Arcangues is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France in what was formerly the Basque province of Labourd.

Geography

Location

Arcangues belongs to the urban area of Bayonne and is located some 10 km south by south-west of Bayonne, 8 km south-east of Biarritz, and 6 km north-west of Ustaritz.

Access

The A63 autoroute passes through the northern tip of the commune with the nearest exit being Exit to the west of the commune but the slightly farther Exit to the east connects directly to the D3 road which passes south through the commune and the village to Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle. There is also the D755 which branches off the D3 in the north of the commune and continues south through the west of the commune to join the D255 on the commune's south-western border. The D933 road from Anglet to Ustaritz also passes through the eastern tip of the commune with a roundabout linking to country roads in the commune.

Hydrography

The commune of Arcangues is traversed by the river Uhabia, the Urdainzko erreka, and the Harrietako erreka. The latter two discharge into the Nive, a tributary of the Adour.

Places and hamlets

Toponymy

The basque name of the commune is Arrangoitze. Jean-Baptiste Orpustan proposed a joining of the basque words ar-gain, meaning "high rock", and -goiz meaning "an open position facing east" which results in the compound meaning "high rocks facing east". The following table details the origins of the commune name and other names in the commune. Sources: Origins:

History

The lordship of Arcangues has been mentioned since the 12th century. Sanche d'Arcangues and Aner de Archangos were cited as witnesses or guarantors of real estate transactions between 1150 and 1170. The beginning of the 16th century in Labourd was marked by the appearance of the plague. The Gascon registers track its expansion. on 8 February 1517 the plague was reported in Arcangues. The office of King's Prosecutor belonged to the Arcangues family from the 17th century. Also Laurent, Lord and patron of Arcangues, Curutcheta, and Elissagaray was prosecutor of the Bailiwick of Labourd from 1614 to 1643. His son Jean d'Arcangues received the office of King's Prosecutor by letters patent of Louis XIII of 4 July 1643. Pierre d'Arcangues continued in the office from 1670 to 1692. Finally Squire Gaspard d'Arcangues, Lord and patron of Arcangues and Curutcheta was the last family member to hold the office from 15 April 1714 to 1749. Squire Michel d'Arcangues, Lord and patron of Arcangues and Curutcheta, baptised at Bayonne on 17 October 1719, captain of the provincial militia of Labourd, married to Rose d'Aragorri (1722-1758), by which the title of Spanish Marquis of Iranda passed to their son Nicolas François Xavier d'Arcangues (Arcangues, 1753 - Saint-Pierre-d'Irube 1826). Rights to this title was authorized in France for life in April 1781 by letters patent of Louis XVI. Michel Louis d'Arcangues (San Sebastian, 1790 - Bayonne, 1868) was the fourth Spanish Marquis of Iranda, Mayor of Arcangues for forty years and General Counsel for Basses-Pyrénées. His eldest son, Alexis d'Arcangues (Bayonne, 1821 - Saint-Pierre-d'Irube 1877), succeeded him. He was mayor of Villefranque then Arcangues and General Counsel for Basses-Pyrénées. Miguel Marie (Bayonne, 1857 - Arcangues, 1915), the 6th Spanish Marquis of Iranda, succeeded him. Pierre d'Arcangues, born 12 April 1886 in Paris and died on 22 May 1973 in Arcangues, the 7th Marquis, was a poet and novelist and the father of Guy d'Arcangues, the 8th Marquis of Iranda, Viscount of Ascubea, and writer, who wrote in particular Les Tambours de Septembre (The Drums of September). The home to the Marquis d'Arcangues, the Chateau of Arcangues, was used as the Duke of Wellington's headquarters during the December 1813 Battle of the Nive in the Peninsular War. Kincaid, an officer in the Rifle Brigade (95th Regiment of Foot, part of the Light Division) was billeted in the Chateau and makes extensive reference to it and its occupants in his memoirs ‘Adventures in the Rifle Brigade’. During the German occupation of France in World War II, the Nazis used the chateau as the headquarters for their local troops. The French Thoroughbred racehorse Arcangues, who was given the village's name, won the 1993 Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California.

Heraldry

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

Inter-communality

Arcangues is part of seven inter-communal structures: The commune is part of the Basque Bayonne - San Sebastian Eurocity.

Demography

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Arcanguais or Arcanguaises in French, and as Arrangoiztar in Basque.

Economy

The town is part of the Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) zone designation of Ossau-iraty. ETPM (Multiple Public Works Company) is an independent French company based in Arcangues whose main activity is the execution of works for electrical and telecommunication networks.

Culture and Heritage

The shutters of a Basque house, made with solid wood slats, are painted the same colour as the other wooden parts of the facades or framing. They are generally in a dark red called "basque red". There has also been, since the 19th century, a very dark blue - a kind of Prussian blue - and a "deep" dark green also as well as sometimes a very light gray. At Arcangues the Marquis, Pierre d'Arcangues, introduced a lighter blue, which has retained the name Blue of Arcangues. It was in Arcangues that the first Seaska Ikastola was created in 1969.

Languages

According to the Map of the Seven Basque Provinces by Prince Louis-Lucien Bonaparte (1863), the Basque dialect spoken in Arcangues is Northern High Navarrese. However, the classification has changed. With new methodological criteria, the Basque dialectology has grown considerably in recent years and, according to the latest work by the philologist Koldo Zuazo, the Basque dialect used in Arcangues is Navarro-labourdin with an east-west sub-dialect. It is an intermediate sub-dialect combining the Navarro-labourdin sub-dialect of the east and the west. Until then not to be educated or to be illiterate was not a problem in the Basque Country. The inhabitants had their oral culture and that was enough to satisfy their needs. This lifestyle change radically in the 20th century and French replaced Basque in the general population since literacy was more useful in the dominant language. Then, in the late 1960s, a standard Basque was taught. It in no way replaced the local dialect but had the objective to integrate all formal sectors such as radio, television, print, Internet, research, teaching, literature, administration, etc. In informal areas, however, the dialect is still used, especially in areas where there are native Basque speakers. Despite all these changes it seems that, in the medium term, the navarro-labourdin dialect may disappear with its speakers and be replaced by a unified language: batua.

Civil heritage

Religious heritage

Environmental heritage

Part of the territory of the commune belongs to the regional natural reserve of Errota Handia managed by the Academy of Natural Areas of Aquitaine who also manage the Chouroumillas (Xurrumilatx) Pond: a wetland located in the north-west of the commune.

Amenities

Other than the Lau-herri Society for Basque pelota, from where the professional champion Simon Haran originated, community life is organized around the Emak-Hor society which has rugby, handball, gymnastics, marching band, a male chorus (Adixkideak) and a folk group. The Golf course between Arcangues and Arbonne has safeguarded the environmental heritage of the town. The commune has a primary school. There is a pharmacy, a dentist, a GP, and physiotherapists.

Notable people linked to the commune