The Gascon name for "Arancou" is Arancon; the Basque name is Erango. The name Arancou appears in the forms Arranque, Arancoen, Arancoey, Arancoenh, Arrancoeynh, Arancoinh, Aranquoen, and Aranco. The name of Arancou comes from the Basque arangoien, for "higher valley".
History
Prehistory
Tools from the Magdalenian era, one of the later cultures of the Upper Paleolithic era of Western Europe, were found in the Bourrouillan cave in the territory of Arancou. Several thousand bones from hunted animals were found in the cave, as well as thousands of flint and bone tools.
Modern history
On January 1, 1973, the communes of Arancou, Bergouey, and Viellenave-sur-Bidouze were joined together. On 15 November 1977, Arancou regained its independent status, while Bergouey and Viellenave-sur-Bidouze remained together.
Jean-Baptiste Orpustan mentions Arancou in 1309 in a list of parishes paying dues to the royal power in Navarrenx. Arancou was also mentioned by Eugène Goyheneche towards the end of the Middle Ages. He wrote that "because of the Gramont's power, is ambiguous." However, starting with the modern age, no evidence of Arancou's allegiance to the Kingdom of Navarre can be found. Nor is there evidence of any links to the dukedom of Gramont or of the sovereign principality of Bidache. The chapter of the collegiate Saint-Jacques de Bidache was the lord of the lands; the parish was situated in France in the administrative district of Lannes, where it came under the control of the administrative region of Hastingues. Although Arancou falls without a doubt within modern districting, it is nonetheless included in a list of the communes of Basse-Navarre. While presenting the town in 2009 on his website, the mayor, Alexandre Bordes, did not take sides. Rather, he emphasized the "mix of deep-rooted cultures" and the "location of the town at the borders of Gascogne, Béarn, Basque Country, and the Navarre." His website describes the town as "basquo-béarnais."
Arancou belongs to four different intercommunal territories:
The Collection of Communities in Pays de Bidache, Bidaxungo lurraldea in Basque, lo païs de Bidàishen in Gascon.
The Adour Syndicate
Syndicate AEP of Arancou - Bergouey-Viellenave - Bidache - Labastide-Villefranche
Syndicate for the department of electricity
Population
Economy
Arancou's economy is primarily agricultural. Arancou is part of the Appellation d'origine contrôlée of the cheese, Ossau-Iraty. There is a limestone quarry in Arancou. Until 1993, it provided the stone for the cemetery, Ciments de l'Adour, in Boucau. The stone was carried in barges down the Bidouze and Adour rivers.
Sights
Civil Heritage
Farms and houses from the 17th and 18th centuries,
The church of l'Assomption-de-la-Bienheureuse-Vierge-Marie from the 8th century is listed as an historical monument. The Gothic cathedral is located on the road, Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle. A wellspring runs underneath the church, feeding a washing-place in the basement. A Madonna called Notre-Dam-d'Arancou can be found in the church, as well as an hilarri from Labets-Biscay, and different furnishings registered in the inventory of the Minister of Culture The church also has a registered stained glass window.
