Ahetze
Ahetze was a village in the traditional Basque province of Labourd and is now a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwestern France.
The inhabitants of the commune are known as Aheztars.
Geography
Location
The commune is located some 13 km southwest of Bayonne and 30 km northeast of Donostia-San-Sebastion and only 4 km from the Atlantic beaches of Bidart and Guéthary.Access
Ahetze village is at the intersection of departmental roads D655 from Arbonne to Bidart and D855 from Saint-Pee-sur-Nivelle to Saint-Jean-de-Luz. The commune can be accessed from Exit 4 and Exit 3 from the A63 autoroute.The Biarritz–Anglet–Bayonne Airport is 15-minute drive from the village.
Hydrography
Located in the watershed of the Adour, the commune is traversed by a tributary of the coastal river Uhabia: the Zirikolatzeko erreka and its tributaries, the streams: Amisolako, Uroneko, and Besaingo, as well as the Pemartiko erreka, a tributary of the Besaingo.Paul Raymond also stated in his Topographical dictionary of Bearn-Basque Country in 1863 that a tributary of the Alborga: the Haïstéchéhé flows through Ahetze after rising in Saint-Pee-sur-Nivelle.
Localities and hamletshttp://www.geoportail.gouv.fr/accueil?c=-1.57,43.4067&z=7.92265E-5&l=GEOGRAPHICALGRIDSYSTEMS.MAPS.3D$GEOPORTAIL:OGC:WMTS@aggregate(1)&l=ADMINISTRATIVEUNITS.BOUNDARIES$GEOPORTAIL:OGC:WMTS(1)&permalink=yes Géoportail, IGN">Institut géographique national">IGN
- Adamenea
- Aguerria
- Amizola
- Arrakotenea
- Belhardiko Errota
- Biperenborda
- Borda
- Dorrea
- Etxebiaga
- Haroztegia
- Harrieta
- Ithurbidea
- Ithurbidenborda
- Laharraga
- Larramendia
- Larreluzea
- Larretxeberria
- Larrunta or Larruntaldea
- Martikotenea
- Mulienea
- Olhagaina
- Ostaleriaborda
- Solorzano
- Uhartea
- Xaharrenea
- Ximikoenea
- Xirrikenea
Toponymy
Jean-Baptiste Orpustan suggested that Ahetze comes from aiz meaning "stone" and by extension "high rock".
The following table details the origins of the commune name and other names in the commune.
| Name | Spelling | Date | Source | Page | Origin | Description |
| Ahetze | Ahece | 1083 | Orpustan | Village | ||
| Ahese | 1170 | Orpustan | ||||
| Aheze | 1170 | Orpustan | ||||
| de Hetsa | 1249 | Orpustan | ||||
| Villa quœ dicitur Ahece | 12th century | Raymond | Bayonne | |||
| Aheze | 13th century | Raymond | Bayonne | |||
| Ahetce | 1302 | Raymond | Chapter | |||
| Ahetze | 19th century | Lhande | ||||
| Amisolako erreka | Amisola | 1863 | Raymond | Stream | ||
| Larrustaldéa | Larungoriz | 13th century | Raymond | Bayonne | Village | |
| Ouhas-Aldéa | Ouhas-Aldéa | 1863 | Raymond | Hamlet |
Sources:
- Orpustan: Jean-Baptiste Orpustan, New Basque Toponymy
- Raymond: Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, 1863, on the page numbers indicated in the table.
- Lhande: Pierre Lhande, Basque-French Dictionary 1926
- Bayonne: Cartulary of Bayonne or Livre d'Or
- Chapter: Titles of the Chapter of Bayonne
History
In the Middle Ages the Compostela pilgrims who chose the passage along the Atlantic coast passed near Ahetze, Ibarron and the hospital in Sare. Others preferred to fork through part of Ahetze to reach the chapel Saint-Jacques of Serres and also visit Vera by passing by Olhette and the Ibardin Pass.Heraldry
Administration
List of Successive Mayors of Ahetze| From | To | Name | Party | Position |
| 1957 | 1971 | Élie Charles Philippe Marie d'Elbée | ||
| 1995 | 2008 | Pierre Cocagne | ||
| 2008 | 2011 | Jean d'Elbée | Oceanographer & Biologist | |
| 2011 | Current | Philippe Élissalde | DVD | School Teacher, Director |
Inter-Communality
Ahetze is a member of 8 Intercommunal organisations:- the Agglomeration of 'Sud Pays Basque
- the union of Ouhabia
- the intercommunal association of secondary schools of Saint-Jean-de-Luz
- the intercommunal association Nive-Nivelle
- the mixed association of Bizi Garbia
- the association to support Basque culture
- the joint association for drinking water from the Ura
- the joint sanitation association of the Ura
Population
The commune is part of the urban area of Bayonne.Economy
The 2006 classification by INSEE indicated the median household incomes for each commune with more than 50 households classed Ahetze at the rank of 7,693 with an average income of €17,944.The flea market takes place every third Sunday of the month and regularly attracts lovers of antiques from the Paris region, to the Spanish communes all around and contributes to the economic revitalization of the village which has mainly agricultural activity.
The commune part of the Appellation d'origine contrôlée zone of Ossau-iraty.
Culture and heritage
Languages
The Map of the Seven Basque Provinces established by Prince Louis-Lucien Bonaparte in 1863 indicated that the Basque dialect spoken in Ahetze was Labourdin.Festivals
Established in 1971, the Committee of Festivals of Ahetze organises the following events: wheat threshing, dance evenings, a gala of Basque rural sports, loto, and employers' festivals that take place between 25 October and 11 November.Civil heritage
- The Ostalapia farm, now a restaurant, is a former way station on the road to Saint Jacques de Compostela and long before was a haven for the Guethariars and Bidartars when they were attacked by pirates from the ocean or by robbers. There are some boulders once used for walls in the parking area.
- Some old Baserri dating from the 17th and 18th centuries, some of which have been extended over time. New construction follows the Labourdin style.
Religious heritage
- * A Retable and 7 Paintings
- * A Processional Cross. This cross, whose arms are garnished with bells, was used in witchcraft trials in the year 1609 to the outrage of Councilor Lancre who saw it as an evil object. The carvings on the Cross represent the faces of Christ, the Virgin, Saint John, a pelican, and two women's heads. On the back of the cross there is the representation of a bishop, undoubtedly Saint Martin.
- * A Statue: Virgin of the Assumption
- * A Statue: Saint Jacques dressed as a pilgrim
;The Church Picture Gallery
Environmental heritage
On the heights of Ahetze all the Basque mountains near the Atlantic are visible: the Rhune, the Mondarrain, the Artzamendi, and the Ursuia in France as well as the Three Crowns in Spain.Facilities
Sports and sports facilities
Ahetze has two Frontons, one is old and built into the wall of the town hall, a second was completed in 2008 as part of the new development of the town.A Trinquet called Pantxoa Sein is next to the primary school.
A marked fitness trail runs through the south-east of the village.
Education
Ahetze has a primary school and a nursery.Health
Ahetze has several health services: a general practitioner, a dentist, a nurse, a physiotherapist, and a speech therapist.Notable People linked to the commune
- , born on 11 November 1916 in Ahetze and died on 22 July 1981 in the same commune, was a Bertsolari renowned in French Basque Country.
- , born in California and died in 1982, was a North American Anthropologist who, during the 1960s, conducted the first research that highlighted specific Basque haematology with the entire population of the villages of Macaye and Ahetze. These studies put in evidence in relation to the surrounding population the high frequency of blood group O and Rh negative and the particularities of distribution of Gm antigens and HL-A.