Ahaxe-Alciette-Bascassan is part of Cize/Garazi country which was a historical province in Lower Navarre. It includes three former parishes, sometimes counted as four groups of houses in the Middle Ages and with five toponyms: Alciette, Ahaxe, Garatehegi, Ligeta, and Bascassan located at the confluence of the Laurhibar and Esteneko streams. Alciette is the parish farthest away to the northeast in the combination of the three parishes. Ahaxe-Alciette-Bascassan is located some 6 km south-east of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and can be accessed by Highway D18 running from close to there through the heart of the commune southeast to Lecumberry. The village is not on the highway and is left onto the country road Vierge-d'Ahaxe off the D18 heading southeast. There is a country road from Aincille in the west to the village of Bascassin in the commune and there are other country roads entering from the north and the southeast.
Hydrography
The commune is located in the Drainage basin of the Adour, the commune lands are watered by the Laurhibar, a tributary of the Nive, and a tributary of that, the Esteneko stream. The Apatéko stream, a tributary of the Arzubiko stream also crosses the territory of Ahaxe-Alciette-Bascassan.
Jean-Baptiste Orpustan indicates that the toponym comes from the Basque oronymic base of aitz meaning "rock" or "height". The people of the commune are called in Basque Ahatsar. ;Alciette The toponym Alciette appears in the forms:
The Basque name for the people of this area is Alzietar. According to Jean-Baptiste Orpustan, Alciette is derived from the medieval Alzueta which itself comes from the Basque alzu meaning "place where there are abundant alder trees". ;Bascassan The name Bascassan appears in the forms:
BazquazenBascaçenBascacen )Bazcacen )Basquacen )BazcacenVazquacenVazcazen and VazaçanBascassan Its origin is uncertain. The people of the area are called Bazkazandar in basque. Ahaxachillo is mentioned in the 1863 dictionary.) Bastida is also indicated by Raymond. Errékaldéa is mentioned with the spelling Errecaldia referring to the flowing stream of Bascassan flowing into the Laurhibar. ;Curutchet Curutchet was a former fief of Ahaxe, a vassal of the Kingdom of Navarre. ;Etcheverria Paul Raymond mentioned an Etcheberry, a fief located in the parish of Alciette and a vassal of the Kingdom of Navarre. ;Garatehegi The name Garatehegi appears in the forms:
Garateguiasent jullian et garatehegujla parropie de garatehegiGaratteguyGaratéhéguyGarateguy Garatehegi from Basque means "summit of the high country". ;Gastelua Gastelua appears with the spelling Gastellu in 1863. ;Libiéta Libiéta is a toponym that appears in the forms:
LibietLibiette ;Ligeta Ligeta is mentioned in the forms:
LaguetaLiguetaLiguete.The origin of this toponym could be the LatinLiger''.
History
The Lordship of Ahaxe, also called the Lordship of Cize, was allied with the Viscounts of Arbéroue in the 11th century as well as the lordships of Guiche and to the Counts of Biscay. Ahaxe and Alciette-Bascassan were reunited on 11 June 1842.
Heraldry
Administration
List of Successive Mayors of Ahaxe-Alciette-Bascassan
From
To
Name
Party
Position
1995
2008
Simone Ithurbide
2008
Current
Jean-Paul Bidart
DVD
Inter-communality
The commune belongs to seven inter-communal structures:
the inter-communal union for the development and management of the abattoir of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port;
the joint association for the watershed of the Nive;
the union to support Basque culture.
Population
Economy
Economic activity is mainly agricultural. The commune is part of the zone designation of the Ossau-iraty. The 2006 classification by INSEE, indicating the median household incomes for each municipality with more than 50 households classed Ahaxe-Alciette-Bascassan at a rank of 27,645 with an average income of €13,257.
Culture and heritage
Languages
According to the Map of the Seven Basque Provinces published in 1863 by Prince Louis-Lucien Bonaparte, the Basque dialect spoken in Ahaxe-Alciette-Bascassan is eastern low Navarrese.
Civil heritage
There is a gaztelu zahar at a place called Gaztalepo, located 550 metres above sea level. There is also a lice or a fence surrounding a fortification running at 313 metres above sea level at a place called Gaztelua or Gastellia. These artifacts represent the ancient past of the commune. There are several buildings, houses, and farms in the commune that are listed as historical monuments. These are:
Houses and Farms
Kapila House
Idioinea farm
Gohonetxea farm
Château Saint-Julien
Religious Heritage
A number of churches and sites in the commune have been classified as historical monuments. These are:
Parish Church of Saint Julien of Antioch The cemetery contains a remarkable collection of Hilarri.
Hilarri in the Saint Julien Church Cemetery
Chapel of Saint-Saveur of Alciette. The chapel contains several historical objects:
