Bassussarry is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as Basusartars.

Geography

Bassussary is located in the former province of Labourd and within the urban area of Bayonne some 5 km south-east of Biarritz and 4 km south by south-west of Bayonne. Access to the commune is by the D932 road from Anglet in the north which passes through the commune on the eastern side and continues south to Ustaritz. The town is in the west of the commune and can be accessed by the D254 road which branches from the D932 on the northern border of the commune and continues through the town west to join the D810 south-west of Biarritz Airport. The D3 comes from the A63 autoroute Exit (Bayonne-Sud) to the town then south forming the western border of the commune and continuing to Arcangues. South-east of the town is another urban area of Betbeder. Much of the commune is urbanised with some areas of forest and meadows. The eastern part next to the D932 contains an industrial estate. Two bus services pass through and have stops in the commune operated by Transports 64: The commune lies in the drainage basin of the Adour with the Nive river forming the whole eastern border of the commune as it flows north to join the Adour. The Ruisseau d'Urdains flows from a small lake just south of the commune northwards, forming the north-eastern border of the commune, before joining the Nive in the north-eastern corner. The Ruisseau de Harrieta flows from the south-west of the commune to the north-east joining the Ruisseau d'Urbaine near the D932. The Ruisseau de Pétaboure rises in the north-west of the commune and forms the northern border as it flows east to join the Ruisseau de Harrieta in the commune.

Places and Hamlets

Toponymy

The commune name in Basque is Basusarri. Jean-Baptiste Orpustan proposed a structure of baso meaning "forest" and sarri meaning "dense" or "tight" giving the overall meaning of "dense forest". The following table details the origins of the commune name and other names in the commune. Sources: Origins: Bassussarry appears as Baßußarry on the 1750 Cassini Map and does not appear at all on the 1790 version.

History

During the Peninsular War on 10 December 1813 Bassussarry was the scene of a battle between General Suchet and the Spanish-English.

Heraldry

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

Intercommunality

Bassussarry is one of nine inter-communal structures: Bassussarry is the seat of the SIVOM Arbonne-Arcangues-Bassussarry The commune is part of the Bayonne-San Sebastián Eurocity.

Demography

In 2017 the commune had 3,126 inhabitants.

Education

The commune has a public primary school.

Economy

The commune is in the Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) zone of Ossau-iraty

Culture and heritage

Religious heritage

The Parish Church of Saint-Barthélemy (19th century) is registered as an historical monument.

Language

According to the Map of the Seven Basque Provinces by Louis Lucien Bonaparte the Basque spoken in Bassussarry is Northern Upper Navarrese dialect.

Notable people linked to the commune