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{{Short description|Subprefecture of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox French commune
|name                   = Bayonne
|native name            = {{native name|eu|Baiona}}
|commune status         = [[Subprefectures in France|Subprefecture]] and [[Communes of France|commune]]
|image coat of arms     = Blason Bayonne.svg
|image                  = Bayonne-Centre historique-20130811.jpg
|caption                = View of the historic centre
|arrondissement         = Bayonne
|canton                 = [[Canton of Bayonne-1|Bayonne-1]], [[Canton of Bayonne-2|2]] and [[Canton of Bayonne-3|3]]
|INSEE                  = 64102
|postal code            = 64100
|mayor                  = Jean-René Etchegaray<ref>{{cite web|title=Répertoire national des élus: les maires|url=https://www.data.gouv.fr/fr/datasets/r/2876a346-d50c-4911-934e-19ee07b0e503|website=data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises|date=2 December 2020|language=fr}}</ref>
|term                   = 2020&ndash;2026
|party                  = [[Union of Democrats and Independents|UDI]]
|intercommunality       = [[Communauté d'agglomération du Pays Basque|CA Pays Basque]]
|coordinates            = {{coord|43.49|-1.48|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|elevation m            = 4
|elevation min m        = 0
|elevation max m        = 55
|area km2               = 21.68
|population             = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_total}}
|population date        = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_as_of}}
|population footnotes   = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_footnotes}}
|image flag=Bayonne flag.svg}}

'''Bayonne''' ({{IPA|fr|bajɔn|lang|fr-Bayonne.ogg}} in [[Basque language|Basque]] and [[Gascon dialect|Gascon]] Baiona)<ref>{{langx|eu|Baiona}} {{IPA|eu|bai.ona|}}; {{langx|oc|label=[[Gascon dialect|Gascon]]|Baiona}} {{IPA|oc|baˈjunɔ|}}; {{langx|es|Bayona}}</ref> is a city in southwestern [[France]] near the [[France–Spain border|Spanish border]]. It is a [[communes of France|commune]] and one of two [[subprefectures in France|subprefectures]] in the [[Pyrénées-Atlantiques]] [[departments of France|department]], in the [[Nouvelle-Aquitaine]] [[regions of France|region]] also known as [[French Basque Country]].<ref>[https://www.insee.fr/fr/metadonnees/geographie/commune/64102-bayonne INSEE commune file].</ref>

Bayonne is located at the confluence of the [[Nive]] and [[Adour]] Rivers, in the northern part of the [[cultural region]] of the [[Basque Country (greater region)|Basque Country]]. It is the seat of the [[Communauté d'agglomération du Pays Basque]] which roughly encompasses the western half of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, including the coastal city of [[Biarritz]]. The area also constitutes the southern part of [[Gascony]], where the [[Aquitaine Basin]] joins the beginning of the [[Pre-Pyrenees]].

Together with nearby [[Anglet]], [[Biarritz]], [[Saint-Jean-de-Luz]] and several smaller communes, Bayonne forms an urban area with 273,137 inhabitants in the 2018 census, 51,411 of whom lived in the commune of Bayonne proper.<ref name=INSEE>[https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/1405599?geo=AAV2020-047+COM-64102 Comparateur de territoire: Commune de Bayonne (64102), Aire d'attraction des villes 2020 de Bayonne (partie française) (047)], INSEE {{in lang|fr}}</ref> It is also a part of [[Basque Eurocity Bayonne-San Sebastián]].

The site on the left bank of the Nive and the Adour was probably occupied before [[ancient times]]; a fortified enclosure was attested to in the 1st century, while the [[Tarbelli]] occupied the territory.{{Citation needed|date=January 2025}} Archaeological studies have confirmed the presence of a Roman [[Castra|castrum]] in the 4th and 5th centuries.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date= |title=Bayonne |url=https://sites-vauban.org/en/resources/vauban-site/bayonne |website=Network of Vauban's major sites |location=Besançon |publisher=Réseau des sites majeurs de Vauban |access-date=July 7, 2025}}</ref>

In 1023, Bayonne was the capital of [[Labourd]]. In the 12th century, it extended to the confluence of the Nive River and beyond. During that time, its first bridge spanning the Adour was built. The city came under English control in 1152 through the marriage of [[Eleanor of Aquitaine]]; it became important commercially and, to a lesser degree, militarily thanks to maritime trade.{{Citation needed|reason=Whom did Eleanor of Aquitaine marry? Who was/were Bayonne's maritime trading partner(s)?|date=January 2025}} In 1177, [[Richard I of England|Richard the Lion Heart]] of England took control of the city, separating it from the Viscount of Labourd.<ref>{{cite book | last=Bartlett | first=W.B. | title=Richard the Lionheart: The Crusader King of England | publisher=Amberley Publishing | year=2018 | isbn=978-1-4456-6271-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bq2IDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT70 | access-date=23 September 2024 | page=70}}</ref>

In 1451, the city was taken by the Crown of France after the [[Hundred Years' War]]. The loss of trade with the English was followed by the river gradually filling with silt and becoming impassable to ships. As the city developed to the north, its position was weakened compared to earlier times. The district of Saint-Esprit developed initially from settlement by [[Sephardic Jews|Sephardic Jewish]] refugees fleeing the [[Spain|Spanish]] expulsions dictated by the [[Alhambra Decree]]. This community brought skill in chocolate making, and Bayonne gained a reputation for chocolate.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bayonne |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/bayonne |access-date=2024-01-15 |website=www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org}}</ref>

The course of the Adour was changed in 1578 by dredging under the direction of [[Louis de Foix]], and the river returned to its former mouth. Bayonne flourished after regaining the maritime trade that it had lost for more than a hundred years. In the 17th century, the city was fortified by [[Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban|Vauban]], whose works were followed as models of defense for 100 years.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}} In 1814, Bayonne and its surroundings were the scene of fighting between the Napoleonic troops and the Spanish-Anglo-Portuguese coalition led by the [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Duke of Wellington]]. It was the last time the city was under [[Battle of Bayonne|siege]].{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

In 1951, the Lacq gas field was discovered in the region;<ref name="u116">{{cite web | title=History, Geography, & Points of Interest: Lacq, France | website=Encyclopedia Britannica | date=1998-07-20 | url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Lacq | access-date=2024-07-03}}</ref> most of its extracted oil and sulphur are shipped from the port of Bayonne.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.2307/142532|jstor=142532 |last1=Weigend |first1=Guido G. |title=The Outlook for the Gas and Oil Industry of Southwest France |journal=Economic Geography |date=1953 |volume=29 |issue=4 |pages=307–319 }}</ref> During the second half of the 20th century, many housing estates were built, forming new districts on the periphery. The city developed to form a conurbation with [[Anglet]] and [[Biarritz]]; the agglomeration became the heart of a vast Basque-Landes urban area.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

In 2014, Bayonne was a commune with more than 45,000 inhabitants, the heart of the urban area of Bayonne and of the ''Agglomeration Côte Basque-Adour''. This includes [[Anglet]] and [[Biarritz]]. It is an important part of the Basque ''Bayonne-San Sebastián Eurocity'' and it plays the role of economic capital of the Adour basin. Modern industries—metallurgy and chemicals—have been established to take advantage of procurement opportunities and sea shipments through the harbour. Business services today represent the largest source of employment. Bayonne is also a cultural capital, a city with strong Basque and Gascon influences, and a rich historical past. Its heritage is expressed in its architecture, the diversity of collections in museums, its gastronomic specialties, and traditional events such as the noted [[Fêtes de Bayonne]].

The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Bayonnais'' or ''Bayonnaises''.<ref>[http://www.habitants.fr/pyrenees-atlantiques-64 Inhabitants of Pyrénées-Atlantiques] {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

==Toponymy==
===Etymology===
While the modern [[Basque language|Basque]] spelling is ''Baiona'' and the same in [[Gascon language|Gascon]] [[Occitan language|Occitan]],<ref name="Toponimia (leku-izenak)">[http://www.euskaltzaindia.net/index.php?option=com_eoda&view=toponimia&Itemid=471&nonkodea=4.1&lang=fr ''Euskaltzaindia''], Academy of the Basque language, consulted on 5 August 2014 {{in lang|fr}}</ref><ref name="AES">[https://aunamendi.eusko-ikaskuntza.eus/en/baiona/ar-6137/ Baiona], [[Auñamendi Encyclopedia|Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia]] {{in lang|es}}</ref> "the name ''Bayonne'' poses a number of problems both historical and linguistic which have still not been clarified".<ref name="Iglesias">Hector Iglesias, [http://www.ikerketak.com/louvrage-dhector-iglesias-au-format-pdf.php ''Names of Places and people in Bayonne, Anglet and Biarritz in the 18th century''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402132340/http://www.ikerketak.com/louvrage-dhector-iglesias-au-format-pdf.php |date=2 April 2015 }}, éditions Elkar, Donostia-Saint-Sébastien, 2000, consulted on 25 July 2014, {{ISBN|2-913156-32-0}}, p. 34 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> There are different interpretations of its meaning.

The termination ''-onne'' in ''Bayonne'' can come from many in hydronyms ''-onne'' or toponyms derived from that. In certain cases the element ''-onne'' follows an Indo-European theme: ''*ud-r/n'' (Greek ''húdōr'' giving hydro, [[Gothic language|Gothic]] ''watt'' meaning "water") hence ''*udnā'' meaning "water" giving ''unna'' then ''onno'' in the glossary of [[Vienna|Vienne]].<ref>Xavier Delamarre, ''Dictionary of the Gallic language. A linguistic approach to continental old Celtic'', éditions Errance, Paris, 2003, {{ISBN|2-87772-237-6}}, p. 48 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> ''Unna'' therefore would refer to the Adour. This toponymic type evoking a river traversing a locality is common. The appellative ''unna'' seems to be found in the name of the [[Garonne]] (''Garunna'' 1st century; ''Garonna'' 4th century). However, it is possible to see a pre-Celtic suffix ''-ona'' in the name of the [[Charente (river)|Charente]] (''Karantona'' in 875) or the [[Charentonne]] (''Carentona'' in 1050).<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=rsNpi7IVulEC&dq=%22carentona%22&pg=PA34 ''General Toponymy of France''], Ernest Nègre, 28 July 2014 {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

It could also be an augmentative [[Gascon language|Gascon]] from the original [[Latin]] radical ''Baia-'' with the suffix ''-ona'' in the sense of "vast expanse of water" or a name derived from the Basque ''bai'' meaning "river" and ''ona'' meaning "good", hence "good river".

The proposal by Eugene Goyheneche repeated by Manex Goyhenetche and supported by Jean-Baptiste Orpustan is ''bai una'', "the place of the river" or ''bai ona'' "hill by the river"—''Ibai'' means "river" in Basque and ''muinoa'' means "hill".

"It has perhaps been lost from sight that many urban place names in France, from north to south, came from the element ''Bay-'' or ''Bayon-'' such as: [[Bayons]], [[Bayonville]], [[Bayonvillers]] and pose the unusual problem of whether they are Basque or Gascon" adds Pierre Hourmat.<ref group="PiH" name="p3">p. 3.</ref> However, the most ancient form of Bayonne: ''Baiona'', clearly indicates a feminine or a theme of ''-a'' whereas this is not the case for Béon or Bayon. In addition, the ''Bayon-'' in Bayonville or Bayonvillers in northern France is clearly the personal Germanic name ''Baio''.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=jbpVLN1tRNoC&dq=Bayonville%20ernest%20n7gre&pg=PA926 ''General Toponymy of France''], Ernest Nègre, 28 July 2014 {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

===Old attestations===
The names of the Basque province of [[Labourd]] and the locality of Bayonne have been attested from an early period with the place name ''Bayonne'' appearing in the Latin form ''Lapurdum'' after a period during which the two names could in turn designate a Viscounty or Bishopric.<ref name="Orpustan">Jean-Baptiste Orpustan, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Ie-LeqGXat8C ''New Basque Toponymy''], Presses universitaires de Bordeaux, 2006, {{ISBN|2 86781 396 4}} p. 19, 26 {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

''Labourd'' and ''Bayonne'' were synonymous and used interchangeably until the 12th century before being differentiated: Labord for the province and Bayonne for the city.<ref name="Orpustan" /> The attribution of Bayonne as ''Civitas Boatium'', a place mentioned in the [[Antonine Itinerary]] and by Paul Raymond in his 1863 dictionary, has been abandoned. The city of the ''Boïates'' may possibly be [[La Teste-de-Buch]] but is certainly not Bayonne.<ref group="Note">Achille Luchaire, ''Annals of the Faculty of Letters of Bordeaux (1879)'', note 12 and 24, regarding the ''Notitia Provinciarum'' mentioning the ''civitas Boatium'' (var. ''Boasium, Bohatium, Boaccensium, Boacium'') "whose identification with Bayonne, proposed by Scaliger and Valois, is absolutely inadmissible (see Desjardins, Gaule rom., II, 874, note 1)" {{in lang|fr}}.</ref>

The following table details the origins of Labord, Bayonne, and other names in the commune.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Name !! Spelling !! Date !! Source !! Page !! Origin !! Description
|-
| '''Bayonne''' || Tribunus cohortis Novempopulanoe: Lapurdo || || Raymond ||{{center|24}}|| Notary of Provinces || City
|-
| || In provincia Novempopulana tribunus cohortis Novempopulanæ in Lapurdo || fifth century || Goyheneche ||{{center|85–92}}|| ||
|-
| || Lapurdum || sixth century || Raymond ||{{center|24}}|| [[Gregory of Tours]] ||
|-
| || Episcopatus Lasburdensis || 983 || Raymond ||{{center|88}}|| Chapter ||
|-
| || Sancta Maria Lasburdensis || 983 || Raymond ||{{center|24}}|| Chapter ||
|-
| || Sancta Maria Baionensis || 1105 || Raymond ||{{center|24}}|| Cartulary ||
|-
| || civitas de Baiona || 1140 || Raymond ||{{center|24}}|| Cartulary ||
|-
| || Baione || 13th century || Raymond ||{{center|24}}|| Duchesne ||
|-
| || Bayona || 1248 || Raymond ||{{center|24}}|| Camara ||
|-
| || Bayone || 1253 || Raymond ||{{center|24}}|| Camara ||
|-
| || Baionne || 14th century || Guiart || || ||
|-
| || Bayonne || 1750 || Cassini 1750 || || ||
|-
| || Bayonne || 1790 || Cassini 1790 || || ||
|-
| || Baiona || 19th century || Lhande || || ||
|-
| || || || || || ||
|-
| '''Balichon''' || Molendinum de la Mufala, Balaisson || 1198 || Raymond ||{{center|24}}|| Cartulary || Old mill
|-
| || Balaichon || 1259 || Raymond ||{{center|24}}|| Cartulary ||
|-
| || Molin de le Muhale || 1259 || Raymond ||{{center|24}}|| Cartulary ||
|-
| || Molin de la Muffale || 1259 || Raymond ||{{center|24}}|| Cartulary ||
|-
| || lo pont de Belaischon || 1259 || Raymond ||{{center|24}}|| Cartulary ||
|-
| || Baleyson || 1331 || Raymond ||{{center|20}}|| Gascon roles ||
|-
| || Baleychoun || 1334 || Raymond ||{{center|20}}|| Gascon roles ||
|-
| || || || || || ||
|-
| '''Bénac''' || Bénac || 1863 || Raymond ||{{center|27}}|| || Farm
|-
| || || || || || ||
|-
| '''Bouroutchourry''' || Bouroutchourry || 1863 || Raymond ||{{center|35}}|| || Farm
|-
| || || || || || ||
|-
| '''Glain''' || Fons de Coquoanhea || 1387 || Raymond ||{{center|72}}|| Chapter || Farm
|-
| || Camps || 17th century || Raymond ||{{center|72}}|| Archives of Bayonne ||
|-
| || || || || || ||
|-
| '''Jean-d'Amou''' || Jean-d'Amou || 1863 || Raymond ||{{center|85}}|| || Hamlet
|-
| || || || || || ||
|-
| '''Lachepaillet''' || Lo portau de Lachepailhet || 1516 || Raymond ||{{center|88}}|| Chapter || District; it was once the name of one of the city gates which was previously called the ''Portail de Tarride''.
|-
| || || || || || ||
|-
| '''Largenté''' || Largenté || 1863 || Raymond ||{{center|94}}|| || Farm
|-
| || || || || || ||
|-
| '''Les Lauriers''' || Les Lauriers || 1863 || Raymond ||{{center|97}}|| || Hamlet
|-
| || || || || || ||
|-
| '''Lesperon''' || L'Esperon || 1246 || Raymond ||{{center|100}}|| Cartulary || Farm at Saint-Esprit
|-
| || || || || || ||
|-
| '''Les Murailles''' || Les Murailles || 1863 || Raymond ||{{center|120}}|| || Farm
|-
| || || || || || ||
|-
| '''Panecau''' || Port de Bertaco || 13th century || Raymond ||{{center|131}}|| Cartulary || Bridge
|-
| || || || || || ||
|-
| '''Pé-de-Navarre''' || Pé-de-Navarre || 1863 || Raymond ||{{center|133}}|| || Farm
|-
| || || || || || ||
|-
| '''Château Weymann''' || Château Weymann || 1863 || Raymond ||{{center|175}}|| || Château
|-
| || || || || || ||
|}

