Alçay-Alçabéhéty-Sunharette


Alçay-Alçabéhéty-Sunharette is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwestern France.

Geography

Location

Alçay-Alçabéhéty-Sunharette is located in the former province of Soule. It is located some 35 km west by south-west of Oloron-Sainte-Marie and 10 km north of Larrau.

Access

The commune can be accessed by the small D247 road from the village to Tardets-Sorholus in the north-east. The D149 branches off this road in the commune and goes north to Camou-Cihigue. There is also the D117 road which goes west from the village to Mendive.

Hydrography

Located in the drainage basin of the Adour, most of the southern border of the commune is formed by the Alphoura river which also flows through the village and continues northeast to join the Saison near Alos-Sibas-Abense. The Alphoura is fed by many tributaries rising in the commune including the Azaléguy and Ardounc. The Escalérako erreka rises in the south and flows west with its many tributaries.
Paul Raymond mentioned the Arangaïxa, a brook that rises at Alçay and flows into the Alphoura.

Localities and hamletshttp://www.geoportail.gouv.fr/accueil?c=-0.9075,43.0961&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

The commune name in Basque is Altzai-Altzabeheti-Zunharreta.
According to Jean-Baptiste Orpustan, the base altz meaning "aulne" was used for the both toponyms Alcay and Alçabéhéty. beheti means "at the bottom".
The name Sunharette comes from the Basque zunhar using the romanized locative suffix ette meaning the "place of elm".
The following table details the origins of the commune name and other names in the commune.
NameSpellingDateSourcePageOriginDescription
AlçayAucet Suson1337Orpustan
196
Village
Alsay1385Raymond
4
Duchesne
Ausset-Suson1479Raymond
4
Ohix
Alçay1520Orpustan
196
Aucet Suson1690Orpustan
196
Auset Suson1690Orpustan
196
Alsai17th centuryRaymond
4
Chronicles
AlçabéhétyAucet Juson1337Orpustan
196
Village
Ausec-Juson1385Raymond
4
Duchesne
Auset Juzon1385Orpustan
196
Auzat Juzon1385Orpustan
196
Aucet Juzon1690Orpustan
196
Alcabehety1793Cassini1
Alçabehety1801Cassini1Bulletin des lois
SunharetteSunarte1337Orpustan
196
Village
Sunharrete1475Raymond
165
Ohix
Sunharrette1690Orpustan
196
Sunarrette1690Orpustan
196
Sonharette1793Cassini2
Sunharrette1801Cassini2Bulletin des lois
ArangaïxaL'Arangaïxa1863Raymond
8
Stream
ArhansusArhansus1863Raymond
10
Wood
AthaguyAthagui1520Raymond
16
SouleFarm
Atagui1520Raymond
16
Soule
BelhyBelhy1863Raymond
27
Mountain
BurunolatxéLe Col de Burunolatxé1863Raymond
37
Pass
CouhourreCouhourre1863Raymond
53
Wood
EsquirassyEsquirassy1863Raymond
62
Mountain
EtcheverryEtcheberri17th centuryRaymond
63
ChroniclesFief, under the Viscounts of Soule
HandiagueHandiague1863Raymond
75
Mountain

Sources:
Origins:
In 1790 Sunharette was the chief town of a canton which was part of the District of Mauleon. The canton included the communes of Alçay-Alçabéhéty-Sunharette, Alos-Sibas-Abense, Camou-Cihigue, Etchebar, Lacarry-Arhan-Charritte-de-Haut, Lichans-Sunhar, and Ossas-Suhare.
In 1833, the three communes of Alçay, Alçabéhéty, and Sunharette merged to form a single joint commune.

Heraldry

Administration

List of Successive Mayors
FromToNamePartyPosition
19832001Arnaud Dascon
2001PresentAnicet Erreçarret

Inter-communality

The town is part of seven intercommunal organisations:

Economy

Activity is mainly focused on agriculture. The town is part of the Appellation d'origine contrôlée zone of Ossau-iraty.
According to the 2006 classification of INSEE, showing the median household incomes for all communes with more than 50 households Alçay-Alçabéhéty-Sunharette is ranked 20,901st with an average income of €14,927 per year.

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage

The commune has two sites that are registered as historical monuments:
;Other sites of interest