Ahaxe-Alciette-Bascassan
Ahaxe-Alciette-Bascassan () is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwestern France. The people of the commune are known as "Ahastar". Geography. Location. Ahaxe-Alciette-Bascassan is part of "Cize/Garazi country" which was a historical province in Lower Navarre. It includes three former parishes, sometimes counted as four groups of houses in the Middle Ages and with five toponyms: Alciette, Ahaxe, Garatehegi, Ligeta, and Bascassan located at the confluence of the Laurhibar and Esteneko streams. Alciette is the parish farthest away to the northeast in the combination of the  three parishes. Ahaxe-Alciette-Bascassan is located some 6 km south-east of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and can be accessed by Highway D18 running from close to there through the heart of the commune southeast to Lecumberry. The village is not on the highway and is left onto the country road Vierge-d'Ahaxe off the D18 heading southeast. There is a country road from Aincille in the west to the village of Bascassin in the commune and there are other country roads entering from the north and the southeast. Hydrography. The commune is located in the Drainage basin  of the Adour, the commune lands are watered by the Laurhibar, a tributary of the Nive, and a tributary of that, the Esteneko stream. The Apatéko stream, a tributary of the Arzubiko stream also crosses the territory of Ahaxe-Alciette-Bascassan. Toponymy. The commune's name in Basque is "Ahatsa-Altzieta-Bazkazane". The toponym "Ahaxe" appears in the forms: Jean-Baptiste Orpustan indicates that the toponym comes from the Basque oronymic base of "(h)aitz" meaning "rock" or "height". The people of the commune are called in Basque "Ahatsar". The toponym "Alciette" appears in the forms: The Basque name for the  people of this area is "Alzietar". According to Jean-Baptiste Orpustan, "Alciette" is derived from the medieval "Alzueta" which itself comes from the Basque "alzu" meaning "place where there are abundant alder trees". The name "Bascassan" appears in the forms: Its origin is uncertain. The people of the area are called "Bazkazandar" in basque. "Ahaxachillo" is mentioned in the 1863 dictionary.) "Bastida" is also indicated by Raymond. "Errékaldéa" is mentioned with the spelling "Errecaldia" referring to the flowing stream of "Bascassan" flowing into the Laurhibar. "Curutchet" (also called "Garat") was a former fief of Ahaxe, a vassal of the Kingdom  of Navarre. Paul Raymond mentioned an "Etcheberry", a fief located in the parish of Alciette and a vassal of the Kingdom of Navarre. The name "Garatehegi" appears in the forms: Garatehegi from Basque means "summit of the high country". "Gastelua" appears with the spelling "Gastellu" in 1863. "Libiéta" is a toponym that appears in the forms: "Ligeta" is mentioned in the forms: The origin of this toponym could be the Latin "Liger" (which was equally likely to be the origin of Loire). History. The Lordship of Ahaxe, also called the "Lordship of Cize", was allied with the Viscounts of Arbéroue  in the 11th century as well as the lordships of Guiche and to the Counts of Biscay. Ahaxe and Alciette-Bascassan were reunited on 11 June 1842. Administration. List of Successive Mayors of Ahaxe-Alciette-Bascassan Inter-communality. The commune belongs to seven inter-communal structures: Economy. Economic activity is mainly agricultural. The commune is part of the zone designation of the Ossau-Iraty cheese. Culture and heritage. Languages. According to the "Map of the Seven Basque Provinces" published in 1863 by Prince Louis-Lucien Bonaparte, the Basque dialect spoken in Ahaxe-Alciette-Bascassan is eastern low Navarrese. Civil heritage . There is a "gaztelu zahar" (a prehistoric fortified complex) at a place called "Gaztalepo" (Ahaxe), located 550 metres above sea level. There is also a "lice" or a fence surrounding a fortification running at 313 metres above sea level at a place called "Gaztelua" or "Gastellia". These artifacts represent the ancient past of the commune. There are several buildings, houses, and farms in the commune that are listed as historical monuments. These are: Religious Heritage. A number of churches and sites in the commune have been classified as historical monuments. These are: Hilarri in the Saint Julien Church Cemetery Facilities . The commune has a kindergarten.