'''Sources:'''
*'''[[Paul Raymond (archivist)|Raymond]]:''' [https://books.google.com/books?id=2TCHmbiipFIC ''Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees''], 1863, on the page numbers indicated in the table. {{in lang|fr}}<ref name="Raymond">[https://books.google.com/books?id=2TCHmbiipFIC ''Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees''], [[Paul Raymond (archivist)|Paul Raymond]], Imprimerie nationale, 1863, Digitised from Lyon Public Library 15 June 2011 {{in lang|fr}}</ref>
*'''Goyheneche:''' according to the ''[[Notitia Dignitatum]] Imperii'' dating from 340 to 420<ref>Eugène Goyheneche, Goyheneche, 1973, "Lapurdum ...", p. 85–92 {{in lang|fr}}</ref>
*'''Guiart:''' Guillaume Guiart, around 1864
*'''Lhande:''' Basque-French Dictionary by [[Pierre Lhande]], 1926.
*'''Cassini 1750:''' 1750 [[French cartography#Cassini maps|Cassini Map]]<ref name="Cassini1750" />
*'''Cassini 1790:''' 1790 [[French cartography#Cassini maps|Cassini Map]]<ref name="Cassini1790" />

'''Origins:'''
*'''Chapter:''' Titles of the Chapter of Bayonne<ref name="Chapter">Chapter of Bayonne in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques {{in lang|fr}}</ref>
*'''Cartulary:''' [[Cartulary]] of Bayonne or ''Livre d'Or'' (Book of Gold)<ref name="Cartulary">Manuscript from the 14th century in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques {{in lang|fr}}</ref>
*'''Camara:''' Chapters of the Camara de Comptos.<ref name="Camara">Titles published by don José Yanguas y Miranda in ''Diccionario de Antiguedades del reino de Navarra'', 1840, [[Pamplona]], {{in lang|es}}</ref>

==History==

===Prehistory===
In the absence of accurate objective data there is some credence to the probable existence of a fishing village on the site in a period prior to [[ancient times]]. Numerous traces of human occupation have been found in the Bayonne region from the [[Middle Paleolithic]] especially in the discoveries at [[Saint-Pierre-d'Irube]], a neighbouring locality.<ref group="Note">Neanderthal Stone tools (from 80,000 to 45,000 BC corresponding to the [[Mousterian]] period, the [[Riss Glaciations]], and [[Würm II]])</ref> On the other hand, the presence of a mound about {{convert|14|m|ft|abbr=off}} high has been detected in the current Cathedral Quarter overlooking the Nive, which formed a natural protection and a usable port on the left bank of the Nive. At the time, the mound was surrounded north and west by the Adour swamps. At its foot lies the famous "Bayonne Sea"—the junction of the two rivers—which may have been about {{convert|1200|m|ft|abbr=off}} wide between Saint-Esprit and the Grand Bayonne and totally covered the current location of Bourg-Neuf (in the district of Petit Bayonne). To the south, the last bend of the Nive widens near the Saint-Léon hills.<ref>Association Lauburu, ''The Cathedral in the heart of the city'', 1992 {{in lang|fr}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">Eugène Goyheneche, ''Bayonne and the Bayonnaise Region from the 12th to the 15th century'', Thesis by the E.N.C., 1949 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> Despite this, the narrowing of the Adour valley allows easier crossing than anywhere else along the entire length of the estuary.<ref>Pierre Laborde. ''History of Bayonne'', 1991 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref>

In conclusion, the strategic importance of this height was so obvious it must be presumed that it has always been inhabited.<ref name="ReferenceA" />

===Ancient times===
[[File:Aquitani tribes map-fr.svg|thumb|Map of [[Novempopulania]] indicating the position of the [[Tarbelli]] territory north-west of the Pyrenees]]

The oldest documented human occupation site is located on a hill overlooking the Nive and its confluence with the Adour.<ref group="PiH" name="p3" />

In the 1st century AD, during the Roman occupation, Bayonne already seems to have been of some importance since the Romans surrounded the city with a wall to keep out the [[Tarbelli]], [[Aquitani]], or the [[proto-Basque]] who then occupied a territory that extended south of modern-day [[Landes (department)|Landes]], to the modern French Basque country, the [[Chalosse]], the valleys of the [[Adour]], the mountain streams of [[Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques]], and to the [[Gave d'Oloron]].<ref>Charles Athanase Walckenaer, ''Ancient Historical Geography and comparison of the Cisalpine and Transalpine Gauls, followed by a geographical analysis of ancient routes and accompanied by a nine map Atlas'', Vol. 1, P. Dufart, 1839, 1085 pages {{in lang|fr}}.</ref>

The archaeological discoveries of October and November 1995 provided a shred of evidence to support this projection. In the four layers of sub-soil along the foundation of the Gothic cathedral (in the "apse of the cathedral" area), a 2-metre depth was found of old objects from the end of the 1st century—in particular sigillated Gallic ceramics from [[Montans]] imitating Italian styles, thin-walled bowls, and fragments of [[amphorae]].<ref group="Note">Sigillata ceramics of red brick colour, the resulting relief decoration is decorated before firing by stamping</ref> In the "southern sector" near the cloister door, there were objects from the second half of the 1st century as well as coins from the first half of the 3rd century.<ref>In ''The Week in Basque Country'', M. Esteban, March 1996 {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

A very high probability of human presence, not solely military, seems to provisionally confirm the occupation of the site at least around the third century.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

A Roman [[Castra|castrum]] dating to the end of the 4th century has been proven as a fortified place of [[Novempopulania]]. Named ''Lapurdum'', the name became the name of the province of ''Labourd''.<ref group="Note">The ''Notitia Dignitatum imperii Romani'', dating from 340 to 420 AD, mentions the seat of the tribune of the cohort of Novempopulania in these terms: "In provincia Novempopulana tribunus cohortis Novempopulanae Lapurdo"</ref> According to Eugene Goyheneche, the name ''Baiona'' designated the city, the port, and the cathedral while that of ''Lapurdum'' was only a territorial designation.<ref>[http://hal.inria.fr/docs/00/38/73/91/PDF/origine_dialectes_definitiboa.pdf ''On the presumed origin of the division of the Basque language''], Hector Iglesias, consulted on 5 August 2014 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref> This Roman settlement was strategic as it allowed the monitoring of the trans-Pyrenean roads and of local people rebellious to the Roman power. The construction covered 6 to 10 hectares according to several authors.<ref>Renée Mussot-Goulard, ''The Gascons'', Atlantica, 2001 {{in lang|fr}}</ref><ref group="Note">Gérard Coulon, ''The Gallo-Romains: life, work, beliefs, diversions—54 BC – 486 AD'', Paris, 2006, Errance, Hespérides collection, {{ISBN|2-87772-331-3}}, p. 21 {{in lang|fr}}, retains the number 10 hectares.</ref><ref group="Note">According to Eugène Goyheneche in ''Basque Country: Soule, Labourd, Lower Navarre'', Société nouvelle d’éditions régionales et de diffusion, Pau, 1979, BnF FRBNF34647711, the old Roman wall which is still visible in parts was in the shape of a polygon of {{convert|1125|m|ft|abbr=off}} perimeter in an area of {{convert|6|to(-)|9|ha|abbr=off}}.</ref>

===Middle Ages===
The geographical location of the locality at the crossroads of a river system oriented from east to west and the road network connecting Europe to the [[Iberian Peninsula]] from north to south, predisposed the site to the double role of fortress and port.<ref group="EG" name="p149">p. 149.</ref> The city, after being Roman, alternated between the [[Vascones]] and the English for three centuries from the 12th to the 15th century.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

The Romans left the city in the 4th century and the Basques, who had always been present, dominated the former Novempopulania province between the [[Garonne]], the Ocean, and the Pyrénées.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}} Novempopulania was renamed [[Vasconia]] and then Gascony after a Germanic deformation (resulting from the [[Visigoth]] and [[Franks|Frankish]] invasions). Basquisation of the plains region was too weak against the advance of romanization. From the mixture between the Basque and Latin language [[Gascon language|Gascon]] was created.<ref>Jacques Allières, ''The Basques'', Paris, Presses universitaires de France,?March 2003 (1st ed. 1997), 127 p. {{ISBN|213053144X}} and {{ISBN|9782130531449}}, {{OCLC|77097933}}. {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

Documentation on Bayonne for the period from the [[High Middle Ages]] are virtually nonexistent,<ref group="Note">Peter Hourmat, (''History of Bayonne from its origins to the French Revolution of 1789'', Society of Sciences Letters Arts of Bayonne,1986, pp. 27 to 35 {{in lang|fr}})deplores the lack of sources for the period 5th century to the 10th century: "If the existence of a major military site is attested by the remains of the tower walls of a castrum, the headquarters or refuge of a cohort in the last days of the Roman Empire, in the half a millennium that followed the collapse of the latter plunges us into an almost total ignorance of who occupied the area of the castrum and the identity of the people. A heavy silence covers the fate of Lapurdum and documents at our disposal for five centuries can be counted on the fingers of one hand and these lead to different or contradictory interpretations ... . So this story becomes a long series of question marks, for example that of Novempopulania".</ref><ref group="Note">The [[Treaty of Andelot]] signed in 587 between [[Guntram]], king of Burgundy, and [[Brunhilda of Austrasia]], mentions Lapurdo; it documents the return to Brunhilda of several cities including Aire, Couserans and ''Lapurdo'', each "with its territories" ("cum terminibus"). Manex Goyhenetche indicates that in the 6th century, the term ''civitas'' was used to designate a fortress. "The [[Franks|Frankish]] dynasties of Austrasia and Neustria by the Treaty of Andelot, consolidated their grip on part of the former territory of the ''Nine Peoples'' [...] In the 4th century Lapurdum continued to exist and by the end of the 6th century returned to its function as a fortress. Lapurdum controlled firstly the routes leading to the Pyrenean passes and secondly the [[cabotage]] routes of the Frankish fleets from [[Bordeaux]] to [[Asturias]] ".</ref><ref>Manex Goyhenetche, ''General History of Basque country, Prehistory, Roman era, Middle Ages'', Vol. 1, Elkarlanean, Donostia and Bayonne, 1998, 492 pages, {{ISBN|2-913156-20-7}}, BnF FRBNF37031711, p. 134 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref> with the exception of two Norman intrusions: one questionable in 844 and a second attested in 892.<ref group="EG" name="p152">p. 152.</ref>

When Labourd was created in 1023, Bayonne was the capital and the Viscount resided there.<ref group="Note">The Vicount resided in Chatelet (''lou Castet''), next to the entry to the current ''Cinq Cantons'' (Five Cantons) which was the Roman gate leading to the port source: Eugene Goyheneche, ''The Basque Country: Soule, Labourd, Lower Navarre'', New Society regional editions and distribution, Pau, 1979 (Record BNF FRBNF34647711).</ref> The history of Bayonne proper started in 1056 when Raymond II the Younger, Bishop of Bazas, had the mission to build the Church of Bayonne<ref group="Note">It can be deduced that it existed prior to that date.</ref><ref group="EG" name="p152" />

The construction was under the authority of Raymond III of Martres, [[Bishop of Bayonne]] from 1122 to 1125, combined with Viscount Bertrand for the [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] cathedral, the rear of which can still be seen today, and the first wooden bridge across the Adour extending the Mayou bridge over the Nive, which inaugurated the heyday of Bayonne.<ref group="EG" name="p152" /> From 1120, new districts were created under population pressure. The development of areas between the old Roman city of Grand Bayonne and the Nive also developed during this period, then between the Nive and the Adour at the place that became Petit Bayonne. A [[Jacobin|Dominican Order]] Convent was located there in 1225 then that of the [[Cordeliers]] in 1247.<ref group="EG" name="p152" /> Construction of and modifications to the defences of the city also developed to protect the new districts.<ref group="PiH" name="p9">p. 152.</ref>

In 1130, the King of Aragon [[Alfonso the Battler]] besieged the city without success. Bayonne became an [[Angevin Empire|Angevin]] possession when [[Eleanor of Aquitaine]] married [[Henry Plantagenet]], the future king of England, in 1152.<ref group="PiH" name="p6">p. 6.</ref> This alliance gave Bayonne many commercial privileges. The Bayonnaises became carriers of Bordeaux wines and other south-western products like resin, ham, and [[Isatis tinctoria|woad]] to England.<ref group="EG" name="p171">p. 171.</ref> Bayonne was then an important military base. In 1177, King Richard separated the Viscounty of Labourd whose capital then became [[Ustaritz]]. Like many cities at the time, in 1215 Bayonne obtained the award of a municipal charter and was emancipated from feudal powers.<ref>On 12 April 1215 [[John, King of England]], granted Bayonne a legal personality that would last throughout the Middle Ages and, to some extent, until the [[French Revolution]]. The form of the charter resembled that of [[La Rochelle]]. According to Eugene Goyheneche, "the city is governed by the "Hundred Peers" who were actually a mayor, twelve deputies, twelve councilors, and seventy-five peers who were co-opted and proposed each year by the mayor for the king's choice. The mayor was head of the administrative, judiciary, and military: he had custody of the keys to the city and some mayors were admirals in the bayonnaise fleet. The king was represented by a marshal" source: Eugene Goyheneche, The Basque Country: Soule, Labourd, Lower Navarre, Societe new regional editions and distribution, Pau, 1979 (Record BNF FRBNF34647711) {{in lang|fr}}.</ref>

