Barzun, Pyrénées-Atlantiques


Barzun is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-western France.
The inhabitants of the commune are known as Barzunais or Barzunaises.

Geography

Barzun is located some 20 km east by south-east of Pau and 15 km north-west of Lourdes. Access to the commune is by the D940 road from Espoey in the north-west which passes through the commune just west of the village and continues south to Lamarque-Pontacq. The D640 comes from Livron in the north and passes through the village continuing to Pontacq in the south. The D642 and the D418 connect the D940 to the village. The D42 passes through the eastern tip of the commune. The commune is all farmland except for a belt of forest east of and parallel to the Ruisseau de l'Ousse.
The Ruisseau de l'Ousse flows through the commune and the village from south-east to north and continues north to join the Gave de Pau at Pau. The Oussère river flows parallel to the Ruisseau de l'Ousse west of the village until they join north of the commune. The Sausse forms the western border of the commune as it flows north to join the Ourrou north-west of the commune. The Hoursoumou and the Ruisseau du Goua de Michou flow parallel to each other north through the east of the commune continuing to join the Gabas Lake at Luquet.

Places and hamlets

said that the name probably comes from the Latin anthroponym Barisius with the suffix -unum.
The following table details the origins of the commune name and other names in the commune.
NameSpellingDateSourcePageOriginDescription
BarzunBarzunum1286Raymond
22
ChapterVillage
Barsuu1385GrosclaudeCensus
Barsun1402Raymond
22
Census
Barssun1538Raymond
22
Reformation
Barfun1750Cassini1
Barjun1790Cassini2
Lupié ThénLe Lupié1863Raymond
106
Hamlet
Les MourasLes Mouras1863Raymond
119
Place
Le PardiacqLe Pardiacq1863Raymond
131
Place
La PeyradeLa Peyrade1863Raymond
134
Place

Sources:
Origins:
noted of page 22 of his 1863 dictionary that Barzun had 13 fires in 1385 and depended on the bailiwick of Pau.
In the 18th century Barzun was the chief town for the notary of Rivière-Ousse which comprised Artigueloutan, Barzun, Espoey, Gomer, Hours, Lée, Livron, Louboey, Lucgarier, Nousty, Ousse, Sendets, and Soumoulou.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors
FromToNamePartyPosition
19952001Alfred Prat-Bernachot
20012020Maurice Minvielle

Inter-communality

The commune is part of four inter-communal structures:
The commune has a public primary school.

Demography

In 2010 the commune had 595 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.

Economy

The commune is part of the Appellation d'origine contrôlée of Ossau-iraty

Culture and heritage

Religious heritage

The Parish Church of Saint Vincent Diacre is registered as an historical monument.

Notable people linked to the commune