Ascain in 30 seconds
About 4,700 inhabitants (4,658 in 2023) on 1,927 hectares, 6 km from the ocean, at the foot of La Rhune (Larrun). The Nivelle river flows through the municipality. Its name is thought to come from Haitz gain, ‘the rocky height’. Its inhabitants are the Azkaindars, spread across seven neighbourhoods: Aldagaray, Aranea, Mendixka, Morzelay, Plaza, Portua and Serres.
A little history
1050: the church is mentioned in the cartulary of Bayonne.
1598: the Parlement of Bordeaux (the regional high court, parlement) recognised Ascain’s status as a community.
1609: during the witch hunt led by Pierre de Lancre, the village priest, Argibel, was burnt at the stake.
1813: Napoleon’s troops fell back to the heights of La Rhune, fortified by Marshal Soult; the Biskarzun and Esnaur redoubts are a reminder of this.
Until 1920: the Portua neighbourhood was a small port on the Nivelle; flat-bottomed barges (gabares) carried timber, stone from La Rhune and ore down to the bay of Saint-Jean-de-Luz (Donibane Lohizune).
1947: General de Gaulle visited Ascain and paid tribute to the village’s part in the Resistance.
What to see
Ascain’s fronton
The fronton (the wall used for pelota) on the square was built in 1863 and renovated in 1932, at the foot of the Hôtel de la Rhune. Pierre Loti stayed at the hotel and wrote Ramuntcho there, a novel whose hero is a pelota player. The pelotari Jean-Pierre Borda, known as Otharré (born in Ascain in 1866), a chistera player and the hotel’s owner, was his friend and inspired one of the novel’s characters. Ascain also vies with Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle (Senpere) for the claim to have invented the chistera.
The village also has the Chourio fronton (1932) and the Laduche trinquet (indoor pelota court, 1959).
The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption
The église Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption was enlarged in the 16th–17th centuries and inaugurated under Louis XIII in 1626. Its square bell tower is 22 metres tall. Inside: wooden galleries on three levels, a walnut pulpit from 1731, a gilded Baroque altarpiece, trompe-l'œil painted ceilings and an organ from 1987. It holds a replica of the Virgin of Longchamp (14th century), the original of which is in the Musée de Cluny in Paris. Jacques Chaban-Delmas (1915–2000) is buried in the cemetery next door.
The ‘Roman’ bridge
Despite its name, it dates from the 15th century and allowed pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago to cross the Nivelle. Three arches of unequal height carry a humpbacked roadway; it has been a listed historic monument (monument historique) since 1925 and was restored after the floods of 1983 and 1994.
Erroen Etxea
A 1930s house in the style of a Mexican pueblo, built for the American film set designer Ferdinand Earle, and given protected status in 2000.
Cromlechs and redoubts
Up on the heights: the nine cromlechs of Aïra Harri (a historic monument since 1956) and the Napoleonic redoubts of Biskarzun and Esnaur (protected in 1992).
The Col de Saint-Ignace
About 4 km east of the village, in the neighbouring municipality of Sare (Sara), this pass is the departure point of the little La Rhune train (petit train de la Rhune). A railway line through the pass operated between 1924 and 1937.
La Rhune (from Ascain)
The summit can be reached on foot from Ascain as well as from Sare. See the complete guide to La Rhune.
Where to eat
Specialities
- Ossau-Iraty cheese, PDO (AOP) — sheep’s milk
- Piperade and axoa — the classics
Festivals and events
- Village festival (fêtes): mid-August
- Pastore Lore: in October
Getting there
- Car: D918 from Saint-Jean-de-Luz
One-day itinerary
- Morning: climb La Rhune (on foot, or by train from the Col de Saint-Ignace)
- Afternoon: fronton + church
My favourite photo
Ascain’s fronton with La Rhune in the background, late in the afternoon, when the low light grazes the fronton wall and lights up the peaks. Or the Nivelle valley from the heights of La Rhune.
Sources
- Ascain town hall — Discover Ascain (in French)
- Pays Basque tourist office — Ascain (in French)
- Ascain — Wikipedia (fr) and Wikipedia (en)
Ongi jin Azkainera — Welcome to Ascain.