The official publication, in 1273, of a [[Coutume]] unique to the city, remained in force for five centuries until the separation of Bayonne from Labourd.<ref group="EG" name="p160">p. 160.</ref><ref group="Note">Relations with Labourd were often difficult and caused many bloody conflicts. The most famous of them took place in 1343 when the mayor of Bayonne, Pé de Poyane, killed five labourdin nobles: an episode which, according to Eugene Goyheneche, had its origin in a fictional story of ''On the Proudines bridge'' at [[Villefranque, Pyrénées-Atlantiques|Villefranque]], retold by [[Augustine Chaho]] and [[Hippolyte Taine]].</ref>

In 1371 [[Constance of Castile, Duchess of Lancaster|Constance of Castile]] daughter of the murdered King [[Pedro the Cruel]] took refuge with the English in Bayonne,<ref>{{cite DNB|wstitle=John of Gaunt|year=1892|first=Edward Maunde |last=Thompson|author-link=Edward Maunde Thompson|p=419}}</ref> leading to her marriage to [[John of Gaunt]] and his [[John of Gaunt's claims to the Castilian throne|claim to the Castilian throne]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wagner |first=J. |url=http://dl.lilibook.ir/2016/03/Encyclopedia-of-the-Hundred-Years-War.pdf |title=Encyclopedia of the Hundred Years War |date=2006 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=978-0-3133-2736-0 |location=Westport, CT |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180716235643/http://dl.lilibook.ir/2016/03/Encyclopedia-of-the-Hundred-Years-War.pdf |archive-date=16 July 2018|p=183|chapter=John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (1340–1399)}}</ref>

Bayonnaise industry at that time was dominated by shipbuilding: wood ([[oak]], [[beech]], [[chestnut]] from the Pyrenees, and [[pine]] from [[Landes forest|Landes]]) being overabundant.<ref group="EG" name="p162">p. 162.</ref> There was also maritime activity in providing crews for [[whaling]], commercial marine or, and it was often so at a time when it was easy to turn any merchant ship into a warship, the English [[Royal Navy]].<ref group="EG" name="p163">p. 163.</ref><ref group="Note">For example a Bayonnais fleet participated in the [[Siege of Calais (1346)|Siege of Calais]] led by the English in 1346 which consisted of 15 vessels and 439 men source: Eugene Goyheneche, The Basque Country: Soule, Labourd, Lower Navarre, Society new regional editions and distribution, Pau,1979 (Record BNF FRBNF34647711), p. 163. {{in lang|fr}}.</ref>

===Renaissance and modern times===
[[File:Bayonne place du réduit vue de la citadelle.JPG|thumb|View of the ramparts overlooking the river]]
[[File:Echauguette (Bayonne).jpg|thumb|alt=Photographie d'une échauguette de pierre blanche se détachant au-dessus d'un pont.|The [[Bartizan]] on the Redoubt, restored in 2005]]
[[File:Bayonne remparts.jpg|thumb|The ramparts of Bayonne]]

[[Jean de Dunois]] – a former companion at arms of [[Joan of Arc]]—captured the city on 20 August 1451 and annexed it to the Crown "without making too many victims", but at the cost of a war indemnity of 40,000 gold [[Écu]]s payable in a year,<ref group="PH" name="p159">p. 159.</ref>—thanks to the opportunism of the bishop who claimed to have seen "a large white cross surmounted by a crown which turns into a fleur-de-lis in the sky" to dissuade Bayonne from fighting against the royal troops.<ref group="Note">The siege lasted nine days from 12 to 20 August 1451 according to Pierre Hourmat, ''History of Bayonne origins to the French Revolution of 1789'', Society of Arts Science & Arts of Bayonne,1986, p. 143.</ref><ref group="PH" name="p142">p. 142.</ref>

The city continued to be fortified by the kings of France to protect it from danger from the Spanish border. In 1454, [[Charles VII of France|Charles VII]] created a separate judicial district: the ''[[Seneschal]] of Lannes''<ref>Léon Cadier, [https://web.archive.org/web/20140716001642/http://1886.u-bordeaux3.fr/items/show/9538 ''Seneschal of Lannes under Charles VII, royal administration and provincials states''], A. Picard, Paris, 1885, 92 pages, consulted 16 June 2014 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref> a "single subdivision of [[Guyenne]] during the English period" which had jurisdiction over a wide area including Bayonne, [[Dax, Landes|Dax]] and [[Saint-Sever]] and which exercised civil justice, criminal jurisdiction within the competence of the district councilors. Over time, the "Seneschal of the Sword", which was at Dax, lost any role other than protocol, and Bayonne, along with Dax and Saint-Sever, became the de facto seat of a separate Seneschal under the authority of a "lieutenant-general of the Seneschal".<ref group="PH" name="p160">p. 160.</ref>

In May 1462, King [[Louis XI]] authorized the holding of two annual fairs<ref group="Note">Two annual fairs: one on the first day of Lent and the other 1 August: "[...] grant them free fairs in perpetuity of all Aydes, imposicions, impostz and any other subsidies qualxconques, which one will be held the first day of karesme and the other on the first day of August [...]" as [https://books.google.com/books?id=4-ZZAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA469 letters patent of Louis XI] established at [[Montferrand, Puy-de-Dôme|Montferrand]] in May 1462.</ref> by letters patent after signing the Treaty of Bayonne after which it was confirmed by the coutoumes of the inhabitants in July 1472 following the death of [[Charles de Valois, Duke de Berry]], the king's brother.<ref group="PH" name="p164">p. 164.</ref>

At the time the [[Spanish Inquisition]] raged in the Iberian Peninsula, [[Spanish and Portuguese Jews]] fled Spain and also later, Portugal, then settled in Southern France, including in [[Saint-Esprit (Pyrénées-Atlantiques)]], a northern district of Bayonne located along the northern bank of the [[Adour]] river. They brought with them [[chocolate]] and the recipe for its preparation.<ref group="DN" name="p27">p. 27.</ref> In 1750, the Jewish population in [[Saint-Esprit (Pyrénées-Atlantiques)]] is estimated to have reached about 3,500 people.

The golden age of the city ended in the 15th century with the loss of trade with England and the silting of the port of Bayonne created by the movement of the course of the Adour to the north.<ref group="EG" name="p187">p. 187.</ref>

At the beginning of the 16th century [[Labourd]] suffered the emergence of the [[Bubonic plague|plague]]. Its path can be tracked by reading the ''Registers''.<ref>''Gascon Registers'', Vol. 1, pp. 44, 53, 141, 154, 158–159, 195, and 233—cited by Manex Goyhenetche, ''General History of Basque Country III: Economic and social revolution from the 16th to the 18th century'', Vol. 3, Donostia / Bayonne, Elkarlanean,? 2001, 411 p. ({{ISBN|8483317443}} and {{ISBN|9788483317440}}, {{OCLC|466971263}}), p. 42–43. {{in lang|fr}}</ref> In July 1515, the city of Bayonne was "prohibited to welcome people from plague-stricken places" and on 21 October, "we inhibit and prohibit all peasants and residents of this city [...] to go Parish Bidart [...] because of the contagion of the plague". On 11 April 1518, the plague raged in [[Saint-Jean-de-Luz]] and the city of Bayonne "inhibited and prohibited for all peasants and city inhabitants and other foreigners to maintain relationships at the location and Parish of Saint-Jean-de-Luz where people have died of the plague". On 11 November 1518, the plague was present in Bayonne to the point that in 1519 the city council moved to the district of Brindos (Berindos at the time) in [[Anglet]].<ref>Ferdinand Barbe, ''The Epidemics of pestilence in Bayonne in the 16th century'', Bulletin de la Société des sciences et lettres de Bayonne, 1947—cited by Manex Goyhenetche, ''General History of Basque Country III: Economic and social revolution from the 16th to the 18th century'', Vol. 3, Donostia / Bayonne, Elkarlanean,? 2001, 411 p. ({{ISBN|8483317443}} and {{ISBN|9788483317440}}, {{OCLC|466971263}}), p. 42. {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

In 1523, Marshal [[Odet of Foix, Viscount of Lautrec]] resisted the Spaniards under [[Philibert of Chalon]] in the service of [[Charles V of France|Charles V]] and lifted the siege of Bayonne.<ref group="PiH" name="p11">p. 11.</ref> It was at Château-Vieux that the ransom demand for the release of Francis I, taken prisoner after his defeat at the [[Battle of Pavia]], was gathered.<ref group="PiH" name="p11" /><ref group="Note">Francis I was replaced as a captive by his two eldest sons: [[Francis III, Duke of Brittany]], and [[Henry II of France]] who were finally released in 1530 after payment of the ransom.</ref>

The meeting in 1565 between [[Catherine de Medici]] and the envoy of [[Philip II of Spain|Philip II]]: the Duke of Alba, is known as the ''Interview of Bayonne''. At the time that [[Catholics]] and [[Protestants]] tore each other apart in parts of the kingdom of France, Bayonne seemed relatively untouched by these troubles.<ref>Vincent Hiribarren, ''Bayonne at the beginning of the [[Wars of Religion]]'', Revue d’histoire de Bayonne, du Pays basque et du Bas-Adour, Vol. 159, 2004, p. 95–122 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref> An iron fist from the city leaders did not appear to be unknown. In fact, they never hesitated to use violence and criminal sanctions for keeping order in the name of the "public good".<ref>Vincent Hiribarren, [http://www.vincenthiribarren.com/pdf/Hiribarren-Maitrise.pdf ''For God, King, and the good of the city, Bayonne deliberations from 1565 to 1569''], Memoir by Maitrise under the direction of [[Denis Crouzet]], université Paris IV-Sorbonne, June 2003, 137 p. {{in lang|fr}}</ref> Two brothers, Saubat and Johannes Sorhaindo who were both lieutenants of the mayor of Bayonne in the second half of the 16th century, perfectly embody this period. They often wavered between Catholicism and Protestantism but always wanted to ensure the unity and prestige of the city.<ref>Vincent Hiribarren, ''A lion at the head of a thousand sheep. the Sorhaindo family in Bayonne at the end of the 16th century'', Vol. 166, Bulletin of the Basque museum, 2005, p. 19–34. {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

In the 16th century, the king's engineers, under the direction of Louis de Foix, were dispatched to rearrange the course of the Adour by creating an estuary to maintain the river bed. The river discharged in the right place to the Ocean on 28 October 1578.<ref group="PH" name="p214">p. 214.</ref> The port of Bayonne then attained a greater level of activity. Fishing for [[cod]] and [[whale]] ensured the wealth of fishermen and shipowners.

From 1611 to 1612, the college Principal of Bayonne was a man of 26 years old with a future: [[Cornelius Jansen]] known as ''Jansénius'', the future [[Bishop of Ypres]]. Bayonne became the birthplace of [[Jansenism]], an austere science which strongly disrupted the monarchy of [[Louis XIV]].<ref>Pierre Hourmat, Bulletin SSLAB, Collection No. 157, ''The City of Bayonne Library'', p. 257 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref><ref>Pierre Hourmat, Bulletin SSLAB, Collection No. 158, ''The City of Bayonne Library'', p. 158 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref>

During the sporadic conflicts that troubled the French countryside from the mid 17th century, Bayonne peasants were short of powder and projectiles. They attached the long hunting knives in the barrels of their muskets and that way they fashioned makeshift spears later called ''[[bayonet]]s''.<ref>François Noel, L. J. M. Carpentier, Puissant (Mr.), [https://books.google.com/books?id=vssUAAAAYAAJ&dq=ba%C3%AFonnette+%2B+R%C3%A9giment+Royal-Artillerie+%2B+%221670%22&pg=PA143 ''New Dictionary of the origins, inventions, and discoveries in arts, sciences, geography, agriculture, commerce etc.''], Janet et Cotelle, 1833, p. 143 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> In that same century, [[Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban|Vauban]] was charged by [[Louis XIV]] to fortify the city. He added a citadel built on a hill overlooking the district of ''San Espirit Cap deou do Punt''.<ref>Pierre Hourmat, ''Vauban and the fortifications of Pyrénées-Atlantiques'', Société des Sciences Lettres & Arts de Bayonne, 1984, p. 32 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref>

[[File:Bayonne-Le réduit-20110309.jpg|thumb|upright=3.0|center|The Redoubt, a system of fortifications destroyed at the beginning of the 20th century, seen from the Quai de l'Amiral-Lesseps]]

===French Revolution and Empire===
Activity in Bayonne peaked in the 18th century. The Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1726.<ref group="PiH" name="p18">p. 18.</ref> Trade with Spain, the Netherlands, the [[Antilles]], the cod fishery off the shores of [[Newfoundland]], and construction sites maintained a high level of activity in the port.<ref group="PH" name="p511">p. 511.</ref>

In 1792, the district of Saint-Esprit (that revolutionaries renamed ''Port-de-la-Montagne'')<ref>Eugène Goyheneche, ''Our Basque Land'', Société nouvelle d’éditions régionales et de diffusion, Pau, 1979, BnF FRBNF33028848, p. 93 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref> located on the right bank of the Adour, was separated from the city and renamed ''Jean-Jacques Rousseau''.<ref name="Cassini">{{Cassini-Ehess|31598|Saint-Esprit}}.</ref> It was reunited with Bayonne on 1 June 1857. For 65 years, the autonomous commune was part of the department of [[Landes (department)|Landes]].<ref group="PiH" name="p25">p. 25.</ref>

In 1808, at the [[Castle of Marracq|Château of Marracq]], the act of abdication of the Spanish king [[Charles IV of Spain|Charles IV]] in favour of [[Napoleon]] was signed under the "friendly pressure" of the Emperor. In the process, the [[Bayonne Statute]] was initialed as the first Spanish constitution.<ref group="EG" name="p417">p. 417.</ref>

Also in 1808, the French Empire imposed on the [[Duchy of Warsaw]] the Convention of Bayonne to buy from France the debts owed to it by [[Prussia]].<ref name="MagocsiSedlar1974-49">{{cite book|author1=Paul Robert Magocsi|author2=Jean W. Sedlar|author3=Robert A. Kann |author4=Charles Jelavich |author5=Joseph Rothschild|title=A History of East Central Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TVMmGKsbWJ4C&pg=PA49|access-date=11 May 2012|year=1974|publisher=University of Washington Press|isbn=978-0-295-95358-8|page=49}}</ref> The debt, amounting to more than 43 million [[franc]]s in gold, was bought at a discounted rate of 21 million francs.<ref name="MagocsiSedlar1974-49" /> However, although the duchy made its payments in installments to France over a four-year period, Prussia was unable to pay it (due to a very large indemnity it owed to France resulting from the [[Treaties of Tilsit]]), causing the Polish economy to suffer heavily.

