Asson
Commune
View from Asson
Location of Asson
Asson Show map of France Asson Show map of Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Coordinates: 43°08′29″N 0°15′14″W / 43.1414°N 0.2539°W / 43.1414; -0.2539
Country	France
Region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department	Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Arrondissement	Pau
Canton	Ouzom, Gave et Rives du Neez
Intercommunality	CC Pays de Nay
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Marc Canton[1]
Area 1	83.02 km2 (32.05 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]	1,999
• Density	24/km2 (62/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	64068 /64800
Elevation	255–1,848 m (837–6,063 ft) (avg. 330 m or 1,080 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Asson (French pronunciation: [asɔ̃]) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-western France.

Asson is a large commune in the Ouzom Valley some 30 km south by south-east of Pau and 35 km east by south-east of Oloron-Sainte-Marie which almost completely surrounds the commune of Arthez-d'Asson. The south-eastern border of the commune is the border between the departments of Pyrenees-Atlantiques and Hautes-Pyrénées. Access to the commune is by the D 35 road from Igon in the east which passes through the village and continues west to Bruges-Capbis-Mifaget. The D 36 road comes from Nay in the north to join the D 35 just west of the village. The D 126 road goes south from the village to Arthez-d'Asson. The D 226 branches from the D 126 and goes east by a circuitous route to Lestelle-Betharram. The southern half of the commune is mountainous and heavily forested while the north is farmland with scattered small patches of forest.^[3]

The Pyrénées-Atlantiques Interurban Network of buses has a stop in the commune on route 810 from Lys to Pau

The river Gave de Pau (Adour basin)^[4] and its tributaries the Ouzoum^[5] and the Béez^[6] flow through the commune.

The Ouzoum is fed in Asson by the Ruisseaux of Gerse, Turonnet, de Thouet, le Goulet, d'Incamps, de Berdoulat, and the Arrieucourt which forms the eastern border of the commune (itself fed by the Ruisseau de la Fontaine Béra), and the Hèche, Hau, and Gat. Paul Raymond mentioned in the 1863 dictionary on p. 168^[7] another tributary of the Ouzoum called le Touchet which rose in Asson and Arthez-d'Asson.

The Béez is joined in the commune by the Ruisseaux of Landistou, Trubés (itself fed by the Ruisseau de Marlies), Toupiette, Arrouy, Mourté, Lacot (joined in the commune by the Ruisseau de la Sègue), Jupé, Picas, Coudé, and Soulens.

^[8]

^[3]

The commune name in béarnais is also Asson. Michel Grosclaude said that the name probably comes from the basque aitz/as ("rocky point") with the locative suffix -on, giving "place where there is a high point".^[9]

The following table details the origins of the commune name and other names in the commune.

Sources

Paul Raymond^[7] noted on p. 14 that before 1232 Asson was localised near the place called the Hermitage and that there was a Lay Abbey, vassal of the Viscounts of Béarn.

The village signed a Charter of Emancipation on 4 January 1282^[18] with the consent of Gaston VII, Viscount of Béarn.

In 1385, Asson had 57 fires and depended on the bailiwick of Nay.^[7]

Asson came under the Notary of Nay as did Angaïs, Arros, Arthez-d'Asson, Baliros, Baudreix, Bénéjacq, Beuste, Boeil, Bordères, Bosdarros, Clarac, Coarraze, Igon, Lagos, Lestelle, Mirepeix, Montaut, Nay, Pardies, and Saint-Abit.

List of Successive Mayors^[19]

The commune is part of five inter-communal structures:^[20]

• the Communauté de communes du Pays de Nay;
• the association for water and sanitation of Pays de Nay;
• the Energy association of Pyrénées-Atlantiques;
• the inter-communal association of Gave de Pau;
• the joint association for the basin of the Gave de Pau;

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Assonais in French.^[21]

The commune is part of the Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) zone of Ossau-iraty and has protected geographical indications (PGI) namely: Tarbais haricots, Tomme des Pyrénées, Duck foie gras of the South-west, and Bayonne ham.

The local language is occitan-gascon, called locally béarnais. A bilingual class offers courses in béarnais in the commune school from kindergarten to CM2.

There is a Metallic Glasshouse^[24] at Lalanne in the Asson zoo^[25] built in 1900.

The owners of the Château of Abère^[26] have been known since the 12th century.

The Church of Saint-Martin, partially dating from the 15th century,^[27] contains a Triptych of the Crucifixion^[28] from the 16th century.

Asson is a stage on the Chemin du piémont pyrénéen (or el cami deu pé de la coste), a secondary itinerary on the Way of St. James.^[29]

The Bétharram Caves

The Grottes de Bétharram (Bétharram Caves) are a series of Caves located on the border between the departments of Pyrénées-Atlantiques and Hautes-Pyrénées.

Their extent cover some of the communes of Asson and Lestelle-Bétharram in Pyrénées-Atlantiques and Saint-Pé-de-Bigorre in Hautes-Pyrénées. They can be explored on foot, by boat, or by a small train.

Asson Zoo

Covering five hectares, Asson zoo displays a zoological collection composed of endangered or unusual species in zoos.

Mountains

The following mountain peaks are found in the commune:^[8]

• The Castet-Ousset (718 metres)
• The Soum de Camlong (881 metres)
• The Céberi (891 metres)
• The Soum d’Arangou (892 metres)
• The Soum de la Bécole (947 metres)
• The Pène de la Hèche (1,326 metres)
• The Toupiettes (1,357 metres)
• The Soum de Martî-Peyras (1,464 metres)
• The Soume de Moulle (1,544 metres)
• The Peak of Monbula (1,583 metres)

Asson has two primary schools (The école du Bourg and the école du Pont Latapie).

Sports in Asson revolve around the Ladies Handball Championship of France, National 3.

• Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department

• Asson commune website
• Asson on Géoportail, National Geographic Institute (IGN) website (in French)
• Aßon on the 1750 Cassini Map