Bardos, Pyrénées-Atlantiques


Bardos is a commune in the former Basque province of Labourd in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-western France.
The inhabitants of the commune are known as Bardoztars.

Geography

Bardos is located some 15 km east of Bayonne just south of Guiche. The north-eastern tip of the commune is also the departmental border between Pyrénées-Atlantiques and Landes. Access to the commune is by the D936 road from Briscous in the west which passes through the heart of the commune and the town and continues east to Bidache. The D253 goes north from the town to Guiche. The D318 goes south from the town to join the D123 west of Orègue. The D10 branches off the D936 in the west of the commune and goes south to La Bastide-Clairence. The A64 autoroute passes through the north of the commune with the nearest exit being Exit which exits to the D936 just 1 km to the west of the commune. The commune is mostly farmland with scattered forested areas particularly on the slopes.
The town is served by the interurban network of Pyrénées-Atlantiques by route 811 to Bayonne and Tardets-Sorholus.
There is a dense network of streams across the whole commune. The north-eastern tip of the commune has the Bidouze as the communal and the departmental border. The Ruisseau d'Ermou flows through the commune and joins the Bidouze at the north-eastern tip of the commune. The Ruisseau du Termi forms much of the northern border as it flows north-west to join the Adour north of the commune. Numerous other streams rise in the commune and flow north to the Adour. The Lihoury river forms part of the south-eastern border of the commune as it flows north, fed by the Laharanne, and joins the Bidouze east of Bidache. The Ruisseau d'Appât rises in the commune and flows south to join the Lihoury. The Arbéroue forms much of the southern border of the commune as it flows east to join the Lihoury. The Aran forms most of the western border of the commune as it flows north then turns west to join the Adour. Numerous streams flow in the heart of the commune including the Ruisseau d'Artigue, the Ithurriague, and the Bardolle.

Geology and terrain

The area of the commune is 4,253 hectares with a maximum altitude of 186 m on the Miremont hill which is the location of an old 14th century mansion as well as a water tower built on a panoramic viewpoint overlooking the Adour valley.

Climate

The climate of Bardos, some twenty kilometres from the Basque coast, is relatively similar to that of Biarritz with fairly heavy rainfall: the oceanic climate due to its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. The average winter temperature is around 8 °C and around 20 °C in summer. The lowest temperature recorded was -12.7 °C on 16 January 1985 and the highest 40.6 °C on 4 August 2003. Rain on the Basque coast is rarely persistent except during winter storms. It often takes the form of intense thunderstorms of short duration.

Places and hamlets

On the Napoleonic Cadastral Map of 1818 the commune was divided into four sections:
Today, although the division into districts is not precise, there are seven districts:

Housing

In 2011 the total number of dwellings in the commune was 716, down from 611 in 2006.
Of these dwellings, 87% were primary residences, 6.6% were second homes, and 6.3% were occasional homes or vacant units. 69.4% of these dwellings were detached houses and 29.6% were apartments.
The proportion of principle residences owned by their occupants was 74%. The percentage of empty rental public housing was 1.3%.

Toponymy

The commune name in Basque is Bardoze and its name in Occitan, gascon dialect is Bardòs.
The name consists of the root bard- or bart- which designates the low terrain and clay soils along the river edges plus the Basque-Aquitaine suffix -os. Jean-Baptiste Orpustan proposes the meaning "place of abundant clay soil".
The following table details the origins of the commune name and other names in the commune.
NameSpellingDateSourcePageOriginDescription
BardosBardos13th centuryRaymond
21
BayonneVillage
Bardos1203Orpustan
21
Bardos1249Orpustan
21
Bardos1305Orpustan
21
Sancta Maria de Bardos1693Raymond
21
Collations
Bardoze19th centuryLhande
AscaratEscaratz1502Raymond
15
BardosFarm
BerhabeBerhabe1863Raymond
28
Farm
CastellaCastella1863Raymond
44
Redoubt
Gelosl'ostau de Galos1502Raymond
70
NavarreStream rising in Bardos and Bidache and joining the Lihurry
le Gélous1863Raymond
70
JauréguyJauréguy1756Raymond
85
CollationsFarm
Lichaczl'ostau de Lissaze1502Raymond
101
NavarreFarm
Paloumèresl'ostau de las Paloumeres1502Raymond
131
NavarreFarm
PlaçooPlaçoo1863Raymond
136
Hamlet

Sources:
Origins:
Bardos appears as Bardos on the 1750 Cassini Map and the same on the 1790 version.

History

Bardos has a Paleolithic site. The parish of Bardos has been mentioned since 1072 and the barony of Bardos was created in 1320. The commune was incorporated into the Duchy of Gramont in 1643.
The parish of Bardos was admitted to the Biltzar of Labourd in 1763 and became a commune in 1790. Originally it was the capital of a canton including the communes of Bardos and Guiche and depended on the district of Ustaritz.
The relationship of Bardos with Labourd had some unusual features.
During the Ancien Régime the three parishes did not dependent judicially on the judicial institutions of Labourd but on the Seneschal of Came. Although they had ceased to participate in the work of the Labourd Biltzar, they are allowed back into meetings in 1763 to contribute to the work of the Biltzar. According to Anne Zink these events had little meaning: even before this assignment, the three parishes were fiscally labourdine and it was the customs of the province of Labourd that governed their civil law.
From 1770 to 1771 the overall trustee of the Biltzar was Pierre Damestoy from Bardos, notary of the house of Etxebeheiti.

Heraldry

Administration

List of Successive Mayors
FromToName
17891789Jean Casenave
17891790Pierre Darricau
17901792Gabriel Detchart
17921795Pierre Darricau
17951795Gabriel Detchart
17951797Pierre Darricau
17971798François Larre
17981816Etienne Damestoy
18161827Jean-Baptiste Duclercq
18271848Etienne Damestoy
18481849Mathieu Chapa
18491878Pierre Darricau-Albinoritz
18781881Bernard Celhabe
18811919Pierre Damestoy

;Mayors from 1919
FromToNamePartyPosition
19191960Pierre DamestoyVeterinarian
19611977Jean DamestoyFarmer
19772008Pierre LabordeTeacher
20082020Jean Paul DiribarneMetallurgist

Judicial and administrative proceedings

Bardos falls within the area of the Tribunal d'instance of Bayonne, the Tribunal de grande instance of Bayonne, the Cour d'appel of Pau, the Tribunal pour enfants of Bayonne, the Conseil de prud'hommes of Bayonne, the Tribunal de commerce of Bayonne, the Tribunal administratif of Pau, and the Cour administrative d'appel of Bordeaux.

Inter-communality

The town belongs to nine inter-communal structures:
Bardos was not part of any community of communes until 1 January 2010 when it joined the community of communes of Pays de Bidache. Bardos is the headquarters of the Joint association for the Berriak Erreka and also for the union for the association for the Z.A. Etxecolu industrial area.

Environmental policy

"Environment and Waste" policy is under inter-communal jurisdiction with household waste collection and sorting for the commune being provided by the Community of communes of Pays de Bidache.
The treatment of the waste is then managed by the Bil Ta Garbi joint association.

Demography

In 2010 the commune had 1,620 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

Until the 19th century Bardos was renowned for its lapidary activity.
The commune is part of the Appellation d'origine contrôlée zone designation of Ossau-iraty.
There are two industrial estates: Etxekolu and Saint-Martin. The EKI Basque brewery is located in Bardos.

Household incomes and taxation

In 2011 the median household income tax was €32,753, placing Bardos at 11,125th place among the 31,886 communes with more than 49 households in metropolitan France.

Tourism

The tourist office of Pays de Bidache covers all seven communes of the community to which Bardos belongs. It is located in Bidache.
The Pays de Bidache is itself a member of the Tourist Information Organisation of Nive-Adour-Ursuia with Pays de Hasparren.
The commune has two furnished rural cottages for visitors.

Facilities

Education

Bardos is located in the Academy of Bordeaux zone.
There are two primary schools in Bardos:
There is no Basque education available in the commune.
The college for the commune is located in Bidache.
The high school for the commune is the General René-Cassin High School located in Bayonne.

Health

The town has a retirement home called Albodi.

Sports

The various sports clubs and associations in the village have several facilities available:
In 2011 a building was built next to the sports field for sports like weightlifting and with a dance hall: Erdizka. In 2012 a bowling alley has started near Erdizka.
There are several sports associations in the commune which allow residents regular exercise and sports: clay pigeon shooting, gymnastics, fitness, hiking, walking, Basque pelota, rugby, tennis, judo, and pilates.

Media

There is no local media specific to Bardos except for Bardos-Info, a Municipal Bulletin published by the mayor with various articles from local associations.
There are three TV networks available in the commune:
News about the village is relayed to the press by local correspondents for three newspapers:
Bardos is in the parish of Notre Dame du Chemin de Saint-Jacques in the diocese of Bayonne which depends on the Church of the Assumption.
The communal cemetery is located along the D936. It was once located around the church and was moved to this location in May 1861.

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage

The commune has many buildings and sites that are registered as historical monuments:
;Other sites of interest
The Parish Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is located at the highest point in the village at 128 metres above sea level. The Church contains many items that are registered as historical objects:
;Language
According to the Map of the Seven Basque Provinces by Prince Louis Lucien Bonaparte dating from 1863, the dialect spoken in Bardos is eastern Low Navarrese. The village had its own dialect known as the dialect of Bardos which is also spoken on the neighbouring commune of Orègue. Notably, although Basque people were the majority, Gascon was once spoken by a significant part of the population, often more than Basque.
;Sayings and proverbs
A local Basque saying:

Que bas entau Bidache ? Pot de grache.

Que bas entau Bardos ? Chuque aquét os.

A Bardos que minjà la carne e que dachen lous os.
meaning:
You go to Bidache? Pot of fat.

You go to Bardos? Suck the bone.

In Bardos, eat the meat and leave the bone.
;Nicknames
The people of Bardos, who are known as bardoztar have, like most of their neighbours, funny nicknames in Basque and in Gascon:
Two Natura 2000 areas are partially within the territory of the commune:
In addition there are three Zone naturelle d'intérêt écologique, faunistique et floristique which are fully or partially located on the territory of the commune:
The premier event of the year in the commune is the Carnaval Labourdin that spans three weekends and includes visits to houses in the districts by day and festive evenings on the town square. It is organized by the Foyer de Bardos, a local cultural association.
The Xarnegu Eguna festival that mixes Basque and Gascon cultures is also organized by the association of the same name every year around 1 May.
For over 30 years the Foyer de Bardos has organised an exhibition of contemporary art in order to diversify the cultural offering in rural areas. It takes place every summer between 15 June and 15 July.
The festivals are organized in Bardos by the Comité des Fêtes de Bardos every summer around 15 August. The committee includes a large part of the villagers.

Notable people linked to the commune

;Notable people Picture Gallery