Trade was the wealth of the city in the 18th century but suffered greatly in the 19th century, severely sanctioned by [[Peninsular War|conflict with Spain]], its historic trading partner in the region.<ref group="PiH" name="p24">p. 24.</ref> The [[Battle of Bayonne|Siege of Bayonne]] marked the end of the period with the surrender of the Napoleonic troops of Marshal [[Jean-de-Dieu Soult]] who were defeated by the coalition led by [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Wellington]] on 5 May 1814.<ref group="EG" name="p418">p. 418.</ref>

===19th and 20th centuries===
In 1854, the railway arrived from Paris bringing many tourists eager to enjoy the beaches of [[Biarritz]]. Bayonne turned instead to the [[steel]] industry with the forges of the Adour.<ref group="Note">The Forges of the Adour were actually located in the commune of [[Boucau]] on the right bank of the river.</ref> The Port took on an industrial look but its slow decline seemed inexorable in the 19th century. The discovery of the Lacq gas field restored a certain dynamism.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

The Treaty of Bayonne was concluded on 2 December 1856. It overcame the disputes in fixing the Franco-Spanish border in the area extending from the mouth of the [[Bidassoa]] to the border between [[Navarre]] and [[Aragon]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lobstein |last2=Gros |last3=Callier |last4=Marin |last5=Monteverde |date=February 22, 2006 |title=Treaties and International Agreements |url=https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/Volume%201142/volume-1142-II-838-English.pdf |access-date=March 4, 2025 |website=United Nations Treaty Collection.}}</ref>{{Blazon-arms|img1=Blason Bayonne.svg|legend1=Arms of Bayonne|text=[[Paul Raymond (archivist)|Paul Raymond]] noted in 1863 that the arms of the city were blazoned:

Azure, a tower embattled and ramparted of Argent, wavy proper in base, cantoned to dexter with a letter N crowned of Or, between two pines Vert each fructed of seven Or and set with fruit pal, debruised by two lions langued confronting.<ref name=Raymond/>

'''The current arms are Blazoned:'''<br /><ref group=Note>This blazon was effective 3 August 1919, by the municipal council of the city of Bayonne, quoted by René Broca in the preface of the book ''History of Bayonne from its origins to the French Revolution of 1789'', Pierre Hourmat, Corporation Sciences Humanities & Arts, Bayonne, 1986</ref> 
Gules, a tower turreted of Or, masooned, windowed, and porte of Sable on a sea wavy of Azure, Or and Sable in base and surmounted by a fleur-de-lis of Or, between two oaks proper fructed seven of Or debruised by two lions langued confronting of Or; the arms stamped with a county crown.}}The city built three light railway lines to connect to Biarritz at the beginning of the 20th century. The most direct line, that of the ''Tramway Bayonne-Lycée–Biarritz'' was operated from 1888 to 1948. In addition, a line further north served Anglet, operated by the ''Chemin de fer Bayonne-Anglet-Biarritz'' company from 1877 to 1953. Finally, a line following the Adour to its mouth and to the Atlantic Ocean by the bar in Anglet, was operated by ''VFDM réseau basque'' from 1919 to 1948.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

[[File:CAP 39 - BAYONNE - La Gare.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|The second [[Gare de Bayonne]], photographed here in the 1930s<ref group="Note">The second [[Gare de Bayonne]] succeeded an earlier station made of wood and metal built in 1854 at the beginning of the 20th century.</ref>]]

On the morning of 23 December 1933, sub-prefect Anthelme received Gustave Tissier, the director of the ''Crédit Municipal de Bayonne''. He responded well, with some astonishment, to his persistent interview. It did not surprise him to see the man unpacking what became the scam of the century.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

"Tissier, director of the ''Crédit Municipal'', was arrested and imprisoned under suspicion of forgery and misappropriation of public funds. He had issued thousands of false bonds in the name of ''Crédit Municipal'' [...]"<ref group="Note">It was in these terms that the newspaper ''Le Courrier de Bayonne'' recounted the event a few days later.</ref>

This was the beginning of the [[Stavisky Affair]] which, together with other scandals and political crises, led to the Paris riots of 6 February 1934.<ref>In ''The week in Basque Country'', T. Laxalt, February 1996. {{in lang|fr}}</ref><ref>Claude Duhau, ''Mayors and Councilors of Bayonne (1831–2001)'', 1999, p. 80 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref>

===The World Wars===
The 249th Infantry Regiment, created from the 49th Infantry Regiment, was engaged in operations in the [[First World War]], including action at [[Chemin des Dames]], especially on the plateau of [[Craonne]].<ref group="FL" name="p54">p. 54.</ref> 700 Bayonnaises perished in the conflict.<ref group="FL" name="p54" /><ref group="Note">The ''Courrier de Bayonne'' of 8 August 1914 described the departure of the Regiment in the following terms: "[...] As for the trains which carried our brave little poilus of the 49th, they were adorned with flowers. On the wagons were pleasant or patriotic inscriptions. We noted the following: "Pleasure Train for Berlin, out and back"; on others: "Vive la France! Long live England ! Long live Russia !" were framed by garlands and on the locomotives were the flags of the three countries fraternally chattering in the wind ... If the Germans saw it, perhaps they would not be very sure of victory. [...]" (Source: Maurice Sacx, Bayonne and the Basque Country—Witnesses of history, Biarritz, Basque Museum of Bayonne, 1968).</ref> A centre for engagement of foreign volunteers was established in August 1914, in Bayonne. Many nationalities were represented, particularly the Spanish, the Portuguese, the Czechs,<ref group="Note">The Avenue of the Czech Legion in Bayonne is in their honour.</ref> and the Poles.<ref group="Note">The Polish company was cited in an order of the Army dated 21 June 1918, by [[General Petain]] (source: François Lafitte Houssat, Bayonne Nive and Adour, Joue-les-Tours, Alan Sutton, 2001 ({{ISBN|2-84253-557-X}})).</ref><ref group="FL" name="p55">p. 55.</ref>

During the [[Second World War]], Bayonne was occupied by the [[3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf]] from 27 June 1940 to 23 August 1944.<ref group="PiH" name="p30">p. 30.</ref>

On 5 April 1942, the Allies made a landing attempt in Bayonne but after a barge penetrated the Adour with great difficulty, the operation was cancelled.<ref>Louis Poullenot, ''Lower Pyrénées Occupation Liberation 1940–1945'', J&D Éditions, Biarritz, 1995, p. 246 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref>

On 21 August 1944, after blowing up twenty ships in port,<ref>Jacques Navarret, ''The Port of Bayonne – Congrès 1999'', p. 293 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref> German troops withdrew. On the 22nd, a final convoy of five vehicles passed through the city. It transported Gestapo Customs agents and some elements of the ''Feldgendarmerie''. One or more Germans opened fire with machine guns killing three people.<ref group="Note">The shooting took place at the Saint-Léon crossroads near the train station and near the citadel.</ref><ref>In ''The week in Basque Country'', J. Crouzet, August 1994. {{in lang|fr}}</ref> On the 23rd, there was an informal and immediate installation of a "special municipal delegation" by the young deputy prefect Guy Lamassoure representing the [[Provisional Government of the French Republic]] which had been established in [[Algiers]] since 27 June.

==Policy and administration==

===List of mayors under the Ancient Régime===
The [[Duke of Gramont|Gramont family]] provided captains and governors in Bayonne from 1472 to 1789 as well as mayors, a post which became hereditary from 28 January 1590 by concession of [[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]] to Antoine II of Gramont. From the 15th century, they resided in the Château Neuf then in the Château-Vieux from the end of the 16th century:<ref name="Bayonne">Olivier Ribeton, ''A Gramont Museum at Bayonne'', Publication of the Société des Sciences, Lettres et Arts de Bayonne, Bayonne, 1986 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref><ref group="Note">The Château-Neuf was completed in 1507 by Roger de Gramont.</ref>

*'''Roger de Gramont''', (1444–1519), Lord of Gramont, Baron of Haux, Seneschal of Guyenne, hereditary mayor of Bayonne. He was an advisor and chamberlain of [[Louis XI]] in 1472 and then [[Charles VIII of France|Charles VIII]] in 1483. He was Ambassador for [[Louis XII]] in [[Rome]] in 1502. He became governor of Bayonne and its castles on 26 February 1487. He died of the plague in 1519.<ref name="Bayonne" />
*'''Jean II de Gramont''', Lord of Gramont, mayor and captain of Bayonne from 18 March 1523. On 15 September 1523, as a lieutenant in the company of [[Odet of Foix, Viscount of Lautrec|Marshal Lautrec]], he rescued Bayonne from the siege by the forces of [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] under the command of the [[Prince of Orange]]. He died during the wars in Italy;<ref name="Bayonne" />
*'''Antoine I of Gramont''', born in 1526, he was appointed at the age of nine years (1535) as mayor and captain of Bayonne. In 1571, he charged Louis de Foix with the changes to the mouth of the Adour along the fortifications of the city;
*'''Antoine II de Gramont''' (1572–1644), Count of Gramont, Guiche and Toulonjon, Viscount then Count of Louvigny, ruler of Bidache, Viscount of Aster, lord then baron of Lescun. He was a ''Duke de Brevet'' in 1643, but unverified by Parliament. On 28 January 1590, [[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]] granted him and his descendants the perpetual office of Mayor of Bayonne. He then became the Viceroy of Navarre. In 1595, Antoine II de Gramont charged Jean Errard (1599) then Louis de Millet (1612) to strengthen the defenses of the city;
*'''[[Antoine III de Gramont|Antoine III of Gramont-Touloujon]]''' (1604–1678), Count and then, in 1648, Duke of Gramont, Prince of Bidache, Count of Guiche, Toulonjon, and Louvigny, Viscount of Astern, Baron of Andouins and Hagetmau, and lord of Lesparre, peer of France in 1648, [[Marshal of France]] in 1641. As Ambassador of [[Louis XIV]], in 1660 he sought the hand of the [[Maria Theresa of Spain|Infanta Maria Theresa]]. The king gave him power of attorney to represent him in the marriage which was celebrated in Madrid. It was he who welcomed Louis XIV, [[Anne of Austria]], [[Cardinal Mazarin|Mazarin]], and the rest of the Court to Bayonne. He died on 12 July 1678 at the Château-Vieux;<ref name="Bayonne" />
*'''[[Antoine Charles IV de Gramont|Antoine Charles IV of Gramont]]''' (1641–1720), Duke of Gramont, Prince of Bidache, Count of Guiche and Louvigny, Viscount of Aster, Baron of Andouins and Hagetmau, Lord of Lesparre, peer of France, Viceroy of Navarre. In 1689, he continued the fortification works undertaken by [[Vauban]] in Bayonne, where he remained from 1706 to 1712. He supported [[Philip V of Spain|Philip V]] during the [[War of the Spanish Succession]], using Bayonne to supply his troops, weapons, reinforcements and subsidies. In retaliation, the opponents of Philip V organized two attacks in 1707: one at Château-Vieux leaving Antoine IV unharmed.<ref name="Bayonne" />

===Modern times===

'''List of Successive [[Mayor (France)|Mayors]]'''<ref>[http://www.francegenweb.org/mairesgenweb/resultcommune.php?id=787 List of Mayors of France] {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

{{Hidden begin|title=[[Mayor (France)|Mayors]] from 1725 to 1941|titlestyle=background:palegreen;}}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! From !! To !! Name
|-
| 1725 ||  || Matthieu de Bruix
|-
| 1726 ||  || Jean de Moracin 
|-
| 1728 ||  || François de Poheyt 
|-
| 1730 ||  || Léon Dubrocq 
|-
| 1732 ||  || Pierre Commarieu 
|-
| 1736 ||  || Jean Desbiey
|-
| 1738 ||  || Jean-Louis Rol Montpellier 
|-
| 1740 ||  || Joseph Dulivier 
|-
| 1745 ||  || Léon Brethous
|-
| 1749 ||  || Joseph Dantes 
|-
| 1750 ||  || Dominique Behic
|-
| 1752 ||  || François Casaubon Maisonneuve 
|-
| 1754 ||  || Jean Baptiste Picot 
|-
| 1756 ||  || Martin Bretous 
|-
| 1758 ||  || Jean Desbiey 
|-
| 1760 ||  || Jean François Dubrocq 
|-
| 1762 ||  || Jean Rol de Montpellier 
|-
| 1764 ||  || Martin Antoine Bretous 
|-
| 1766 ||  || Jacques Pastoureau 
|-
| 1768 ||  || Joseph de Sorhainde 
|-
| 1770 ||  || Martin Castera
|-
| 1772 ||  || Pierre Larue 
|-
| 1774 ||  || Dominique Duhagon 
|-
| 1775 ||  || Jean-Pierre de Nogué 
|-
| 1776 ||  || Lasserre 
|-
| 1778 ||  || Pierre Anselme Monho
|-
| 1780 ||  || Joachim Dubrocq 
|-
| 1782 ||  || Etienne Lalanne 
|-
| 1785 ||  || Joseph Verdier 
|-
| 1788 ||  || Jacques Poydenot 
|-
| 1790 ||  || Dominique Dubrocq
|-
| 1791 ||  || Charles Lasserre 
|-
| 1791 ||  || Paul Faurie 
|-
| 1792 ||  || Jean-Pierre Joseph de Basterrèche 
|-
| 1793 ||  || Leclerc 
|-
| 1794 ||  || Johaneau
|-
| 1795 ||  || Dufourcq 
|-
| 1798 ||  || Barthélémy Poydenot 
|-
| 1798 ||  || Sauvine 
|-
| 1800 ||  || Paum Lacroix Ravignan 
|-
| 1803 || 1806 || Joseph Laborde Noguez
|-
| 1806 ||  || Chrysostome Dechegaray 
|-
| 1815 ||  || Martin Charles Chégaray 
|-
| 1816 ||  || Arnaud Fourcade 
|-
| 1818 ||  || Alexandre Betbeder 
|-
| 1824 ||  || Antoine Robert d'Hirairt
|-
| 1829 ||  || Joachim Alexandre Dubrocq 
|-
| 1830 || 1832 || Bernard Lanne 
|-
| 1832 || 1833 || Joseph Arnaud Eugène de Basterreche 
|-
| 1833 || 1848 || François Balasque
|-
| 1848 || 1849 || Eugène Boutouey
|-
| 1849 || 1850 || Joachim Alexandre Dubrocq 
|-
| 1852 || 1869 || Jules Labat 
|-
| 1871 || 1876 || Jules Séraphin Chateauneuf 
|-
| 1876 || 1881 || Jacques Théodore Plantié 
|-
| 1881 || 1884 || Edouard Séraphin Haulon
|-
| 1884 || 1885 || Jacques Léon Portes 
|-
| 1885 || 1888 || Joseph Edouard Viard 
|-
| 1888 || 1908 || Gabriel Léo Pouzac
|-
| 1908 || 1919 || Joseph Garat 
|-
| 1919 || 1925 || Jules Prosper Castagnet
|-
| 1925 || 1934 || Joseph Garat 
|-
| 1934 || 1935 || Jules Lafourcade 
|-
| 1935 || 1941 || Pierre Simonet 
|}
{{Hidden end}}

;[[Mayor (France)|Mayors]] from 1941

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! From !! To !! Name !! Party !! Position
|-
| 1941 || 1944 || Marcel Ribeton || ||
|-
| 1944 || 1945 || Jean Labourdique || ||
|-
| 1945 || 1947 || Jean Pierre Brana || ||
|-
| 1947 || 1958 || Maurice Delay || || Surgeon
|-
| 1958 || 1959 || Georges Forsans || ||
|-
| 1959 || 1995 || Henri Grenet || [[Union for French Democracy|UDF]]  || Surgeon
|-
| 1995 || 2014 || Jean Grenet || UDI || MP, Chairman of the Adour-Basque Coast agglomeration 2008–2014
|-
| 2014 || 2026 || Jean René Etchegaray || [[Union of Democrats and Independents|UDI]]  || President of the Adour-Basque Coast agglomeration
|}

===Cantons of Bayonne===
As per the Decree of 22 December 1789, Bayonne was part of two cantons: Bayonne-North-east, which includes part of Bayonne commune plus [[Boucau]], [[Saint-Pierre-d'Irube]], [[Lahonce]], [[Mouguerre]], and [[Urcuit]]; and Bayonne Northwest which consisted of the rest of Bayonne commune plus [[Anglet]], [[Arcangues]], and [[Bassussarry]].

