Banca (Pyrénées-Atlantiques)

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Banca
Banka
Banca (France)
Banca
region Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Arrondissement Bayonne
Canton Montagne Basque
Community association Pays Basque
Coordinates 43 ° 8 ′  N , 1 ° 22 ′  W Coordinates: 43 ° 8 ′  N , 1 ° 22 ′  W
height 231–1,275 m
surface 49.60 km 2
Residents 346 (January 1, 2017)
Population density 7 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code 64430
INSEE code 64092
Website www.garazibaigorri.com/fr/le-territoire/banca.html

View of Banca

Banca ( Basque Banka ) is a French municipality with 346 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques in the region Nouvelle-Aquitaine (before 2016: Aquitaine ). The municipality belongs to the Arrondissement of Bayonne and the canton of Montagne Basque (until 2015: canton of Saint-Étienne-de-Baïgorry ).

The residents are called bankars .

geography

View in south direction on the summit of Argarai (1,229 m) on the border with Spain

Banca is about 60 km south of Bayonne in the Vallée des Aldudes in the French part of the Basque Country . The municipality borders on the Autonomous Community of Navarre in northern Spain to the west, east and south . The highest point in the municipality is near the summit of Laurigna (1278 m).

The place is surrounded by the neighboring communities:

Saint-Etienne-de-Baïgorry Anhaux
Lasse
Baztan (Spain) Neighboring communities Valcarlos (Spain)
Aldudes
Urepel 		Erro (Spain)

Banca is located in the catchment area of ​​the Adour River . The Nive des Aldudes , a tributary of the Nive , crosses the municipality with its numerous tributaries:

  • Belechiko erhka
  • Antchignoko erhka
  • Latcharrako erhka,
  • Bihuntzeguiko erhka
  • Hairako erhka, also called hyra, and its tributaries
    • Legarzuko erhka and
    • Zaminarteko Ereka.

history

People of prehistory have left traces in the form of Cromlechs on the heights of the Ellorrieta (831 m), northwest of the center, and the Mehatze (1,133 m), south of the center. Mining and metallurgy accompanied the birth of the community. In 1747 a plant for smelting the extracted copper ore was built and soon employed several hundred workers. From 1790 the work was called "La Fonderie". In 1823 a blast furnace was built to smelt iron ore from neighboring communities. Nevertheless, mining and metal processing gradually dwindled. The remote location of the place hampered trade and transport and enough fuel could no longer be obtained from the neighboring forests. In 1864 the mine at Banca was finally closed.

For a long time the village was considered a hamlet called La Fonderie of Saint-Étienne-de-Baïgorry and is entered in this toponym on the map of Cassini in 1750, but became independent in 1793 and took its current name in 1874. The origin of the name is not certain, but could come from the Basque word banca for iron forge.

On December 11, 1973, the Basque underground movement Iparretarrak carried out its first attack in Banca .

Population development

After the peak in the middle of the 19th century with over 1,400 inhabitants, the number has dropped to around a quarter due to the decline in mining.

year 1962 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 2006 2009 2017
Residents 672 634 524 450 426 373 351 336 346
From 1962 official figures excluding residents with a second residence
Sources: EHESS / Cassini until 1999, INSEE from 2006

Attractions

Saint-Pierre local church
Former blast furnace
  • The church of Banca, dedicated to the apostle Simon Peter , was built around 1830. The building was rebuilt as early as 1858, as evidenced by an inscription above the entrance, and restored during the 20th century. The entrance is dominated by a two-story bell tower with a slate-roofed polygonal spire . Inside the single-nave building, there are two levels of galleries , as can be found in all churches in the Basque Country. These are traditionally reserved for men during a fair . Access to the gallery is provided by two stairs, one inside and one outside. The large painting in the middle of the altarpiece was made around 1860 and shows Jesus Christ with his right hand raised. It is flanked by two pairs of gilded columns with plant ornaments. In the niches between the pillars there is a statue of Joseph of Nazareth with baby Jesus on the left and Mary on the right.
  • Hilarri . Several of these disc-shaped funerary stelae, which were very popular in the Basque Country between the 16th and 18th centuries, can be found in the Banca cemetery. These traditional steles are carved from a stone, some with vegetal, religious or sun ornaments, and were placed on the head of the dead against the rising sun. The name of the deceased always remains anonymous.
  • Copper mine. The mining of copper began in 1747. A smelter, Fonderie , was built, one of the largest in France at the time and occupied by 400 workers in 1789. After a brief shutdown, the plant was converted into a plant for smelting iron ore in 1802. The hammer and the fan for the furnace were operated by water power. A blast furnace was built in 1823 and is still operational today. In 1864 the plant was closed due to the remote location of the place and because not enough fuel could be obtained from the neighboring forests.

