Meritein
Meritein | ||
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region | Nouvelle-Aquitaine | |
Department | Pyrénées-Atlantiques | |
Arrondissement | Oloron-Sainte-Marie | |
Canton | Le Coeur de Bearn | |
Community association | Bearn des Gaves | |
Coordinates | 43 ° 20 ′ N , 0 ° 46 ′ W | |
height | 94-269 m | |
surface | 6.90 km 2 | |
Residents | 288 (January 1, 2017) | |
Population density | 42 inhabitants / km 2 | |
Post Code | 64190 | |
INSEE code | 64381 | |
Street in Méritein |
Méritein is a French municipality with 288 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 Oloron-Sainte-Marie and the canton of Le Cœur de Béarn (until 2015: canton of Navarrenx ).
The inhabitants are called Mériteinois and Mériteinoises .
geography
Méritein is located about 25 km northwest of Oloron-Sainte-Marie in the historic province of Béarn .
The place is surrounded by the neighboring communities:
Bastanes | ||
Castetnau-Camblong | Vielleségure | |
Navarrenx |
Méritein is located in the catchment area of the Adour River on the right bank of the Gave d'Oloron . Its tributaries Ruisseau l'Arroder, Ruisseau le Lucq and Ruisseau les Barthes also cross the territory of the municipality.
history
The name of the parish is first mentioned in the scriptures in the 11th century. As a result, it experienced rapid development, not least because of its location on one of the Way of St. James to Santiago de Compostela . The pilgrims had to stop in Méritein to take a ferry across the Gave. Guillaume-Arnaud, landlord of Méritein, lifted serfdom in 1290, with the exception of the Cagots , a group of people who were discriminated against in Spain and France for unknown reasons from the 13th to well into the 19th century and were largely excluded from social life. The individual feudal duties of the residents were converted into a general tax, which was to be paid by the community for all for the lands that were cultivated by it. A fortified camp in the Middle Ages as part of a line to defend the Béarn showed the growing importance of Méritein, a village close to the Soule . In the Béarn census of 1385, 42 households were counted in Méritein and it was noted that the settlement was part of the Bailliage of Navarrenx.
After a few troubled centuries, Méritein experienced an economic boom in the 17th century with the opening of a stocking factory, which operated until the following century. In 1790 an unintentional fire devastated the village, which was then rebuilt on the remaining walls.
Toponyms and mentions of Méritein were:
- Sanctus Meritensis and Meritengs (11th century, according to Pierre de Marca's book Histoire de Béarn , p. 272 and p. 294),
- Meriteing (1205, certificates from Bérérenx ),
- Meriteng (13th century, fors de Béarn , manuscript from the 14th century),
- Sent-Johan de Meritenh (1384, notaries from Navarrenx),
- Meritain (1481, documents of the Vicomté of Béarn),
- Meritein (1750, 1793 and 1801, map from Cassini , Notice Communale or Bulletin des Lois ) and
- Méritein (1863, Dictionnaire topographique du département des Basses-Pyrénées ).
Population development
After a high of 440 inhabitants in the middle of the 19th century, the number fell to a level of around 230 during short recovery phases by the 1930s. In the 1970s and 1980s the community grew to around 320 inhabitants, but lost them again briefly and now holds a level of around 300 inhabitants.
year | 1962 | 1968 | 1975 | 1982 | 1990 | 1999 | 2006 | 2009 | 2017 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Residents | 230 | 216 | 247 | 316 | 258 | 265 | 271 | 294 | 288 |
Attractions
- Parish church dedicated to John the Baptist . It was built in 1832 in the center of the community next to the cemetery as a replacement for the earlier Romanesque church, which was felt to be too remote. A corresponding year above the entrance to the new church confirms this dating. Its three-aisled nave with a length of three bays is closed off by the bell tower above the entrance porch. The naves are separated from each other by arched arcades . The ceiling in the nave corresponds to a false barrel vault in the shape of a round arch, in the choir a false boiler vault . In 1901 a project to enlarge it was approved, which included the construction of a second chapel and a second sacristy . The following year, the church was embellished with the help of stained glass windows made by Louis Gesta, a Toulouse glass painter .
- Residence in Méritein. In the center of the municipality there is an imposing residence from the 19th century. His residential wing is framed by two pavilions , which are built higher than the central part, so that they have the character of towers. In fact, they have four floors, the middle wing three. Dormer windows provide lighting for the attic floors. The corners of the building are accentuated by white stones that stand out from the pink plaster. The garden in front of and behind the building is surrounded by a wall of rubble stones .
Economy and Infrastructure
Agriculture has traditionally been an important economic factor in the municipality, whose services are conditioned by its proximity to Navarrenx and stimulated by tourism. Méritein is located in the AOC zones of Ossau-Iraty , a traditionally produced semi-hard cheese made from sheep's milk, as well as the pig breed and the ham "Kintoa".
sport and freetime
The GR 65 long-distance hiking trail from Geneva to Roncesvalles leads through the municipality. It follows the Via Podiensis , one of the four historic St. James' paths.
traffic
Méritein is crossed by Route départementale 947 (former Route nationale 647 ) and is connected to other communes in the department by a line of the Transports 64 bus network via Orthez and Navarrenx.
Personalities
Euphémie Caroline Nicolasse Lloret, born in Méritein, married Charles Ferdinand Latrille Lorencez , a general who u. a. in the second phase of the French intervention in Mexico held command of the French troops.
Web links
- Méritein on the website of the former municipal association (French)
- "Transports 64" bus from the department (French)
- Website of the tourist office of the current association of municipalities (French)
- Website of the AOP Ossau-Iraty association (French)
- Information on the “Kintoa” ham on the Montagne Basque Tourist Office website (French)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Pyrénées-Atlantiques Gentilé ( fr ) habitants.fr. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
- ↑ Ma commune: Méritein ( fr ) Système d'Information sur l'Eau du Bassin Adour Garonne. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
- ↑ a b c Méritein ( fr ) Visites en Aquitaine. Retrieved on September 19, 2017. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ A b Paul Raymond: Dictionnaire topographique du département des Basses-Pyrénées ( fr ) In: Dictionnaire topographique de la France . Imprimerie nationale. P. 112, 1863. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
- ^ David Rumsey Historical Map Collection France 1750 ( en ) David Rumsey Map Collection: Cartography Associates. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
- ↑ a b Notice Communale Méritein ( fr ) EHESS . Retrieved September 19, 2017.
- ↑ Populations légales 2014 Commune de Méritein (64381) ( fr ) INSEE . Retrieved September 19, 2017.
- ^ Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste ( fr ) Visites en Aquitaine. Retrieved on September 19, 2017. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ église paroissiale Saint-Jean-Baptiste ( fr ) Ministry of Culture and Communication . Retrieved September 19, 2017.
- ↑ Demeure à Méritein ( fr ) Visites en Aquitaine. Retrieved on September 19, 2017. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité: Rechercher-un-produit ( fr ) Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité . Retrieved September 19, 2017.
- ↑ Caractéristiques des établissements en 2015 Commune de Méritein (64371) ( fr ) INSEE . Retrieved September 19, 2017.
- ↑ GR® 65, le chemin de Compostelle via le Puy ( fr ) Fédération française de la randonnée pédestre . Retrieved September 19, 2017.