Argelos, Pyrénées-Atlantiques


Argelos is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-western France.

Geography

Argelos is located some 25 km north of Pau and 3 km west of Auriac. Access to the commune is by the D214 road from the village north to join the D944 road south-east of Thèze. The A65 autoroute passes through the northern tip of the commune but the nearest exit is Exit 9 near Miossens-Lanusse. The commune is mixed farmland and forest.
Located in the Drainage basin of the Adour, the Luy de France forms the north-eastern border of the commune as it flows north-west fed by its tributaries the Basta and the Balaing.

Places and Hamlets

Toponymy

The commune name in béarnais is Argelos. Brigitte Jobbé-Duval indicated that Argelos probably had a Latin origin of argilla with the suffix -ossum. The meaning of the name would then be "clay soil".
The following table details the origins of the commune name and other names in the commune.
NameSpellingDateSourcePageOriginDescription
ArgelosArgilos1214Raymond
10
Chapter of ArgelosVillage
Argelos1750Cassini
BernèsBernet1385Raymond
10
CensusFarm

Sources:
Origins:
noted on page 10 of his 1863 dictionary that in 1385 there were 29 fires in Argelos and it depended on the bailiwick of Pau. Auriac was formerly annexed to the commune.
The barony of Viven included Argelos, Auriac, and Viven and was a vassal of the Viscounts of Béarn.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors
FromToNamePartyPosition
19952014Hélène Peyras
20142020Marcel Borny

Intercommunality

Argelos is part of 4 inter-communal structures:
In 2009 the commune had 264 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.
Argelos is part of the urban area of Pau.

Culture and Heritage

Civil Heritage

The commune has several buildings and sites that are registered as historical monuments:
The Parish Church of Saint-André is registered as an historical monument. It contains many items which are registered as historical objects:
Argelos has a primary school which is shared with Astis as an inter-communal educational grouping.