Labourd

Labourd (French), Lapurdi (Basque ) or Labord ( Gascon ) is one of the three historical provinces of the French Basque country - one of seven of the total Basque Country

The province's name goes back to the old Latin name Lapurdum its largest city of Bayonne. Today it is part of the arrondissement of Bayonne in the French department of Pyrénées- Atlantiques. The old capital of the province, which now has no official character, Ustaritz is.

Geography

Labourd bordered to the north by the Gascony, in the south to the Spanish provinces of Gipuzkoa and Navarre, in the east on Lower Navarre, and on the west by the Gulf of Biscay. The area is 858 km ² of Labourd, the population is 205,000. More than half of the population lives in the metropolitan area BAB Bayonne - Anglet - Biarritz.

Climate and Relief

Labourd has a pronounced maritime climate with average temperatures 4-12 ° C in winter and 16-20 ° C in summer. The landscape is hilly, the highest elevations are in the south (western end of the Pyrenees). The highest mountain is the Larrun (French Rhune ) with 905 m.

The province is traversed by the rivers Adour, Nive, Nivelle and Bidasoa.

Languages

In addition to the official language, French is spoken in Basque and Gascon Labourd. Approximately 26 % of the population are Baskischsprecher. However, in the greater Bayonne -Anglet -Biarritz dominate (BAB ) only 17.1% Basque, 44% in rural areas, however, the historic province. Gaskognische dialects are spoken in Bayonne and north of it, along the river Adour.

History

Labourd was one of the historical province of France, which was part of the 1453 Domaine royal ( crown domain ).