Aressy

Aressy
Aressy
Commune
	The Lagoin river at the church
	Location of Aressy
	Aressy Location within France Aressy Location within Nouvelle-Aquitaine
	Coordinates: 43°16′38″N 0°19′23″W / 43.2772°N 0.3231°W
Country	France
Region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department	Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Arrondissement	Pau
Canton	Ouzom, Gave et Rives du Neez
Intercommunality	CA Pau Béarn Pyrénées
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Claude Ferrato
Area 1	2.15 km2 (0.83 sq mi)
Elevation	241 m (791 ft)
Highest elevation	244 m (801 ft)
Lowest elevation	179 m (587 ft)
Population (2023)	881
• Density	410/km2 (1,060/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	64041 /64320
	1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Aressy (French pronunciation: [aʁɛsi]; Occitan: Arèssi) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-western France. It is part of the urban area (unité urbaine) of Pau.

Geography

Aressy is located four kilometres south-east of Pau within the urban area of Pau. Access to the commune is by the D937 road from Pau which continues south-east to Meillon.

The Idelis bus route P23 stops at Aressy Clinic at Pôle Bosquet. The commune is also served by Route 835 of the Interurban network of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (Transports 64) between Bénéjacq and Pau, and by Route 805 between Lourdes and Pau.

Much of the commune is residential with some farmland and a large lake in the south.

The Gave de Pau flows north-west through the western part of the commune, and the Lagoin flows through the centre of the commune before joining the Gave de Pau just north-west of the commune.

Places and Hamlets

Las Costes
Labielle
Marque
Matachot
Le Saligat

Neighbouring communes and villages

Toponymy

Its name in Bearnais is Aressi (according to the classical norm of Occitan).

Brigitte Jobbé-Duval indicates that the place name could come from the Basque, meaning "place where there are rocks" which would confirm the hypothesis by Michel Grosclaude of ar- ("stone or rock") with the Basque locative suffix -etz transformed into -esse.

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

Name	Spelling	Date	Source	Page	Origin	Description
Aressy	Aressa	1010	Jobbé			Village
	Aressa	1101	Raymond	9	Lescar
	Aresi	12th century	Raymond	9	Lescar
	Arecii	1376	Raymond	9	Military
	Eressi	1385	Raymond	9	Census
	Arecii	1538	Raymond	9	Reformation
	Arressii	1546	Raymond	9	Reformation
	Aressy	1750	Cassini
	Arressy	1793	Ldh/EHESS/Cassini

Le Junca	Le Junca	1863	Raymond	86		Place

Les Pelades	Les Pelades	1863	Raymond	133		Place

Le Saliga	Le Saliga	1863	Raymond	133		Moor

Le Tuquet	Le Tuquet	1863	Raymond	169		Wood

Sources:

Jobbé: Brigitte Jobbé-Duval, Dictionary of place names - Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Raymond: Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, 1863, on the page numbers indicated in the table. (in French)
Grosclaude: Toponymic Dictionary of communes, Béarn, 2006 (in French)
Cassini: Cassini Map from 1750
Ldh/EHESS/Cassini: Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Aressy, EHESS (in French).

Origins:

Lescar: Cartulary of Lescar
Military: Military Inspection of Béarn
Census: Census of Béarn
Reformation: Reformation of Béarn

History

Paul Raymond noted on page 9 of his dictionary that the commune had a Lay Abbey, vassal of the Viscounts of Béarn. In 1385, Aressy had nine fires and depended on the bailiwick of Pau.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

From	To	Name	Party
1995	2001	Monique Lanusse-Cazalé
2001	2026	Claude Ferrato	MoDem

Inter-communality

Aressy is part of nine inter-communal structures:

the Public agency of local management;
the Communauté d'agglomération Pau Béarn Pyrénées;
the AEP association for the Jurançon region;
the defense against floods association for the Lagoin catchment area;
the energy association of Pyrénées-Atlantiques;
the inter-communal association for the Narcastet leisure centre;
the inter-communal association for defense against flooding of the Gave de Pau;
the inter-communal association for the construction and operation of the CES of Bizanos;
the Joint association for urban transport Pau - Porte des Pyrenees

Demography

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Arésyiens or Arésyiennes in French.

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1793	480	—
1821	230	−2.59%
1846	314	+1.25%
1872	360	+0.53%
1901	346	−0.14%
1926	357	+0.13%
1946	416	+0.77%
1962	399	−0.26%
1968	476	+2.98%

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1975	601	+3.39%
1982	578	−0.56%
1990	546	−0.71%
1999	543	−0.06%
2007	571	+0.63%
2012	638	+2.24%
2017	712	+2.22%
2023	881	+3.61%

Source: EHESS and INSEE

Economy

The commune is part of the Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) zone designation of Ossau-iraty.

Culture and Heritage

Religious heritage

The Parish Church of Saint Denys (1874) is registered as an historical monument.

References

↑ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
↑ "Populations de référence 2023" (in French). National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 18 December 2025.
↑ Commune d'Aressy (64041), INSEE
↑ Google Maps
1 2 3 Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, Paul Raymond, Imprimerie nationale, 1863, Digitised from Lyon Public Library 15 June 2011 (in French)
1 2 Brigitte Jobbé-Duval, Dictionary of place names - Pyrénées-Atlantiques, 2009, Archives and Culture, ISBN 978-2-35077-151-9 (in French)
1 2 Michel Grosclaude, Toponymic Dictionary of communes, Béarn, Edicions reclams & Édition Cairn - 2006, 416 pages, ISBN 2-35068-005-3 (in French)
↑ Cassini Map 1750 – Aressy
↑ Cartulary of the Bishop of Lescar, published in the proofs of the History of Béarn by Pierre de Marca (in French)
↑ Manuscript from 1376 in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
↑ Manuscript from the 14th century - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
↑ Manuscript from the 16th to 18th centuries - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)
↑ List of Mayors of France
↑ Pyrénées-Atlantiques, habitants.fr
↑ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Aressy, EHESS (in French).
↑ Population municipale entre 1968 et 2023, INSEE
↑ Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA64000643 Parish Church of Saint Denys (in French)

External links

Areßy on the 1750 Cassini Map

[1] "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.

[2] "Populations de référence 2023" (in French). National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 18 December 2025.

[3] Commune d'Aressy (64041), INSEE

[Google-4] Google Maps

[Raymond-5] 1 2 3 Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, Paul Raymond, Imprimerie nationale, 1863, Digitised from Lyon Public Library 15 June 2011 (in French)

[Jobbé-6] 1 2 Brigitte Jobbé-Duval, Dictionary of place names - Pyrénées-Atlantiques, 2009, Archives and Culture, ISBN 978-2-35077-151-9 (in French)

[Grosclaude-7] 1 2 Michel Grosclaude, Toponymic Dictionary of communes, Béarn, Edicions reclams & Édition Cairn - 2006, 416 pages, ISBN 2-35068-005-3 (in French)

[Cassini-8] Cassini Map 1750 – Aressy

[Lescar-9] Cartulary of the Bishop of Lescar, published in the proofs of the History of Béarn by Pierre de Marca (in French)

[Montre_militaire-10] Manuscript from 1376 in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)

[censier-11] Manuscript from the 14th century - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)

[Réformation_de_Béarn-12] Manuscript from the 16th to 18th centuries - Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (in French)

[13] List of Mayors of France

[14] Pyrénées-Atlantiques, habitants.fr

[ehess-15] Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Aressy, EHESS (in French).

[pophist-16] Population municipale entre 1968 et 2023, INSEE

[17] Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA64000643 Parish Church of Saint Denys (in French)