In a first revision of cantons in 1973, three cantons were created from the same total; geographic area: Bayonne North, Bayonne East, and Bayonne West. A further reconfiguration, in 1982, focused primarily on Bayonne and, apart from Bayonne North Canton, which also includes Boucau, the cantons of Bayonne East and Bayonne West did not change.

Starting from the [[2015 French departmental elections]] which took place on 22 and 29 March, a new division took effect following the decree of 25 February 2014<ref>[http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000028661520 Decree No. 2014-248 of 25 February 2014 concerning the delimitation of cantons in the department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques], consulted on 9 March 2015 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> Once again three cantons centred on Bayonne are defined: [[Canton of Bayonne-1|Bayonne-1]]—with part of Anglet; [[Canton of Bayonne-2|Bayonne-2]]—which includes Boucau; and [[Canton of Bayonne-3|Bayonne-3]] now define the cantonal territorial division of the area.

===Judicial and administrative proceedings===
Bayonne is the seat of many courts for the region. It falls under the jurisdiction of the ''[[Tribunal d'instance]]'' (District court) of Bayonne, the ''Tribunal de grande instance'' (High Court) of Bayonne, the ''Cour d'appel'' ([[Court of Appeal (France)|Court of Appeal]]) of [[Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques|Pau]], the ''Tribunal pour enfants'' ([[Juvenile court]]) of Bayonne, the ''[[Conseil de prud'hommes]]'' (Labour Court) of Bayonne, the ''[[Tribunal de commerce]]'' (Commercial Court) of Bayonne, the ''Tribunal administratif'' (Administrative tribunal) of [[Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques|Pau]], and the ''Cour administrative d'appel'' (Administrative Court of Appeal) of [[Bordeaux]].<ref>[http://www.annuaires.justice.gouv.fr/annuaires-12162/liste-des-juridictions-competentes-pour-une-commune-22081.html#cmq_path=annuaire&cmq_territory=64100%20BAYONNE&cmq_submit=Submit List of competent jurisdictions for Bayonne], Ministry of Justice website {{in lang|fr}}.</ref>

The commune has a [[police station]], a [[Departmental Gendarmerie]], an Autonomous Territorial Brigade of the district Gendarmerie, squadron 24/2 of [[Mobile Gendarmerie]] and a Tax collection office.

===Intercommunality===

The commune is part of twelve inter-communal structures of which eleven are based in the commune:<ref name="Interco">[http://comdpt.pyrenees-atlantiques.pref.gouv.fr/ComDpt64/UneCommune.php Pyrénées-Atlantiques Communal database] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140519094350/http://comdpt.pyrenees-atlantiques.pref.gouv.fr/ComDpt64/UneCommune.php |date=19 May 2014 }}, consulted on 9 March 2015 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref>

* the [[Communauté d'agglomération du Pays Basque]];
* the transport association of Côte basque-Adour Agglomeration (STACBA);
* the intercommunal association for the management of the Txakurrak centre;
* the intercommunal association for the support of Basque culture;
* the Bil Ta Garbi joint association;
* the joint association for maritime Nive;
* the joint association for the Basque Museum and the History of Bayonne;
* the joint association for the development and monitoring of SCOT in the agglomeration of Bayonne and south Landes;
* the Kosta Garbia joint association;
* the joint association for the development of the European freight centre of Bayonne-Mouguerre-Lahonce;
* the joint association for operating the regional Maurice Ravel Conservatory.
* the Energy association of Pyrénées-Atlantiques;

The city of Bayonne is part of the ''Communauté d'agglomération du Pays Basque'' which also includes Anglet, Biarritz, Bidart, Boucau, Hendaye and Saint-Jean-de-Luz. The statutory powers of the structure extend to economic development—including higher education and research—housing and urban planning, public transport—through Transdev—alternative and the collection and recovery waste collection and management of rain and coastal waters, the sustainable development, interregional cooperation and finally 106.

In addition, Bayonne is part of the Basque Bayonne-San Sebastián Eurocity which is a [[European economic interest grouping]] (EEIG) established in 1993 based in [[San Sebastián]].<ref name="Eurocité">[http://www.eurocite.org/ The Bayonne-San Sebastián Eurocity], GEIE, consulted on 9 March 2015 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref><ref>[http://www.eurocite.org/fileadmin/user_upload/documents/Documents_Officiels/20140206_statuts_FR.pdf Statutes of the basque Bayonne-San Sebastián Eurocity], GEIE, consulted on 9 March 2015 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref>

===Twin towns – Sister cities===
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in France}}

Bayonne has [[Twin towns and sister cities|twinning]] associations with:<ref name="Bayonne twinnings">{{cite web | url = https://pastel.diplomatie.gouv.fr/cncdext/dyn/public/atlas/rechercheAtlasFrance.html | title = National Commission for Decentralised cooperation | access-date = 14 December 2015|work = Délégation pour l’Action Extérieure des Collectivités Territoriales (Ministère des Affaires étrangères) | language = fr}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|- valign="top"
|
* {{flagicon|BUL}} [[Veliko Tarnovo]], Bulgaria since 2004
* {{flagicon|ROU}} [[Satu Mare]], Romania since 2008
* {{flagicon|ESP}} [[Pamplona]], Spain since 1970
* {{flagicon|HUN}} [[Nyíregyháza]], Hungary since 2008
* {{flagicon|ESP}} [[L'Hospitalet de Llobregat]], since 2008
* {{flagicon|FIN}} [[Kajaani]], Finland since 2008
||
* {{flagicon|GRE}} [[Hydra (island)|Hydra]], Greece since 2008
* {{flagicon|POR}} [[Faro, Portugal|Faro]], Portugal since 2008
* {{flagicon|USA}} [[Daytona Beach, Florida|Daytona Beach]], [[Florida]], United States since 1970
* {{flagicon|USA}} [[Bayonne, New Jersey|Bayonne]], [[New Jersey]], United States since 1970
* {{flagicon|ITA}} [[Ascoli Piceno]], Italy since 2008
|}

==Geography==
Bayonne is located in the south-west of France on the western border between [[Basque Country (greater region)|Basque Country]] and [[Gascony]]. It developed at the confluence of the [[Adour]] and tributary on the left bank, the [[Nive]], 6&nbsp;km from the Atlantic coast. The commune was part of the Basque province of [[Labourd]].

{{Geographic location
|title = '''Neighbouring communes and villages'''<ref name=Google/>
|Centre    = Bayonne 
|North     = [[Tarnos]]
|Northeast = [[Saint-Martin-de-Seignanx]]
|East      = [[Saint-Barthélemy, Landes|Saint-Barthélemy]]
|Southeast = [[Lahonce]] / Lehuntze
|South     = [[Villefranque, Pyrénées-Atlantiques|Villefranque]] / Milafranga
|Southwest = [[Bassussarry]] / Basusarri
|West      = [[Anglet]] / Angelu
|Northwest = [[Boucau]] / Bokale
}}

===Geology and relief===
Bayonne occupies a territory characterized by a flat relief to the west and to the north towards the [[Landes forest]], tending to slightly raise towards the south and east. The city has developed at the confluence of the Adour and Nive {{convert|6|km|mi|abbr=off}} from the ocean. The meeting point of the two rivers coincides with a narrowing of the Adour valley. Above this, the alluvial plain extends for nearly {{convert|30|km|mi|spell=in|abbr=off}} towards both [[Tercis-les-Bains]] and [[Peyrehorade]], and is characterized by swampy meadows called ''barthes''. These are influenced by floods and high tides.<ref group="Note">In [[Gascony]] and in Basque country, alluvial floodplains along a river are called ''barthe'' (from the [[Gascon language|Gascon]] ''barta'').</ref> Downstream from this point, the river has shaped a large, wide bed in the sand dunes, creating a significant bottleneck at the [[confluence]].

The occupation of the hill that dominates this narrowing of the valley developed through a gradual spread across the lowlands. Occupants built embankments and the [[aggradation]] from flood soil.<ref name="p4" group="PH">p. 4</ref>

The Nive has played a leading role in the development of the Bayonne river system in recent geological time by the formation of alluvial terraces; these form the sub-soil of Bayonne beneath the surface accumulations of silt and aeolian sands.<ref name="p3" group="PH">p. 3</ref> The drainage network of the western [[Pre-Pyrenees]] evolved mostly from the [[Quaternary]], from south-east to northwest, oriented east–west. The Adour was captured by the gaves and this system, together with the Nive, led to the emergence of a new alignment of the lower Adour and the Adour-Nive confluence. This capture has been dated to the early Quaternary (80,000 years ago).<ref name="p3" group="PH" />

Before this capture, the Nive had deposited pebbles from the [[Mindel glaciation]] of medium to large sizes; this slowed erosion of the hills causing the bottleneck at Bayonne. After the deposit of the lowest alluvial terrace ({{convert|10|to(-)|15|m|ft|abbr=off}} high at Grand Bayonne), the course of the Adour became fixed in its lower reaches.<ref name="p3" group="PH" />

Subsequent to these deposits, there was a rise in sea level in the [[Holocene]] period (from 15,000 to 5000 years ago). This explains the invasion of the lower valleys with fine sand, peat, and mud with a thickness of more than {{convert|40|m|ft|abbr=off}} below the current bed of the Adour and the Nive in Bayonne. These same deposits are spread across the barthes.<ref name="p4" group="PH" />

In the late Quaternary, the current topographic physiognomy was formed—i.e. a set of hills overlooking a swampy lowland. The promontory of [[Bassussarry]]–Marracq ultimately extended to the Labourdin foothills. The Grand Bayonne hill is an example. Similarly, on the right bank of the Nive, the heights of Château-Neuf (Mocoron Hill) met the latest advance of the plateau of Saint-Pierre-d'Irube (height {{convert|30|to(-)|35|m|ft|abbr=off}}).<ref name="p4" group="PH" /> On the right bank of the Adour, the heights of Castelnau (today the citadel), with an altitude of {{convert|35|to(-)|40|m|ft|abbr=off}}, and Fort (today Saint-Esprit), with an altitude of {{convert|20|to(-)|25|m|ft|abbr=off}}, rise above the Barthes of the Adour, the Nive, Bourgneuf, Saint-Frédéric, Sainte-Croix, Aritxague, and Pontots.<ref name="p4" group="PH" />

The area of the commune is {{convert|2168|ha|abbr=off}} and its altitude varies between {{convert|0|to(-)|55|m|ft|abbr=off}}.<ref>[http://professionnels.ign.fr/rgc#tab-3 ''Geographic Repertoire of communes''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150108205314/http://professionnels.ign.fr/rgc#tab-3|date=8 January 2015}}, published by the [[Institut géographique national]] {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

===Hydrography===
[[File:Bayonne Adour HdV.jpg|thumb|The confluence of the [[Adour]] and the [[Nive]] from the right bank of the Adour]]
[[File:Bayonne, embouchure de la Nive - Fonds Ancely - B315556101 A MALBOS 2 015.jpg|thumb|Confluence of the [[Nive]] in Bayonne in 1843, by [[Eugène de Malbos]]]]

The city developed along the river Adour.<ref name="sandre">{{sandre|id=Q---0000|nom=L'Adour}}</ref> The river is part of the [[Natura 2000]] network from its source at [[Bagnères-de-Bigorre]] to its exit to the Atlantic Ocean after Bayonne, between [[Tarnos]] (Landes) for the right bank and [[Anglet]] (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) for the left bank.<ref>[http://www.institution-adour.fr/index.php/natura-2000-ladour.html ''The Adour in the Natura 2000 network''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214060636/http://www.institution-adour.fr/index.php/natura-2000-ladour.html |date=14 December 2018 }}, Institution Adour website, consulted on 23 August 2014 {{in lang|fr}}</ref><ref>[http://inpn.mnhn.fr/site/natura2000/FR7200724 Page FR7200724 Natura 2000], National Inventory of Natural heritage website, consulted on 23 August 2014 {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

Apart from the [[Nive]], which joins the left bank of the Adour after {{convert|79.3|km|mi|1|abbr=off}} of a sometimes tumultuous course, two tributaries join the Adour in Bayonne commune: the ''Ruisseau de Portou'' and the ''Ruisseau du Moulin Esbouc''. Tributaries of the Nive are the ''Ruisseau de Hillans'' and the ''Ruisseau d'Urdaintz'' which both rise in the commune.<ref name="Geo" />

===Climate===
The nearest weather station is that of Biarritz-Anglet.

The climate of Bayonne is relatively similar to that of its neighbour Biarritz, described below, with fairly heavy rainfall; the oceanic climate is due to the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean. The average winter temperature is around 8&nbsp;°C, and around 20&nbsp;°C in summer. The lowest temperature recorded was −12.7&nbsp;°C on 16 January 1985 and the highest 40.6&nbsp;°C on 4 August 2003 in the [[2003 European heat wave]].{{citation needed|date=November 2022}} Rains on the Basque coast are rarely persistent except during winter storms. They often take the form of intense thunderstorms of short duration.

{{Meteo France
|Town=Bayonne<ref>[http://www.lameteo.org/index.php/climatologie/1656-normales-climatiques-1981-2010-Biarritz Data from the Station at Biarritz] from 1981 to 2010 {{in lang|fr}}</ref>
|Sunshine=1920
|Rain=1450
|Snow=2.2
|Storm=35.5
|Fog=28.5
}}

