joers.
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. 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
FromToName
19771983Gaston Larrensou
19831995Louis Moulia
19952001Gaston Larrensou
20012010Jean-Pierre Casaux
20102014Éric Bergez
20142020Paule Bergés
20202026Dany Barraud

Inter-communality

The town is part of five inter-communal organisations:
  • the community of communes of Haut Béarn
  • the Energy union in the Pyrenees-Atlantiques
  • the Television union of Oloron - Aspe Valley
  • the inter-communal union to aid education in the Aspe Valley
  • the joint union of Upper-Béarn.

Twinning

Accous has twinning associations with:

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 zone designation of Ossau-Iraty cheese.
The Toyal plant, 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 median net disposible income per household was €19,610 in 2017, which is lower than the figure for the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department.

Sights

Accous has a number of old houses and farms registered as historical monuments. These are:
  • House at Rue de Baix
  • House 1 at Rue de Haut
  • House 2 at Rue de Haut
  • House at Rue Madrih
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:
  • Chapel of Saint-Saturnin
  • Parish Church of Saint-Martin The church contains two historical objects. These are:
  • *4 Candlesticks
  • *Retable and Statuettes on the main Altar
  • Chapel of Saint-Jean-Baptiste at Lhers
  • Chapel of Saint-Christophe at Aület was built at the end of the 18th century, rebuilt at the end of the 19th century, then restored in the 20th century.

Environmental heritage

Some peaks in the commune are:
  • Isabe peak 2463 m
  • Permayou peak: 2344 m
  • Mardas 2188 m
  • Montagne de Isaye 2173 m
  • Montagne de Liard 2169 m
  • Bergon peak: 2148 m
  • Montagne de Ponce 2028 m

Facilities

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:
  • Ascendance and
  • Air attitude

Accommodations

Accous also has communal lodgings.

Notable People linked to the common