Aste-Béon (; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-western France.
Geography Aste-Béon is located in the heart of the Ossau Valley some 33 km south-east of Oloron-Sainte-Marie and 7 km north of Laruns. Access to the commune is by road D240 from Castet in the north passing south down the valley in the west of the commune through the village and continuing to Béost in the south. The D290 connects the village of Béon in the north-east to the D934 road which runs from north to south parallel to the commune's western border. Most of the commune is rugged mountains with substantial forests except for a narrow strip down the western side of the commune in the Ossau Valley where there is farmland.Google Maps
The Gave d'Ossau forms most of the western border of the commune as it flows north down the Ossau Valley eventually joining the Gave d'Aspe at Oloron-Sainte-Marie. The Lamay river rises in the east of the commune and flows west to join the Gave d'Ossau just south of the village. The Arrigast flows into the Gave d'Ossau from the left bank forming the northern border of the commune on that side of the river.
Places and hamlets
Grange l'Art Aste Béon Boala d'Aste Grange Borie Chiperne La Coumète Le Coutchet Dès (Barns) Le Génébra Grange Lavigne Lourziou Grange Loustalet Grange d'Ourdou Peyraube (Forest) Le Port d'Aste Le Port de Béon Pourteig Grange Salle Le Sarrat Serres Sers
Géoportail, IGN
Neighbouring communes and villages
Toponymy
The commune name in béarnais is Asta-Bion.
Michel Grosclaude said that the name Aste comes from the basque aitz/as ("rocky point"). He suggested that the name Béon comes from the pre-indo-European oronymic root *ben
The following table details the origins of the commune name and other names in the commune.
Name Spelling Date Source Page Origin Description Aste Aste 1385 Grosclaude Census Village Asta 1487 Raymond Ossau Béon Beoo 1328 Grosclaude Val de Tena Village Beoo 1374 Raymond Luntz Beoo 1385 Raymond Census Beo de la Bag d'Ossau 1427 Raymond Carresse Sent Felix de Béon 1654 Raymond Insinuations Béon 1750 Cassini Cassini Map Le Port de Béon Le parsan du Port 1756 Raymond Denombremont Hamlet
Sources:
Raymond: Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, 1863, on the page numbers indicated in the table. Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, Paul Raymond, Imprimerie nationale, 1863, Digitised from Lyon Public Library 15 June 2011 Grosclaude: Toponymic Dictionary of communes, Béarn, 2006 Michel Grosclaude, Toponymic Dictionary of communes, Béarn, Edicions reclams & Édition Cairn - 2006, 416 pages, Ossau: Notaries of OssauNotaries of Ossau in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques Val de Tena: Treaty of Ossau - Val de Tena Luntz: Contracts of LuntzContracts retained by Luntz, Notary of Béarn in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques Carresse: Contracts of CarresseContracts retained by Carresse, Notary of Béarn, Manuscripts from the 15th century in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques Insinuations: Insinuations of the Diocese of OloronManuscripts from the 17th century in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques Denombrement: Denombremont of AsteManuscripts from the 17th and 18th centuries in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques Cassini Map: Cassini Map from 1750Cassini Map 1750 - Asson
History In 1385 Aste had 18 fires and depended on the bailiwick of Ossau. In the same year Béon also had 18 fires and belonged to the same bailiwick. The fief of Béon depended on the Viscounts of Béarn.
Administration
List of Successive MayorsList of Mayors of France From To Name Party 1995 2001 Jean Vertut 2001 2014 Augustin Médevielle UMP 2014 2020 Jean-Michel Barrabourg 2020 2026 Michaël Dessein
Inter-communality The commune is part of three inter-communal structures:Intercommunality of Pyrénées-Atlantiques , Cellule informatique préfecture 64, consulted on 14 May 2012 the Communauté de communes de la Vallée d'Ossau; the SIVU for the construction of the Retirement home in Haut-Ossau; the joint association of Haut-Béarn;
The commune is part of the Pays d'Oloron et du Haut-Béarn.
Demography The inhabitants of the commune are known as Astois et Béonais or Astoises et Béonaises in French.Pyrénées-Atlantiques, habitants.fr
Economy The economy of the commune has historically been orientated towards agriculture and livestock. The commune is part of the Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) zone of Ossau-iraty.
In 1769, Jean-Joseph d'Augerot, Chief Justice of the Parliament of Navarre built a foundry in the Ossau Valley at Béon. The foundry used minerals from old mines located at Aste.
Culture and heritage
Civil heritage
The Château of Béon (14th century) was occupied until the 17th century when it was abandoned until the 1980s. It remained the property of the House of Béon for all its history until its slow extinction in the 19th century. It is registered as a historical monumentMinistry of Culture, Mérimée and has been completely restored.
Religious heritage The Church of Saint John the Baptist (19th century) at Aste is registered as a historical monument.Ministry of Culture, Mérimée
It contains a Chalice (1654) which is registered as a historical object.Ministry of Culture, Palissy
Environmental heritage A Natural reserve of nesting vultures was created by a Ministerial Decree of 11 December 1974 and is located across the territories of Aste-Béon, Bielle, Bilhères, and Castet. The museum which is associated with it, called La Falaise aux Vautours,La Falaise aux Vautours website is at the entrance to the village.
The Pène de Béon is 1,251 metres high.
The commune is traversed from north to south by the GR of Pays du tour de la vallée d'Ossau.The GRP on the Community of communes website
See also Ossau Valley Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department
External links The Observatory of La Falaise aux Vautours website The foundry of Béon on the Fer et Savoir Faire website Aste-Béon on Géoportail, National Geographic Institute (IGN) website Aste and Beon on the 1750 Cassini Map
References