Béarn
| Béarn | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|||
 |
|||
| Country | France | ||
| Time zone | CET | ||
Béarn (French pronunciation: [be.aʁn]; Gascon: Bearn or Biarn; Basque: Bearno) is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in southwest France. Along with the three Basque provinces of Soule, Lower Navarre, and Labourd, the principality of Bidache, as well as small parts of Gascony and Bigorre, it forms in the southwest the current département of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (64). The capitals of Béarn were Beneharnum (until 841), Morlaàs (starting ca. 1100), Orthez (starting second half of 13th century), then Pau (beginning in the mid 15th century).[1]
Béarn is bordered by Basque provinces Soule and Lower Navarre to the west, by Gascony (Landes and Armagnac) to the north, by Bigorre to the east, and by Spain (Aragon) to the south.
The name Béarn comes from Beneharnum, the capital city of the Venarni people, destroyed by Vikings by 840.
Today, the mainstays of the Béarn area are the petroleum business, the aerospace industry through the helicopter manufacturer Turbomeca, tourism and agriculture (much of which is corn grown for seed). Pau was the birthplace of Elf Aquitaine, which has now become a part of Total petroleum company.
In Alexandre Dumas's The Three Musketeers series, the protagonist d'Artagnan was from Béarn (he mentions having attended his father's funeral there in the second book, Twenty Years After). That d'Artagnan is usually referred to as a Gascon is neither surprising nor incorrect, as Béarn is considered a part of Gascony.
In the eastern part of the province are two small exclaves belonging to Bigorre. They are the result of how early Béarn grew to its traditional boundaries: some old lesser viscounties were added by marriage, and absorbed into Béarn: Oloron to the south/southwest ca. 1050, Montanérès in the east in 1085, and Dax in the west in 1194.[2] When Montanérès was added, five communities or parishes (Villenave-Près-Béarn, Escaunets, Séron, Gardères, and Luquet) were not part of the dowry; they remained, or became, part of Bigorre.[1] However, they were absorbed into the département to which Béarn now belongs, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, rather than following Bigorre into Hautes-Pyrénées.
Contents |
[edit] People from Béarn
- The family of Alexander Gordon Bearn
- Alejo Peyret
- André Labarrère - Former politician
- Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, Marshal of France (1763–1844), Karl XIV Johan, King of Sweden and Norway (where he was known as Karl III Johan) from 1818 to 1844
- Fabienne Carat - Singer and actress
- François Bayrou – Candidate in the 2007 French presidential elections, leader of the MoDem party
- Gaston Fébus - Gaston X of Bearn, Gaston III of Foix - Established Bearn's independence in 1347
- Gaston de Bearn - Gaston XI of Bearn, Gaston IV of Foix
- Gaston Planté – French physicist who invented the lead acid battery in 1859
- Henry IV of France – Ruled as King of France from 1589 to 1610
- Jean Bouilhou - Rugby player
- Jean Lassalle - Politician, member of MoDem party executive office
- Jean Saint-Josse - Politician
- Jeanne III of Navarre – Queen regnant of Navarre from 1555 to 1572 and mother of King Henry IV of France
- Jean-Baptiste Peyras-Loustalet - Rugby player
- Jérémy Chardy - Tennis player
- Julien Cardy – professional football player
- Louis Barthou - Former politician
- Nicolas Escudé - Former tennis player
- Nicolas Brusque - Former rugby player
- Patrice Estanguet - Slalom canoeist
- Pierre Laclède – Co-founder of St. Louis, Missouri in 1764
- Pierre Bourdieu- French sociologist
- Philippe Bernat-Salles - Former rugby player
- Cataline, aka Jean Caux or Jean-Jacques Caux, a legendary packer during several gold rushes in British Columbia, Canada, is said to have been from Béarn (among other possibilities).
- Robert Paparemborde - Former rugby player
- Titouan Lamazou - Born Antoine Lamazou, famous navigator and writer
- Tony Estanguet - Famous slalom canoeist
- Bertrand Cantat – Singer of the rock band Noir Désir
- Damien Traille - Famous rugby player
- Jean-Michel Larqué – former professional football player
- Corinne Touzet – actress
[edit] See also
- Fors de Béarn
- Laruns – Laruns is a typical Bearnese village and commune
- Pau Pyrénées Airport
[edit] References
[edit] External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Béarn |
|
|||||||