{{Weather box
| collapsed = y
| location = Biarritz-[[Anglet]] <small>(altitude {{convert|69|m|abbr=off}}, 1981–2010)</small>
| metric first = yes
| single line = yes
| Jan record high C = 23.4
| Feb record high C = 28.9
| Mar record high C = 29.7
| Apr record high C = 32.1
| May record high C = 34.8
| Jun record high C = 39.2
| Jul record high C = 39.8
| Aug record high C = 40.6
| Sep record high C = 37.0
| Oct record high C = 32.2
| Nov record high C = 27.8
| Dec record high C = 25.1
| year record high C = 40.6
| Jan high C = 12.0
| Feb high C = 12.8
| Mar high C = 15.0
| Apr high C = 16.2
| May high C = 19.6
| Jun high C = 22.1
| Jul high C = 24.1
| Aug high C = 24.7
| Sep high C = 23.2
| Oct high C = 20.0
| Nov high C = 15.1
| Dec high C = 12.5
| year high C = 18.1
| Jan mean C = 8.4
| Feb mean C = 8.9
| Mar mean C = 11.0
| Apr mean C = 12.4
| May mean C = 15.6
| Jun mean C = 18.3
| Jul mean C = 20.4
| Aug mean C = 20.8
| Sep mean C = 18.8
| Oct mean C = 16.0
| Nov mean C = 11.4
| Dec mean C = 9.0
| year mean C = 14.3
| Jan low C = 4.8
| Feb low C = 5.0
| Mar low C = 7.0
| Apr low C = 8.5
| May low C = 11.6
| Jun low C = 14.6
| Jul low C = 16.7
| Aug low C = 17.0
| Sep low C = 14.5
| Oct low C = 11.9
| Nov low C = 7.7
| Dec low C = 5.5
| year low C = 10.4
| Jan record low C = -12.7
| Feb record low C = -11.5
| Mar record low C = -7.2
| Apr record low C = -1.3
| May record low C = 3.3
| Jun record low C = 5.3
| Jul record low C = 9.2
| Aug record low C = 8.6
| Sep record low C = 5.3
| Oct record low C = -0.6
| Nov record low C = -5.7
| Dec record low C = -8.9
| year record low C = -12.7
| precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation mm = 128.8
| Feb precipitation mm = 111.5
| Mar precipitation mm = 103.5
| Apr precipitation mm = 129.7
| May precipitation mm = 113.9
| Jun precipitation mm = 87.8
| Jul precipitation mm = 69.3
| Aug precipitation mm = 98.4
| Sep precipitation mm = 119.6
| Oct precipitation mm = 152.1
| Nov precipitation mm = 185.9
| Dec precipitation mm = 150.4
| year precipitation mm = 1450.9
| Jan precipitation days = 13.4
| Feb precipitation days = 12.0
| Mar precipitation days = 11.9
| Apr precipitation days = 13.6
| May precipitation days = 12.9
| Jun precipitation days = 10.4
| Jul precipitation days = 8.8
| Aug precipitation days = 9.6
| Sep precipitation days = 9.7
| Oct precipitation days = 12.5
| Nov precipitation days = 13.0
| Dec precipitation days = 12.6
| year precipitation days = 140.5
| unit precipitation days = 1&nbsp;mm
| Jan snow days = 0.8
| Feb snow days = 1.0
| Mar snow days = 0.3
| Apr snow days = 0.1
| May snow days = 0.0
| Jun snow days = 0.0
| Jul snow days = 0.0
| Aug snow days = 0.0
| Sep snow days = 0.0
| Oct snow days = 0.0
| Nov snow days = 0.3
| Dec snow days = 0.5
| year snow days = 3.0
| Jan humidity = 77
| Feb humidity = 75
| Mar humidity = 73
| Apr humidity = 77
| May humidity = 78
| Jun humidity = 81
| Jul humidity = 80
| Aug humidity = 81
| Sep humidity = 80
| Oct humidity = 78
| Nov humidity = 79
| Dec humidity = 78
| year humidity = 78.1
| Jan sun = 100.2
| Feb sun = 114.1
| Mar sun = 164.4
| Apr sun = 169.4
| May sun = 193.7
| Jun sun = 203.3
| Jul sun = 209.0
| Aug sun = 206.8
| Sep sun = 192.8
| Oct sun = 141.7
| Nov sun = 103.8
| Dec sun = 88.3
| year sun = 1887.3
| source 1 = Météo France<ref name= Météo>{{cite web
| url = http://www.meteofrance.com/climat/france/biarritz/64024001/normales
| title = Données climatiques de la station de Biarritz
| publisher = Meteo France
| language = fr
| access-date = 28 December 2015
| archive-date = 20 February 2020
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200220190026/http://www.meteofrance.com/climat/france/biarritz/64024001/normales
| url-status = dead
}}</ref><ref name=MFclimat2>{{cite web
| url = http://www.meteofrance.com/climat/france/aquitaine/regi72/normales
| title = Climat Aquitaine
| publisher = Meteo France
| language = fr
| access-date = 28 December 2015
| archive-date = 20 May 2019
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190520060612/http://www.meteofrance.com/climat/france/aquitaine/regi72/normales
| url-status = dead
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180306010343/https://donneespubliques.meteofrance.fr/FichesClim/FICHECLIM_64024001.pdf
| archive-date = 6 March 2018
| url = https://donneespubliques.meteofrance.fr/FichesClim/FICHECLIM_64024001.pdf
| title = Biarritz–Pays–Basque (64)
| work = Fiche Climatologique: Statistiques 1981–2010 et records
| publisher = Meteo France
| language = fr
| access-date = 6 March 2018}}</ref>
| source 2 = Infoclimat.fr (humidity and snowy days, 1961–1990)<ref name=Infoclimat>{{cite web
| url = http://www.infoclimat.fr/climatologie-07602-biarritz-anglet.html
| title = Normes et records 1961–1990: Biarritz-Anglet (64) – altitude 69m
| language = fr
| publisher = Infoclimat
| access-date = 28 December 2015}}</ref>
| date = December 2011
}}

==Transport==
[[File:Transport interurbain autour de Bayonne 03092014.png|thumb|Public transport around Bayonne: railway lines are black, the intercity bus lines Pyrénées-Atlantiques are green and those of Landes purple. The PTU (perimeter of urban transport, which operates the Chronoplus network is uncharted here) is bounded by a red line.]]
[[File:Bayonne - Voies de communication (2).png|thumb|Means of transport (water, roads, bridges, and railways)]]

===Road===
Bayonne is located at the intersection of the [[A63 autoroute]] (Bordeaux-Spain) and the D1 extension of the [[A64 autoroute]] (towards [[Toulouse]]). The city is served by three interchanges—two of them on the A63: exit {{Motorway exit|6}} (Bayonne Nord) serves the northern districts of Bayonne but also allows quick access to the centre while exit {{Motorway exit|5}} (Bayonne Sud) provides access to the south and also serves [[Anglet]]. The third exit is the D1 / A64 via the Mousserolles interchange (exit {{Motorway exit|1}} Bayonne Mousserolles) which links the district of the same name and also serves the neighbouring communes of [[Mouguerre]] and [[Saint-Pierre-d'Irube]].

Bayonne was traversed by [[Route nationale 10]] connecting [[Paris]] to [[Hendaye]] but this is now downgraded to a departmental road D810. [[Route nationale]] 117, linking Bayonne to Toulouse has been downgraded to departmental road D817.

===Bridges===
[[File:Bayonne Adour.jpg|thumb|The Saint-Esprit bridge over the [[Adour]]]]

There are several bridges over both the Nive and the Adour, linking the various districts.

Coming from upstream on the Adour, there is the A63 bridge, then the Saint-Frédéric bridge which carries the D 810, then the railway bridge that replaced the old Eiffel iron bridge, the Saint-Esprit bridge, and finally the Grenet bridge. The Saint-Esprit bridge connects the Saint-Esprit district to the Amiral-Bergeret dock just upstream of the confluence with the river Nive. In 1845, the old bridge, originally made of wood, was rebuilt in masonry with seven arches supporting a deck {{convert|230|m|ft|abbr=off}} wide.<ref name="p118" group="FL">p. 118.</ref> It was then called the Nemours Bridge in honour of [[Prince Louis, Duke of Nemours|Louis of Orleans]], sixth Duke of Nemours, who laid the first stone. The bridge was finally called Saint-Esprit. Until 1868, the bridge had a moving span near the left bank. It was expanded in 1912 to facilitate the movement of horse-drawn [[carriage]]s and motor vehicles.<ref name="p118" group="FL" />

On the Nive coming from upstream to downstream, there is the A63 bridge then the ''Pont Blanc'' (White bridge)<ref group="Note">The successor to the iron railway bridge ''Raccordement d'Aïtachouria'', the Pont Blanc has been used since 2003 to link the ''Floride Sports Field'' to the wilderness area on the Ansot plain.</ref> railway bridge, and then D810 bridge, the Génie bridge (or ''Pont Millitaire''), the Pannecau bridge, the Marengo bridge<ref group="Note">The Marengo masonry bridge was under [[Napoleon III]].</ref> leading to the covered markets, and the Mayou Bridge.<ref group="Note">The Mayou bridge, formerly called ''Major'' or ''Maior'', was rebuilt in stone in 1857.</ref> The Pannecau bridge was long named ''Bertaco bridge'' and was rebuilt in masonry under [[Napoleon III]].<ref name="p25" group="FL">p. 25.</ref> According to François Lafitte Houssat, "[...] a municipal ordinance of 1327 provided for the imprisonment of any quarrellsome woman of bad character in an iron cage dropped into the waters of the Nive River from the bridge. The practice lasted until 1780 [...]"<ref name="p25" group="FL" /> This punishment bore the evocative name of ''cubainhade''.<ref name="p20" group="DN">p. 20.</ref>

===Cycling network===
The commune is traversed by the ''[[EV1 The Atlantic Coast Route|Vélodyssée]]''. [[Cycling infrastructure|Bicycle paths]] are located along the left bank of the Adour, a large part of the left bank of the Nive, and along various axes of the city where there are some bicycle lanes. The city offers free bicycles on loan.<ref>[http://www.bayonne.fr/vie-quotidienne/se-deplacer/393-le-velo-en-ville.html ''The bicycle in town – City of Bayonne''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923182919/http://www.bayonne.fr/vie-quotidienne/se-deplacer/393-le-velo-en-ville.html|date=23 September 2015}}, Bayonne official website, consulted on 6 October 2014 {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

===Public transport===

====Urban network====
Most of the lines of the ''Chronoplus'' bus network operated by the ''Transdev agglomeration of Bayonne'' link Bayonne to other communes in the urban transport perimeter: [[Anglet]], [[Biarritz]], [[Bidart]], [[Boucau]], [[Saint-Pierre-d'Irube]] and [[Tarnos]]<ref group="Note">The A1, A2, B, C, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 14 and N lines (as at 9 September 2014)</ref><ref>[http://www.chronoplus.eu/ftp/Plan_reseau_chronoplus.pdf ''Chronoplus Network Map''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923203142/http://www.chronoplus.eu/ftp/Plan_reseau_chronoplus.pdf|date=23 September 2015}}, consulted on 25 July 2014 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref> The Bayonne free shuttle Bayonne serves the city centre (Grand and Petit Bayonne) by connecting several parking stations; other free shuttles perform other short trips within the commune.

====Interurban networks====
Bayonne is connected to many cities in the western half of the department such as [[Saint-Jean-de-Luz]] and [[Saint-Palais, Pyrénées-Atlantiques|Saint-Palais]] by the Pyrenees-Atlantiques long-distance coach network of ''Transport 64'' managed by the General Council. Since the network restructuring in the summer of 2013, the lines converge on Bayonne.<ref>[http://www.transports64.fr/IMG/pdf/cg64-tiuplanreseau0714.pdf Network map] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140726114958/http://www.transports64.fr/IMG/pdf/cg64-tiuplanreseau0714.pdf|date=26 July 2014}}, Transports 64, consulted on 11 September 2014 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref> Bayonne is also served by services from the [[Landes (department)|Landes]] departmental network, ''XL'R''.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090912033123/http://www.rdtl.fr/index.php?niveau_id=65&niveau=2 The RDTL network], consulted on 11 September 2014 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref>

====Rail transport====
The [[Gare de Bayonne]] is located in the Saint-Esprit district and is an important station on the [[Bordeaux-Irun railway]]. It is also the terminus of lines leading from [[Toulouse]] to Bayonne and from Bayonne to [[Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port]]. It is served by [[TGV]], [[Intercités]], [[Intercités de nuit]], and [[TER Nouvelle-Aquitaine]] trains (to [[Hendaye]], [[Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port]], [[Dax, Landes|Dax]], [[Bordeaux]], [[Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques|Pau]], and [[Tarbes]]).

====Air transport====
Bayonne is served by the [[Biarritz – Anglet – Bayonne Airport]] ([[IATA code]]: BIQ • [[ICAO airport code|ICAO code]]: LFBZ), located on the communal territories of Anglet and Biarritz.<ref group="Note">Only a quarter of the area, the west end of the runway, is located in Biarritz commune.</ref> The airport was returned to service in 1954 after repair of damage from bombing during the [[Second World War]].

==Demographics==
In 2017, the commune had 51,228 inhabitants.
{{Historical populations
| align = none
| cols = 2
| percentages = pagr
| source = EHESS<ref name=ehess>{{Cassini-Ehess|2448|Bayonne}}</ref> and INSEE<ref name=pophist>[https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/4515315?geo=COM-64102#ancre-POP_T1 Population en historique depuis 1968], INSEE</ref>
| graph-pos = bottom
|1793 |12578
|1800 |13190
|1806 |14006
|1821 |13248
|1831 |14773
|1836 |15912
|1841 |17303
|1846 |18120
|1851 |18870
|1856 |26187
|1861 |25611
|1866 |26333
|1872 |27173
|1876 |27416
|1881 |26261
|1886 |27289
|1891 |27192
|1896 |26918
|1901 |27601
|1906 |26488
|1911 |27886
|1921 |28215
|1926 |31436
|1931 |31727
|1936 |31350
|1946 |32620
|1954 |32575
|1962 |36941
|1968 |42743
|1975 |42938
|1982 |41381
|1990 |40051
|1999 |40078
|2007 |44498
|2012 |45855
|2017 |51228
}}

==Education==
Bayonne commune is attached to the Academy of Bordeaux. It has an information and guidance center (CIO).<ref name=Education>[http://www.education.gouv.fr/pid24302/annuaire-resultat-recherche.html?lycee_name=&localisation=1&ville_name=bayonne Schools in Bayonne] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222131118/http://www.education.gouv.fr/pid24302/annuaire-resultat-recherche.html?lycee_name=&localisation=1&ville_name=bayonne |date=22 December 2015 }} {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

As of 14 December 2015, Bayonne had 10 kindergartens, 22 elementary or primary schools (12 public and 10 private primary schools including two ikastolas). 2 public colleges (Albert Camus and Marracq colleges), 5 private colleges (La Salle Saint-Bernard, Saint Joseph, Saint-Amand, Notre-Dame and Largenté) which meet the criteria of the first cycle of second degree studies. For the second cycle,Bayonne has 3 public high schools (René-Cassin school (general education), the Louis de Foix school (general, technological and vocational education), and the Paul Bert vocational school), 4 private high schools (Saint-Louis Villa Pia (general education), Largenté, Bernat Etxepare (general and technological), and Le Guichot vocational school).

There are also the Maurice Ravel Conservatory of Music, Dance, and Dramatic Art and the art school of the urban community of Bayonne-Anglet-Biarritz.

==Culture==
===Cultural festivities and events===
[[File:Bayonne Roi Léon.jpg|thumb|Fêtes de Bayonne 2004, King Léon]]
[[File:ArenesBayonnes.jpg|left|thumb|The Bayonne bullfighting ring]]

For 550 years, every holy Thursday, Friday and Saturday the ''Foire au Jambon'' (Ham festival) is held to mark the beginning of the season.<ref>[http://www.bayonne-tourisme.com/fr/decouvrir-bayonne/ville-festive/foire-au-jambon.php The Foire au jambon], consulted on 29 July 2014 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref><ref group=Note>In 2014, the Ham Festival was held from 17 to 20 April</ref>

An annual summer festival has been held in the commune since 1932 for five days,<ref group=Note>Bayonne Celebrations traditionally begin on the Wednesday preceding the first weekend of August but the schedule has been changed and the start of celebrations has been advanced in recent years because the crowds become too large. They end the following Sunday.</ref> organized around parades, bulls races, [[fireworks]], and music in the Basque and Gascon tradition. These festivals have become the most important festive events in France in terms of attendance.

{{Main|Fêtes de Bayonne}}

Bayonne has the oldest French bullfighting tradition. A bylaw regulating the ''encierro'' is dated 1283: cows, oxen and bulls are released each year in the streets of Petit Bayonne during the summer festivals. The current arena, opened in 1893, is the largest in South-west France with more than 10,000 seats. A dozen bullfights are held each year, attracting the biggest names in bullfighting. Throughout summer several ''novilladas'' also take place. The city is a member of the ''Union of French bullfighting cities''.