Economy and Infrastructure

Ossau-Iraty cheese

After the closure of the mine and the ironworks, the focus is on agriculture. This is based on the breeding of sheep from a local dairy sheep breed (Manech Tête Rousse, Manech Tête Noire), the Blonde d'Aquitaine cattle breed and the Basque pig. A fish farm is located on the outskirts. Three hydropower plants use the current of the Nive to generate electricity. The village houses a facility for the care of 30 handicapped children.

Banca is located in the AOC areas of Ossau-Iraty , a traditionally made semi-hard cheese made from sheep's milk, as well as the pig breed and the ham "Kintoa".

Active workplaces by industry on December 31, 2014
Total = 31

traffic

Banca is crossed by Route départementale 948 (former Route nationale 648 ).

Web links

Commons : Banca  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Lieux - toponymie: Banka (Baigorri-Ortzaize) ( fr ) Royal Academy of the Basque Language . Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  2. ↑ Pyrénées-Atlantiques Gentile ( fr ) habitant.fr. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  3. ↑ a b géoportail ( fr ) Institut national de l'information geographique et forestière . Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  4. ↑ Ma commune: Banca ( fr ) Système d'Information sur l'Eau du Bassin Adour Garonne. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  5. ↑ a b BANCA: La commune ( fr ) Communauté d'agglomération du Pays Basque . Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  6. ↑ Regional Council of Aquitaine: Banca ( fr ) Visites en Aquitaine. Archived from the original on February 19, 2017. Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved February 18, 2017. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / visites.aquitaine.fr
  7. ^ France 1750 ( en ) David Rumsey Map Collection: Cartography Associates. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  8. ^ Jean-Baptiste Orpustan: Nouvelle toponymie basque ( fr ) University of Bordeaux . P. 165. 2006. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  9. ↑ L'histoire sanglante d'Iparretarrak ( fr ) Liberation . February 15, 2007. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  10. ↑ Notice Communale Banca ( fr ) EHESS . Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  11. ↑ Populations légales 2006 Commune de Banca (64092) ( fr ) INSEE . Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  12. ↑ Populations légales 2014 Commune de Banca (64092) ( fr ) INSEE . Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  13. ↑ Conseil régional d'Aquitaine: Église Saint-Pierre ( fr ) Visites en Aquitaine. Archived from the original on February 19, 2017. Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved February 18, 2017. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / visites.aquitaine.fr
  14. ^ Conseil régional d'Aquitaine: Retable de l'église Saint-Pierre ( fr ) Visites en Aquitaine. Archived from the original on February 19, 2017. Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved February 18, 2017. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / visites.aquitaine.fr
  15. ↑ Conseil régional d'Aquitaine: Cimetière à stèles discoïdales de Banca ( fr ) Visites en Aquitaine. Archived from the original on February 19, 2017. Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved February 18, 2017. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / visites.aquitaine.fr
  16. ^ Mine de Banca ( fr ) Ministry of Culture and Communication . Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  17. ↑ List des produits par commune ( fr ) Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité . Archived from the original on February 5, 2017. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved February 18, 2017. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www2.inao.gouv.fr
  18. ↑ Caractéristiques des établissements en 2014 Commune de Banca (64092) ( fr ) INSEE . Archived from the original on February 19, 2017. Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved February 18, 2017. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.insee.fr