Gotein-Libarrenx

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Gotein-Libarrenx
Gotaiñe-Irabarne
Gotein-Libarrenx (France)
Gotein-Libarrenx
region Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Arrondissement Oloron-Sainte-Marie
Canton Montagne Basque
Community association Pays Basque
Coordinates 43 ° 11 ′  N , 0 ° 54 ′  W Coordinates: 43 ° 11 ′  N , 0 ° 54 ′  W
height 140-585 m
surface 11.75 km 2
Residents 477 (January 1, 2017)
Population density 41 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code 64130
INSEE code 64247
Website gotein-libarrenx.fr

Gotein - church with clocher trinitaire

Gotein-Libarrenx ( Basque : Gotaiñe-Irabarne ) is a French commune with 477 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Basque part of the Aquitaine region . The two localities only merged into one municipality in 1841.

location

The twin community Gotein-Libarrenx is located on the Saison , a tributary of the Gave d'Oloron , about 232 kilometers (driving distance) south of Bordeaux and about 95 kilometers southeast of Bayonne . The next larger towns are Mauléon-Licharre (about 4 kilometers north) or Oloron-Sainte-Marie (about 35 kilometers east).

Population development

year 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 2006
Residents 441 486 444 453 467 489

economy

Like almost everywhere in the Basque Country, fields and grazing play a dominant role in people's lives. The soils are fertile and due to the proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and the Pyrenees in the south, there is sufficient rainfall. In the past, the Basques lived on the principle of self-sufficiency, i. H. the crops from the fields and from cattle breeding were consumed within the family. The principles of the market economy, i.e. H. primarily the production for an anonymous market, only prevailed in the Basque Country in the 20th century.

history

About 700 meters from Libarrenx and about 200 meters above the village is the prehistoric high fortress Gastelugain , the age of which is estimated to be about 4000 years.

Since the Basque language was only written down in the 16th century, very little is known about the early and medieval history of the entire region and of individual places - only a few place and personal names from earlier times have survived. The Silviet , the traditional gathering of men from a certain area (here the former province of Soule ), gathered in the forest of Libarrenx in the 17th and early 18th centuries. For the year 1661 a peasant uprising because of excessive taxes is handed down ( Matalas uprising ); some of the leaders were beheaded. A few decades later (1730) the Silviet was banned.

Attractions

Gotein - Basque grave steles
  • Church of St-André and cemetery in Gotein : The church in Gotein dates from the 15th and 16th centuries in its current form. Century and has an imposing three-part gable facade ( Clocher trinitaire ), the possible meaning of which is unclear - some bring the almost equally high segments in connection with the Trinity , others see in it an architectural image of the crucifixion scene (Christ and the two thieves). A broad roofed arbor in front of the entrance to the church could once have served as a meeting place for both processions and village assemblies. The church itself has only one nave and a rectangular choir closure ; the altarpiece shows a crucifixion of the apostle Andrew . In the local cemetery there are some grave steles ( hilarri ) with the panes that are more common in the Basque Country.
  • Church of St-Jean-Baptiste in Libarrenx : The west facade of the also single-nave church of Libarrenx offers a similar view, with the difference that the three juxtaposed peaks rest on a rectangular base and are separated from this by a cornice, creating a possible symbolic Meaning is less obvious from the start. There is also a simple roofed arbor on wooden supports in front of the church portal.

Others

Web links

Commons : Gotein-Libarrenx  - collection of images, videos and audio files