Navarrenx

Navarrenx is a town and commune in the French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques and the region of New Aquitaine. The demonym is Navarre. Since 2014, the town has been in the association Les Plus Beaux Villages de France. It is located in the cultural area of Béarn. Etymology The name Navarrenx comes from sponda Navarrensi, meaning the "bedstead of Navarre" or "House of the Navarreses". According to linguist Michel Grosclaude it may have meant the edge of the Navarre. There may be kinship between the Basque radical Navarre and Navarrenx, but Basque philologists hesitate to link the several etymologies. The first written mention of the name of the city lies in a charter of 1078. Navarrenx (Navarrensis) is mentioned five times. History The earliest history of the site dates to the first century. Navarrenx is reported in a cartulary of the eleventh century under the name of Sponda-Navarrensis.