Barinque is located on a steep hill overlooking the Souye valley, some 15 kilometres north-east of Pau and 7 km south-east of Auriac in the Vic-Bihl region. Access to the commune is by the D222 road from Higuères-Souye in the south which goes north through the west of the commune to the village then continues east to join the D43 which forms the south-eastern border of the commune as it goes from Escoubès in the east to Saint-Jammes in the south. There are large areas of forest in the south of the commune and scattered forests in the commune however most of the commune is farmland. The Luy de France flows from the south forming the entire western border of the commune before continuing north to eventually join the Luy north of Castel-Sarrazin. The Souyeriver flows from south to north-west through the heart of the commune joining the Luy de France on the western border of the commune. The Ruisseau de Cimpceu rises east of the village and flows north to join the Gabas west of Sévignacq.
The commune name in béarnais is Barinco. Michel Grosclaude concluded that the name is of Occitan origin with the meaning "slope towards a ravine", following Dauzat and Rostaing who offered a Gaulish and pre-Gaulish root barr- meaning "height" or "summit" with the suffix -incum. The following table details the origins of the commune name and other names in the commune.
Name
Spelling
Date
Source
Page
Origin
Description
Barinque
Barinco
1385
Grosclaude
Village
Barinco
1402
Raymond
21
Census
Barincquo
1538
Raymond
21
Reformation
Barinquo
1542
Raymond
21
Barinque
Barincou
1676
Raymond
21
Reformation
Barrinque
1801
Raymond
21
Bulletin des lois
Sansous
Sansous
1385
Raymond
156
Census
Farm
Sources:
Grosclaude:Toponymic Dictionary of communes, Béarn, 2006
Raymond: , 1863, on the page numbers indicated in the table.
EHESS:
Origins:
Census: Census of Béarn
Reformation: Reformation of Béarn
Barinque: Titles of Barinque
History
noted on page 21 of his 1863 dictionary that Barinque had a Lay Abbey, vassal of the Viscounts of Béarn. In 1385 Barinque had 15 fires and depended on the bailiwick of Pau. Barinque was part of the Barony of Navailles in the Middle Ages. The commune was part of the Arch-Deaconry of Vic-Bilh which depended on the Bishop of Lescar and Lembeye was the capital. Barinque appears as Barinque on the 1750 Cassini Map but as Barringue on the 1790 version.
In 2010 the commune had 587 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 communes that have a sample survey every year.
Culture and heritage
Civil heritage
The commune has a number of buildings and sites that are registered as historical monuments:
A Farmhouse at Saubade
A Farmhouse at Pierrot
A Farmhouse at Loudet
Houses and Farms
Religious heritage
The Parish Church of Saint-Barthélémy is registered as an historical monument. The Church contains many items that are registered as historical objects: