Abitain

Abitain is a common French, located in the department of the Yrénées-Atlantiques and the area Aquitaine.

The inhabitants are the Abatinois and Abatinoises .

Geography

The grounds of the commune belong to the Lauhire.

Hydrography

The commune is crossed by the Gave d' Oloron, affluent of the Gave of Pau, and its tributaries, Arrioutèque and the brook the Crab.

Localities and hamlets

Communes bordering

Escos and Labastide-Villefranche in north
Athos-Aspis and Oraàs in the east
Ilharre in the west
Autevielle-Saint-Martin-Bideren in the south

Toponymy

The toponym Abitain appears in the forms Bitengs (XIIIe century, cartulaire of Bayonne), Bitenh (1385, censier of Béarn), Abithen and Feels-Pee Abitehn (respectively 1439 and 1472, notaries of Labastide-Villefranche), Havitenh and Avitenh (respectively 1538 and 1546, reformation of Béarn), Aviteing (1608, insinuations of the diocese of Oloron) and Avitein (1786, payment of the States de Béarn).

History

The village of Abitain was formed on left bank of the gave of Oloron around its laic, vassal abbey of the Viscount of Béarn, of which there remains a building. The families of Belloc then of Claverie were the abbots owners of the parish. The tomb of the last laic abbot of Abitain, deceased in 1785, is in the church Saint-Pierre.
Paul Raymond note that in 1385, the commune counted 15 fires and depended on the Bailliage of Sauveterre.
The village had two mills: that of Leü (which depended in fact on Oraas), and that of Séguabache now transformed into sawmill.
In 1856, Ferdinand Carrère, heir to the last laic abbot, demolish the old abbey castle to build the Carrère castle in Escos.
In February 1814, the village was occupied by the troops of the Morillo general and the English, facing the cut off French with Oraàs.
A famous vat - where there was a dramatic accident in 1845 - remained a long time in service with the place says Moliède d' Athos.

Administration

Intercommunality

The common one belongs to six inter-commune structures:

Communauté of communes of Sauveterre-to-Béarn
arranges public local management
intercommunity association of the gaves of Oloron and Mauléon
intercommunity association of Gaves and Saleys
trade union AEP of Sauveterre-of-Béarn
departmental trade union of electrification.

Demography

Economy

The activity of the commune is mainly agricultural. A sawmill is there in activity.

Culture and inheritance

Civil inheritance

ruins of the mill of Leü which was the object of many lawsuits.
the mill of Séguabache (current sawmill).

Religious heritage

the abbey enclosure which one guesses. During the construction of the bell-tower in 1926 one destroyed what there remained old laic abbey where the lord had a particular part giving on the chorus of the church from where he could follow the mass without being mixed with crowd.
the funerary liter of the last lord of Abitain was discovered during work of restoration of the church. It was materialized on the wall of the church in order to preserve the memory of it.
the Saint-Pierre church, of Romance origin, still keeps the armorial bearings of the abbots of Abitain (of azure with two gold stars as a chief), the burial of the last abbot and a stained glass of XVIe century, of Germanic origin. One also finds in the church (in the attic) a remainder of retable of the XVIIe century.
falls it from the priests and that from the abbot Joffre, capuchin missionary in Canada which died in Abitain in 1909.
the cemetery shelters the burial of the colonel count Pierre de Chevigné (1909-2004) deceased in Biarritz, Compagnon of the Release, character impossible to circumvent of the political life inhabitant of Béarn, large resistant and faithful of the de Gaulle general. The armorial bearings of Chevigné are engraved on its tomb with the currency " Quod of this ". It made gift of grounds and equipment to the communes of Abitain and Escos.

Environmental inheritance

Equipment

Personalities related to the commune

Pierre de Chevigné, born with Toulon in 1909 and died in Biarritz in 2004 was a Colonel and Politician French, Minister for the IV^e République and Compagnon of the Release. He was mayor of Abitain of 1935 to 1940 and 1945 to 1965.

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