Barcus


Barcus is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France in the former province of Soule.
The inhabitants of the commune are known in French as Barcusiens or Barcusiennes and in Basque as Barkoxtar.

Geography

Location

Barcus is located in the Massif des Arbailles in the former province of Soule some 25 km south by south-east of Sauveterre-de-Béarn and 12 km west of Oloron-Sainte-Marie. The commune covers a complex of valleys formed by the course of the Joos and its left and right tributaries - the Paradis district, for example, is located on the Ibarra and the former hamlet of Guibelhéguiet is on a tributary of the Joos.

Access

Access to the commune is by the D24 road from Chéraute in the west which passes through the centre of the commune and continues east to Esquiule. The D347 branches from the D26 west of the village and goes south to Tardets-Sorholus. The D59 comes from Saint-Goin in the north-east through the village and continues south down the eastern side of the commune to Montory. The D859 branches off the D59 in the north of the commune and goes north to join the D25 north of the commune. The D159 branches off the D59 halfway down the commune and goes east to join the D24 east of Esquiule. The D459 branches off the D59 in the south of the commune and goes south-east to Lanne-en-Barétous.

Hydrography

The commune is located in the drainage basin of the Adour. The Joos river rises west of the commune and flows east across the commune then north, forming the eastern border of the commune, continuing north-east to eventually join the Gave d'Oloron at Préchacq-Josbaig. Many tributaries rise in the commune and flow east into the Joos including the Bouhatéko erreka, the arréc of Etchanchu, the Handia, the Oyhanart erreka, the arriou of Soulou, the Sustaris erreka, and the Ibarra stream with its tributaries, the Ruisseau Ibarra and the Lecheguita stream. Paul Raymond mentioned another tributary of the Joos crossing Barcus called the Guibéléguiet with its tributary the Paradis.
Tributaries of the Lausset, which also flows into the Gave d'Oloron, also pass through the commune such as the Ascania stream and the Ibarle stream with its tributary the Ambelseko erreka.
Finally the Ruisseau de Lacoste, a sub-tributary of the arréc of Bitole also crosses the commune.

Places and Hamlets

There are a large number of places and hamlets in the commune:
The commune name in Basque is Barkoxe.
Jean-Baptiste Orpustan proposes a Basque etymological construction in two parts. The first element barr meaning "located inside, at the bottom" is joined to the element -koiz to approximate the Basque goiz meaning "morning or east". Barcus is located in a low valley to the east which justifies the Orpustan analysis.
The following table details the origins of the commune name and other names in the commune.
NameSpellingDateSourcePageOriginDescription
BarcusBarcuys1384Raymond
21
NavarrenxVillage
Barcuix1462Raymond
21
Oloron
Sent-Saubador de Barcuix1470Raymond
21
Ohix
Barcoys1520Raymond
21
Customs
Barcois1520Orpustan
204
Barcux1580Raymond
21
Luxe
Barcinx1650Raymond
21
Guienne
Barcuix1690Orpustan
204
Bareus1801Bulletin des lois
AgarasAgarassi1479Raymond
3
OhixFarm
BilapuBilapu1520Raymond
31
CustomsFarm
BiscayBiscaya1479Raymond
32
OhixFarm
CharritetCharritet1520Raymond
48
CustomsFarm
GastellondoGastézoszo1863Raymond
68
Hamlet
GuibelhéguietGuibelleguiet1479Raymond
73
OhixHamlet
Guibéléguiet-Ibarra1863Raymond
73
HégoburuHégoaburu1479Raymond
77
OhixFarm
Hégobure1863Raymond
77
IriardIriard1520Raymond
83
CustomsFarm
JaureguiberryJauréguiberry-Harra1863Raymond
85
Hamlet
LarréjaLarréja1863Raymond
94
Hamlet
Le ParadisLe Paradis1863Raymond
131
Chapel and Stream
UdoyUdoy1479Raymond
170
OhixFarm
UhartUhart1520Raymond
170
CustomsFarm

Sources:
Origins:
Jean-Baptiste Orpustan noted that the commune was a former "royal town".
Paul Raymond on page 21 of his 1863 dictionary noted that the commune had a Lay Abbey, vassal of the Viscounts of Soule. In 1790 Barcus was the capital of a Canton dependent on the District of Mauleon Licharre and made up of the communes of Barcus, L'Hôpital-Saint-Blaise, and Roquiague.
Barcus appears as Barcux on the 1750 Cassini Map and the same on the 1790 version.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors
FromToNamePartyPosition
19351954Ambroise Bethular
19541989Jean-Baptiste Jaureguiberry
19891995François Uthurry
19952001Jean Barneix
20012020Jean-Marc Baranthol

Inter-communality

The commune is part of five inter-communal structures:
The Journal by Pierre Casalivetery, Notary at Mauléon, during 1460-1481 counted 26 fires at Barcus and 210 for the years 1540–1548, indicating a rapidly growing population.
In 2010 the commune had 734 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

Economic activity is mainly oriented towards agriculture. The commune is part of the Appellation d'origine contrôlée zone designation of Ossau-iraty.

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage

In 2009 Barcus organised a Pastoral, a Soule traditional show mixing theatre, dancing and singing. There is a Pastoral throughout winter until April on Sundays in other villages of Soule.

Notable people linked to the commune