==Health==
Bayonne is the focus of much of the hospital services for the agglomeration of Bayonne and the southern Landes. In this area, all inhabitants are less than 35&nbsp;km from a hospital offering medical, obstetrical, surgical, or psychiatric care. The hospitals for all the Basque Coast are mainly established in Bayonne (the main site of Saint-Léon and Cam-de-Prats) and also in [[Saint-Jean-de-Luz]] which has several clinics.<ref name="Brunet"/>

==Sports==
[[File:Bayonne Aviron Bayonnais.jpg|thumb|Bayonne rowing boat shed]]

* '''Rowing''', a popular sport for a long time on the Nive and the Adour near Bayonne. There are two clubs: the Nautical Society of Bayonne (SNB) (established in 1875) and ''Aviron Bayonnais''—established in 1904 by former members of the SNB and which later became a sports club.
*'''Basketball'''. ''Denek Bat Bayonne Urcuit'' is a basketball club with a male section competing in NM1 (3rd national level of the French league). The club is based in the city of [[Urcuit]] but plays in the Lauga Sports Palace in Bayonne.
*'''Football'''. [[Aviron Bayonnais FC]] play their home games at Didier Deschamps Stadium in [[Championnat National 3]] (the 5th French division) since the 2013–2014 season after a year in CFA and three consecutive years in the {{Lang|fr|[[Championnat National]]|italic=no}}. [[Didier Deschamps]] started his career at Aviron Bayonnais FC. The stadium, formerly called the ''Grand Basque'', is now named after him. There are also three other football clubs in Bayonne: the ''Crusaders of Saint Andrew'' playing in the higher regional division, the ''Portuguese stars of Bayonne'' (first district division), and the Bayonne association on the right bank of the river (3rd district division).
*'''Omnisports'''. Aviron Bayonnais, created in 1904, includes many sports sections and a large number of members.<ref group=Note>There are 20 sports sections including the ''Aviron Bayonnais pro rugby'' and Aviron Bayonnais FC according to the [http://www.aviron-bayonnais.asso.fr Aviron Bayonnais FC website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051109220010/http://www.aviron-bayonnais.asso.fr/ |date=9 November 2005 }} (accessed 29 July 2014).</ref> The pro rugby and football club are the most famous sections of the club. The ''Bayonne Olympic Club'', created in 1972, is located in the district of Hauts de Sainte-Croix. The club offers a wide range of sports including [[pelote]], gymnastics, combat sports, and a [[Pool (cue sports)|pool]] section. The club had nearly 400 members in 2007.
*'''[[Basque Pelota]]''' Bayonne is an important place for Basque pelota. The ''French Federation of Basque Pelota'' is headquartered at ''Trinquet moderne'' near the Bullring.<ref>[http://www.ffpb.net/fr/13-contact-federation-francaise-de-pelote-basque.php The headquarters of the French Federation of Basque Pelota] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222094429/http://www.ffpb.net/fr/13-contact-federation-francaise-de-pelote-basque.php |date=22 December 2015 }}, retrieved 5 August 2014 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref> Many titles were won by pelota players from the city. The World Championships took place in Bayonne in 1978 in association with Biarritz.<ref>[https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/116781361635170857302/albums/6028550626011011617 Photos of the French delegation at the World championships for Basque pelota], consulted on 5 August 2014 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref>
*'''Rugby''' appeared in Basque Country at the end of the 19th century with the arrival, in 1897 at Bayonne High School, of a 20-year-old person from Landes who converts his comrades to football-rugby which he had discovered in Bordeaux.<ref>Marie-France Chauvirey, ''Life in olden days in Basque country'', Éditions Sud Ouest, Luçon, 1994, {{ISBN|2 87901 219 8}}, p. 157 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref> Practicing in the fields near the Spanish Gate, they communicated their enthusiasm to other colleges in Bayonne and Biarritz leading to the creation of the Biarritz Sporting Club and Biarritz Stadium which merged in 1913 to become [[Biarritz Olympique]]. Bayonne has two rugby clubs: The Bayonne Athletic Association (ASB) plays in [[Fédérale 3]] while the [[Aviron Bayonnais]] rugby pro in the 2014–2015 season played in [[Top 14]], where they have played without interruption since the 2004–2005 season. Aviron Bayonnais has won three league titles in France (1913, 1934 and 1943). It was the first club from a small town to become champion of France. Its stadium is the [[Stade Jean Dauger]]. There is also a women's team in the ASB, playing in the National Division 1B. This team won the 2014 Armelle Auclair challenge.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

==Religion==

===Christian worship===
Bayonne is in the [[Diocese of Bayonne]], Lescar and Oloron, with a [[suffragan bishop]] since 2002 under the [[Archdiocese of Bordeaux]].<ref>[http://diocese64.org/ The Diocese of Bayonne, Lescar and Oloron], consulted on 9 March 2015 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref> Monseigneur [[Marc Aillet]] has been the bishop of this diocese since 15 October 2008. The diocese is located in Bayonne in the Place Monseigneur-Vansteenberghe.

Besides [[Bayonne Cathedral]] in Grand Bayonne, Bayonne has Saint-Esprit, Saint Andrew (Rue des Lisses), Arènes (Avenue of the Czech Legion), Saint-Étienne, and Saint-Amand (Avenue Marechal Soult) churches.

The ''Carmel of Bayonne'', located in the Marracq district, has had a community of [[Carmelite]] nuns since 1858.

The ''Way of Baztan'' (also ''ruta del Baztan'' or ''camino Baztanés'') is a way on the pilgrimage of [[Camino de Santiago]] which crosses the Pyrenees further west by the lowest pass (by the ''Col de Belate'', 847&nbsp;m). It is the ancient road used by pilgrims descending to Bayonne then either along the coast on the ''Way of Soulac'' or because they landed there from England, for example, to join the [[French Way]] as soon as possible in [[Pamplona]]. The ''Way of Bayonne'' joins the French Way further downstream at [[Burgos]].

The Protestant church is located at the corner of Rue Albert-I st and Rue du Temple.<ref>[http://www.eglise-protestante-unie.fr/Lieux-Communs/Temple-de-Bayonne/(language)/fre-FR The Temple of Bayonne], Reformed Church consulted on 29 July 2014 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref> A gospel church is located in the Saint-Esprit district where there is also a church belonging to the [[Gypsy]] Evangelical Church of the Protestant Federation of France.<ref>[http://www.eglises.org/france/64/ List of Evangelical churches in Pyrénées-Atlantiques], consulted on 29 July 2014 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref>

===Jewish worship===
The [[synagogue]] was built in 1837 in the Saint-Esprit district north of the town.<ref>[http://www.consistoiredefrance.fr/r/14.sud_ouest.html Community of Bayonne] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222125016/http://www.consistoiredefrance.fr/r/14.sud_ouest.html |date=22 December 2015 }}, consulted on 13 September 2014 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref> The Jewish community of Bayonne is old—it consists of different groups of fugitives from Navarre and Portugal who established at Saint-Esprit-lès-Bayonne after the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492 and Portugal in 1496. In 1846, the [[Central Consistory]] moved to Saint-Esprit which was integrated with Bayonne in 1857.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

The [[Jewish cemetery, Bayonne|Jewish Cemetery of Bayonne]] was established in 1689 in the Saint-Étienne neighborhood in the northern quarter of the city.<ref name=":0">{{Base Mérimée|PA64000026|Le cimetière juif de Bayonne}}.</ref> It was remodeled and enlarged in the 18th and 19th century and covers and area of two hectares.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Le cimetière juif de Bayonne |url=https://museedupatrimoine.fr/cimetiere-juif-de-bayonne-pyrenees-atlantiques/10055.html |access-date=18 November 2021 |website=museedupatrimoine.fr}}.</ref>

==Economy==
[[File:Bayonne Poissonnerie.jpg|thumb|Rue Poissonnerie, a shopping street in Grand-Bayonne]]
[[File:Biarritz Jambon (1).jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|[[Bayonne ham]]]]
[[File:Piment 4 det.gif|thumb|Dark chocolate with [[Espelette pepper]]]]

===Population and income tax===
In 2011, the median household income tax was €22,605, placing Bayonne 28,406th place among the 31,886 communes with more than 49 households in metropolitan France.<ref>[http://www.insee.fr/fr/ppp/bases-de-donnees/donnees-detaillees/structure-distrib-revenus/structure-distrib-revenus-2011/structure-distrib-revenus-com-2011.zip Page RFDM2011COM: Local Fiscal Revenue by household], 2011, consulted on 30 July 2014 (20mb+) {{in lang|fr}}.</ref>

In 2011, 47.8% of households were not taxable.<ref group="Insee">''REV T1 – Taxes on the income of households''.</ref>

===Employment===
In 2011, the population aged from 15 to 64 years was 29,007 persons of which 70.8% were employable, 60.3% in employment and 10.5% unemployed.<ref group="Insee">''EMP T1 – Population from 15 to 64 years by type of activity''.</ref> While there were 30,012 jobs in the employment area, against 29,220 in 2006, and the number of employed workers residing in the employment area was 17,667, the indicator of job concentration is 169.9% which means that the employment area offers nearly two jobs for every available worker.<ref group="Insee">''EMP T5 – Employment and Activity''.</ref>

===Businesses and shops===
Bayonne is the economic capital of the agglomeration of Bayonne and southern Landes. The table below details the number of companies located in Bayonne according to their industry:<ref group="Insee">''DEN T5 – Number of establishments by sector of activity on 1 January 2013''.</ref>

{| class="wikitable centre" style="text-align:center;"
 |+ Structure of the economy in Bayonne as at 1 January 2013
 |-
 ! scope="col" style="background: #DDFFDD; color:black;" |
 ! scope="col" style="background: #DDFFDD; color:black;" | No. of establishments
|-
! scope="row" style="background: #EDEDED; color:black;"  | Total
| style="background: #EDEDED; color:black;"  | '''{{formatnum:4665}}'''
|-
! scope="row" style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;" | Industry
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  | 270
|-
! scope="row" style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;" | Construction
|style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"   | 375
|-
! scope="row" style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;" | Trade, transport and services
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  | {{formatnum:3146}}
|-
! scope="row" style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;" | Public administration, education, health, and social services
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  | 874
|-
| colspan="7" style="text-align:center;font-size:90%;"|Scope: Commercial activities excluding agriculture
|}

The table below shows employees by business establishments in terms of numbers:<ref group="Insee">''CEN T1 – Active establishments by sector of activity on 31 December 2011''.</ref>

{| class="wikitable centre" style="text-align:center;"
 |+ Active establishments by sector of activity on 31 December 2011
 |-
 ! scope="col" style="background: #DDFFDD; color:black;" |
 ! scope="col" style="background: #DDFFDD; color:black;" | Total
 ! scope="col" style="background: #DDFFDD; color:black;" | %
 ! scope="col" style="background: #DDFFDD; color:black;" | 0 <br />staff
 ! scope="col" style="background: #DDFFDD; color:black;" | 1 to 9 <br />staff
 ! scope="col" style="background: #DDFFDD; color:black;" | 10 to 19 <br />staff
 ! scope="col" style="background: #DDFFDD; color:black;" | 20 to 49 <br />staff
 ! scope="col" style="background: #DDFFDD; color:black;" | 50 staff <br />or more
|-
! scope=row style="background: #EDEDED; text-align:left; color:black;"  | Ensemble
| style="background: #EDEDED; color:black;"  | '''{{formatnum:5946}}'''
| style="background: #EDEDED; color:black;"  | '''100.0'''
| style="background: #EDEDED; color:black;"  | '''{{formatnum:3797}}'''
| style="background: #EDEDED; color:black;"  | '''{{formatnum:1708}}'''
| style="background: #EDEDED; color:black;"  | '''213'''
| style="background: #EDEDED; color:black;"  | '''155'''
| style="background: #EDEDED; color:black;"  | '''73'''
|-
! scope="row" style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;" | Agriculture, sylviculture and fishing
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |46
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |0.8
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |38
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |6
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |0
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |2
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |0
|-
! scope="row" style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;" | Industry
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |292
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |4.9
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |150
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |101
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |23
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |15
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |3
|-
! scope="row" style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;" | Construction
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |428
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |7.2
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |299
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |84
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |26
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |15
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |4
|-
! scope="row" style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;" | Trade, transport, services
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |{{formatnum:3953}}
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |66.5
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |{{formatnum:2390}}
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |{{formatnum:1346}}
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |117
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |73
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |27
|-
! scope="row" style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;" style="text-align:right;" | <small>''including trade and car repair''</small>
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |''{{formatnum:1115}}''
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |''18,8''
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |''579''
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |''457''
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |''38''
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |''32''
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |>''9''
|-
! scope="row" style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;" | Public administration, education, health, social services
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |{{formatnum:1227}}
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |20.6
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |920
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |171
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |47
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |50
| style="background: #FFFFFF; color:black;"  |39
|-
| colspan="8" style="text-align:center;font-size:90%;"|Scope: All activities
|}

The following comments apply to the two previous tables:<ref group=Note>These remarks are not the result of a statistical study of the data presented; they are only indicative.</ref>
*the bulk of economic activity is provided by companies in the tertiary sector;
*Agriculture is almost non-existent Note 54;<ref group=Note>Part of the commune is part of the town is in the [[appellation d'origine controlee]] (AOC) zone of [[Ossau-Iraty]] but there were no producers in 2014.</ref>
*less than 5% of the activity is from the industrial sector which remains focused on establishments of less than 50 employees, as also are construction-related activities;
*public administration, education, health and social services are activities of over 20% of establishments, confirming the importance of Bayonne as an administrative centre.

In 2013, 549 new establishments were created in Bayonne including 406 [[sole proprietorship]]s.<ref group="Insee">''DEN T1 – Creation of Enterprises by sector of activity in 2011''.</ref><ref group="Insee">''DEN T2 – Creation of individual entreprises by sector of activity in 2011''.</ref>

===Workshops and Industry===
Bayonne has few of such industries, as indicated in the previous tables. There is ''Plastitube'' specializing in plastic packaging (190 employees).<ref name="Brunet"/> The [[Izarra (liqueur)|Izarra]] liqueur company set up a distillery in 1912 at Quai Amiral-Bergeret and has long symbolized the economic wealth of Bayonne. Industrial activities are concentrated in the neighbouring communes of [[Boucau]], [[Tarnos]] ([[Turbomeca]]), [[Mouguerre]], and [[Anglet]].

Bayonne is known for its fine chocolates, produced in the town for 500 years, and Bayonne ham, a cured ham seasoned with peppers from nearby [[Espelette]]. [[Izarra (liqueur)|Izarra]], the liqueur made in bright green or yellow colours, is distilled locally. It is said by some that Bayonne is the birthplace of [[mayonnaise]], supposedly a corruption of ''Bayonnaise'', the French adjective describing the city's people and produce. Now bayonnaise can refer to a particular mayonnaise flavoured with the Espelette chillis.

Bayonne is now the centre of certain craft industries that were once widespread, including the manufacture of ''[[makila]]s'', traditional Basque walking-sticks. The Fabrique Alza just outside the city is known for its ''palas'', bats used in ''[[Basque pelota|pelota]]'', the traditional Basque sport.

