Viodos-Abense-de-Bas

Viodos - Abense -de- Bas (Basque: Bildoze - Onizepea ) is a commune with 765 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2011 ) in the department of Pyrénées- Atlantiques in the French part of the Basque country in the region Aquitaine.

Location

The double municipality Viodos - Abense -de- Bas is located near the river season, just four km ( driving distance ) away to the north of the canton capital Mauléon- Licharre.

Demographics

Economy

Like most small towns in the Basque Country is the place is still very agriculturally oriented, whereby grazing is clearly in the foreground. He belongs to a limited area in which the Basque cheese Ossau -Iraty, a cheese made from sheep's milk, is produced.

History

Jacques de Bela, a chronicler of the 17th century, mentions that the inhabitants of several villages of the historic province of Soule their documented set of rights and privileges arguably kept closed preserved in the church of Viodos.

Both neighboring communities were independent of centuries but joined in 1842 to a community together.

Attractions

• The single-nave church of Viodos probably dates from the 16th century and has a - frequently encountered in the territory of the former province of Soule - bell gable ( Trinitaire Clocher ) with three peaks, but they are separated by a circumferential ledge on vanity. Behind the facade is a large belfry of wood. Like most village churches of the Basque Country also has the Church of Viodos no stone vault, but instead a wooden roof with a suspended ceiling panel. There is no semi-circular apse, but only a straight chorus circuit. Also missing is - as usual in the Basque Country - on the exterior and on the portal of any figurative or otherwise decorative jewelry.
• Also, the likewise has a single nave church of Abense has a Clocher Trinitaire with a pre-hung wooden belfry, which served as a protection of the bells from the frequent rains, but possibly also as a sound amplifier. There is no entrance on the west side; Instead you walked out of the church without apse of the north side. The wooden altarpiece in the interior of the church is a small masterpiece of peasant Baroque art of the 18th century. At the local cemetery contains some of the typical for large parts of the Basque Country grave stelae ( Hilarri ). Situated next to the church is a - rather rare in the Basque Country - medieval stone bridge.