Guéthary

Guéthary
Guéthary
Location within Aquitaine region Guéthary
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Aquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes
Department	Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Arrondissement	Bayonne
Canton	Saint-Jean-de-Luz
Government
• Mayor (2001–2008)	Albert Larrousset
Area1	1 km2 (0.4 sq mi)
Population (2006)2	1,365
• Density	1,400/km2 (3,500/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	64249 / 64210
Elevation	0–73 m (0–240 ft) (avg. 40 m or 130 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Guéthary (Basque: Getaria) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. It is located in the traditional Basque province of Labourd, the town traditionally standing on the northernmost coastal linguistic boundary of the Basque language.

History

Guéthary has existed as a small fishing village since the early 12th century. It became famous for hunting whales in the 13th century. Actually, the linguist Henri Gavel put down the name of the town to the Gascon word getari, 'post for watching' (the whales), while this assumption has been disputed by current linguists, who ultimately trace the name back to Latin caetaria (via Basque), 'fish processing facility', as supported by archaeological evidence unearthed both in Guéthary and the same name Getaria from Gipuzkoa.

See also

• Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department
• The works of Maxime Real del Sarte

References

• INSEE commune file

External links

• Tourism office website
• Town council website (in French)
• GETARIA in the Bernardo Estornés Lasa - Auñamendi Encyclopedia (Euskomedia Fundazioa) (in Spanish)
• Is This The Most Beautiful Place To Retire In Europe?
• Guéthary, France: Secret Seaside