===Service activities===
The active tertiary sector includes some large retail chains such as those detailed by geographer [[Roger Brunet]]:<ref name="Brunet">[http://tresordesregions.mgm.fr Roger Brunet personal website], consulted on 5 August 2014 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref> BUT (240 staff), [[Carrefour]] (150 staff), [[E.Leclerc]] (150 staff), [[Leroy Merlin]] (130 staff), and [[Galeries Lafayette]] (120 employees). Banks, cleaning companies (Onet, 170 employees), and security ([[Brink's]], 100 employees) are also major employers in the commune, as is urban transport which employs nearly 200 staff. Five health clinics, providing a total of more than 500 beds, each employ 120 to 170 staff.<ref name="Brunet"/>

===The port of Bayonne===
[[File:BBC-Magellan à Bayonne.jpg|thumb|The cargo ship ''BBC-Magellan'' in the port of Bayonne in 2014]]

The port of Bayonne is located at the mouth of the Adour, downstream of the city. It also occupies part of communes of Anglet and Boucau in [[Pyrenees-Atlantiques]] and [[Tarnos]] in [[Landes (department)|Landes]].<ref>[http://www.bayonne.port.fr/Documents/fiches_pedagogiques/carteportbayonne.pdf The Port of Bayonne] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303170323/http://www.bayonne.port.fr/Documents/fiches_pedagogiques/carteportbayonne.pdf |date=3 March 2016 }}, official website, consulted on 14 September 2014 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref> It benefits greatly from the natural gas field of Lacq to which it is connected by pipeline. This is the ninth largest French port for trade with an annual traffic of about 4.2 million tonnes of which 2.8 is export. It is also the largest French port for export of [[maize]].<ref name="Brunet"/> It is the property of the Aquitaine region who manage and control the site.<ref>[http://www.bayonne.port.fr/Documents/fiches_pedagogiques/port_concede.pdf The port of Bayonne] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140914113802/http://www.bayonne.port.fr/Documents/fiches_pedagogiques/port_concede.pdf |date=14 September 2014 }}, official website, consulted on 14 September 2014 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref> Metallurgical products movement are more than one million tons per year and maize exports to Spain vary between 800,000 and 1 million tons. The port also receives refined oil products from the [[TotalEnergies]] oil refinery at [[Donges]] (800,000 tons per year). Fertilizers are a traffic of 500,000 tons per year and [[sulphur]] from Lacq, albeit in sharp decline, is 400,000 tons.<ref name="Brunet"/><ref>[http://www.bayonne.port.fr/Documents/fiches_pedagogiques/trafic_2008_enbref.pdf Traffic in the port of Bayonne in 2008] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304025759/http://www.bayonne.port.fr/Documents/fiches_pedagogiques/trafic_2008_enbref.pdf |date=4 March 2016 }}, Port of Bayonne official website, consulted on 14 September 2014 {{in lang|fr}}.</ref>

The port also receives [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]] and [[General Motors]] vehicles from Spain and Portugal and wood both tropical and from Landes.<ref name="Brunet"/>

===Tourism services===

Due to its proximity to the ocean and the foothills of the Pyrenees as well as its historic heritage, Bayonne has developed important activities related to tourism.<ref group="Insee">''EMP T8 – Employment by sector of activity'' {{in lang|fr}}.</ref>

On 31 December 2012, there were 15 hotels in the city offering more than 800 rooms to visitors, but there were no camp sites.<ref group="Insee">''TOU T1 – Number and capacity of hotels at 31 December 2012'' {{in lang|fr}}.</ref> The tourist infrastructure in the surrounding urban area of Bayonne complements the local supply with around 5800 rooms spread over nearly 200 hotels and 86 campsites offering over 14,000 beds.<ref>[http://insee.fr/fr/themes/tableau_local.asp?ref_id=TOU&millesime=2013&typgeo=AU2010&typesearch=inclusion&codgeo=Bayonne+%2864102%29&territoire=OK Key Tourism statistics for the Urban area of Bayonne at 31 December 2012] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140914114219/http://insee.fr/fr/themes/tableau_local.asp?ref_id=TOU&millesime=2013&typgeo=AU2010&typesearch=inclusion&codgeo=Bayonne+%2864102%29&territoire=OK |date=14 September 2014 }}, consulted on 14 September 2014.</ref>
The Information site of the Bayonne Tourist Office, VisitBayonne.com is featured
on the Global Visit List <ref>[https://globalvisitlist.com/logos/ Logos of Tourist Offices using the expression visit as a prefix]</ref>

==Sights==
[[File:Old castle, Bayonne, Pyrenees, France-LCCN2001698608.jpg|thumb|The Château Vieux]]
[[File:BayonneHoteldeVille.JPG|thumb|The [[Hôtel de Ville, Bayonne|Hôtel de Ville and Michel Portal Theatre]]]]

The Nive divides Bayonne into Grand Bayonne and Petit Bayonne with five bridges between the two, both quarters still being backed by [[Vauban]]'s walls. The houses lining the Nive are examples of Basque architecture, with half-timbering and shutters in the national colours of red and green. The much wider Adour is to the north. The Pont Saint-Esprit connects Petit Bayonne with the Quartier Saint-Esprit across the [[Adour]], where the massive Citadelle and the railway station are located. Grand Bayonne is the commercial and civic hub, with small pedestrianised streets packed with shops, plus the cathedral and the [[Hôtel de Ville, Bayonne|Hôtel de Ville]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blog.visitbayonne.com/la-petite-histoire-de-lhotel-de-ville-de-bayonne/|title=La petite histoire de l'Hôtel de Ville de Bayonne|publisher=Visit Bayonne|access-date=9 November 2024}}</ref>

The [[Bayonne Cathedral|Cathédrale Sainte-Marie]] is a [[Gothic architecture|Gothic-style]] building constructed between the 13th and 15th centuries. The tower spires were not added until the 19th century, during a substantial restoration project.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bayonne cathedral, impressive cathedral in historic Bayonne city |url=https://www.francethisway.com/places/bayonne-cathedral.php |access-date=2024-04-12 |website=www.francethisway.com}}</ref> The cathedral houses the shrine of Saint-Léon de Carentan, 9th-century [[Bishop of Bayonne]], and is a recognized [[UNESCO World Cultural Heritage|UNESCO World Heritage Site]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bayonne Cathedral, Bayonne |url=https://cityseeker.com/bayonne-fr/201417-bayonne-cathedral |access-date=2024-04-12 |website=cityseeker |language=en}}</ref>

Nearby is the Château Vieux, some of which dates back to the 12th century, where the governors of the city were based, including the English [[Edward, the Black Prince|Black Prince]].

[[File:BayonneCatedral.JPG|thumb|Sainte-Marie Cathedral]]

The Musée Basque is an ethnographic museum of the entire Basque Country. Opened in February 1924, the museum has special exhibitions on Basque agriculture and history, seafaring, ''[[Basque pelota|pelota]]'', and handicrafts.<ref>{{Cite web |title=L'histoire du musée |url=http://www.musee-basque.com/musee/histoire-du-musee/ |access-date=2024-04-12 |website=www.musee-basque.com |language=fr}}</ref>

The [[Musée Bonnat]] began with a large collection bequeathed by the local-born painter [[Léon Bonnat]]. The museum is one of the best galleries in south west France and has paintings by [[Edgar Degas]], [[El Greco]], [[Sandro Botticelli]], and [[Francisco Goya]], among others.

At the back of Petit Bayonne is the Château Neuf, among the ramparts. Now an exhibition space, it was started by the newly arrived French in 1460 to control the city. The walls nearby have been opened to visitors. They are important for plant life now and Bayonne's [[Jardin botanique de Bayonne|botanic gardens]] adjoin the walls on both sides of the Nive.

The area across the Adour is largely residential and industrial, with much demolished to make way for the railway. The Saint-Esprit church was part of a bigger complex built by [[Louis XI]] to care for [[Way of St James|pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela]]. It is home to a wooden ''Flight into Egypt'' sculpture.

Overlooking the quarter is Vauban's 1680 Citadelle. The soldiers of Wellington's army who died besieging the citadelle in 1813 are buried in the nearby English Cemetery, visited by [[Queen Victoria]] and other British dignitaries when staying in [[Biarritz]].

The distillery of the famous local liqueur [[Izarra (liqueur)|Izarra]] is located on the northern bank of the Adour and is open to visitors.

[[File:Bayonne Caserne.jpg|thumb|Citadel]]

==Notable people==
===1200s===
* [[Edmund Crouchback]] or Edmond Plantagenet, [[Earl of Lancaster]], born in 1245 at [[London]] and died in 1296 at Bayonne, was an English prince. Second surviving son of King [[Henry III of England|Henry III]] and [[Eleanor of Provence]], he was the 1st Earl of Lancaster and the founder of the [[House of Lancaster]]

===1500s===
* [[Jean du Vergier de Hauranne]], (1581–1643), [[theology|theologian]], who introduced [[Jansenism]] into France

===1700s===
* [[Guillaume du Tillot]] (1711–1774), politician
* Marguerite Brunet, called [[Mademoiselle Montansier]], born in 1730 at Bayonne and died in 1820 at Paris, was an actress and director of theatre. The house where she was born still exists in Rue des Faures, at Bayonne.
* [[Dominique Joseph Garat]] (1749–1833), writer and politician
* [[François Cabarrus]] (1752–1810), French adventurer and Spanish financier
* [[Armand Joseph Dubernad]] (1741–1799), financial trader, [[Consul (representative)#Consul general|consul general]] of the [[Holy Roman Empire]]
* [[Bertrand Pelletier]] (1761–1797), chemist and pharmacologist
* [[Jacques Laffitte]] (1767–1844), banker and politician

===1800s===
* [[Frédéric Bastiat]] (1801–1850), [[classical liberalism|classical-liberal]] author and [[political economy|political economist]]
* [[Hélène Feillet]] (1812–1889), painter and lithographer, images of the Basque Country
* [[Charles Lavigerie]] born at Bayonne in 1825 and died in 1892 at [[Algiers]] (Algérie), was a 19th-century Cardinal. He was the founder of the ''Society of Missionaries of Africa'' which is better known under the name [[White Fathers]].
* [[Achille Zo]] (1826–1901), painter
* [[Léon Bonnat]] (1833–1922), painter
* [[Ramón Altarriba y Villanueva]] (1841–1906), Spanish Carlist politician
* [[Leandro Ramón Garrido]] (1868–1909), English–Spanish painter born in Bayonne, France
* [[René Cassin]] (1887–1976), lawyer and judge; recipient of the 1968 [[Nobel Peace Prize]]
* [[François Duhourcau]] (1883–1951), writer and historian

===1900s===
* [[:fr:René_Lasserre_(chef_cuisinier)|René Lasserre]] (1912–2006), restaurateur
* [[Loleh Bellon]] (1925–1999), actress and playwright
* [[Michel Camdessus]] (born 1933), managing director of the [[International Monetary Fund]] from 1997 to 2000
* [[Maurice André]] (1933–2012), virtuoso classical trumpet player
* [[Itxaro Borda]] (born 1959), Basque language writer
* [[Didier Deschamps]] (born 1968), [[FIFA World Cup|World-Cup]]-winning footballer, manager of the France national team since 2012
* [[Sylvain Luc]] (1965–2024), [[jazz]] guitarist
* [[Anthony Dupuis]] (born 1973), professional tennis player
* [[Xavier de le Rue]] (born 1979), [[snowboarding|snowboarder]]
* [[Imanol Harinordoquy]] (born 1980), [[France national rugby union team|French international]] rugby union player 
* [[Stéphane Ruffier]] (born 1986) [[France national football team]] [[goalkeeper (association football)|goalkeeper]]
* [[Xavier Ouellet]] (born 1993), ice hockey player for the [[Laval Rocket]]
* [[Aymeric Laporte]] (born 1994), footballer, raised in the city
* [[Jessika Ponchet]] (born 1996), tennis player

==In popular culture==
* In [[Wyndham Lewis]]'s novel ''The Wild Body'' (1927) the protagonist, Ker-Orr, in the first story, "A Soldier of Humour", takes the train from Paris and stays in Bayonne before going to Spain.
* In [[Ernest Hemingway]]'s novel ''[[The Sun Also Rises]]'', three of the characters visit Bayonne en route to [[Pamplona]], Spain.
* In [[Kim Stanley Robinson]]'s novel ''[[The Years of Rice and Salt]]'' (2002), Bayonne is the first city recolonized by the Muslims after the total depopulation of Europe by the [[Black Death]]. Named "Baraka", its earliest colonizers were later driven out by rivals from [[Al-Andalus]] and flee to the [[Loire Valley]], where they found the city of Nsara.
* In [[Trevanian]]'s novel ''[[Shibumi (novel)|Shibumi]]'', Hannah was called "a whore from Bayonne" by elderly [[Basques|Basque]] women in a village of the [[Northern Basque Country]].
* The seventh track of [[Joe Bonamassa]]'s album [[Dust Bowl (album)|Dust Bowl]] is entitled ''The Last Matador of Bayonne''.
* In the summer of 2008, [[Manu Chao]]'s live album ''[[Baionarena]]'' was recorded in the [[Amphitheatre|Arena]] of Bayonne.
* The album ''[[Life is Elsewhere]]'', by English band [[Little Comets]], features a song titled Bayonne.
* The eighth track of La Nef's album ''La Traverse Miraculeuse'' is entitled "Le Navire de Bayonne".

==Notes and references==
===Notes===
<references group="Note"/>

===References===
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=Google>[https://www.google.com/maps/place/Bayonne,+France/@43.49,-1.48,14z Bayonne on Google Maps]</ref>
<ref name=Geo>[http://www.geoportail.gouv.fr/accueil?c=-1.48,43.49&z=7.92265E-5&l=GEOGRAPHICALGRIDSYSTEMS.MAPS.3D$GEOPORTAIL:OGC:WMTS@aggregate(1)&l=ADMINISTRATIVEUNITS.BOUNDARIES$GEOPORTAIL:OGC:WMTS(1)&permalink=yes Bayonne on the Géoportail] from [[Institut géographique national|National Geographic Institute]] (IGN) website {{in lang|fr}}</ref>
<ref name=Cassini1750>[http://rumsey.geogarage.com/maps/cassinige.html?lat=43.49&lon=-1.48&zoom=13 ''Bayonne'' on the 1750 Cassini Map]</ref>
<ref name=Cassini1790>[http://rumsey.geogarage.com/maps/clipmosaiccassini400.html?lat=43.49&lon=-1.48&zoom=12 ''Bayonne'' on the 1790 Cassini Map]</ref>
}}

==== Insee ====
* [http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/dossier_complet.asp?codgeo=COM-64102 Dossier 2013 relative to the commune], 
{{Reflist|3|group=Insee}}
* National Database
{{Reflist|3|group=InseeN}}

==== Bibliographic sources ====
* Leon H. ''Histoire des Juifs de Bayonne'', Paris, Armand Durlacher, 1893. in-4 : xvj, 436 pp. ; illustré de 4 planches hors-texte.
*Pierre Dubourg-Noves ''Bayonne'', Ouest-France, 1986, {{ISBN|2 85882 609 9}} {{in lang|fr}}. Noted "DN" in the text.
{{Reflist|8|group=DN}}
*Eugène Goyheneche, ''Basque Country: Soule, Labourd, Lower-Navarre'', Société nouvelle d’éditions régionales et de diffusion, Pau, 1979, BnF FRBNF34647711 {{in lang|fr}}. Noted "EG" in the text.
{{Reflist|8|group=EG}}
*Pierre Hourmat, ''History of Bayonne from its origins to the French Revolution of 1789'', Société des Sciences Lettres & Arts de Bayonne, 1986 {{in lang|fr}}. Noted "PH" in the text.
{{Reflist|8|group=PH}}
*Pierre Hourmat ''Visiting Bayonne'', Sud Ouest, 1989 {{in lang|fr}}. Noted "PiH" in the text.
{{Reflist|8|group=PiH}}
*''Bayonne of the Nive and Adour'', François Lafitte Houssat, Alan Sutton, Joué-lès-Tours, 2001, {{ISBN|2-84253-557-X}} {{in lang|fr}}. Noted as "FL" in the text.
{{Reflist|8|group=FL}}
*[http://www.bayonne.fr/ The Bayonne official website]. Noted as "M" in the text.
{{Reflist|8|group=M}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Bayonne}}
* [http://www.ville-bayonne.fr/ City council website] {{in lang|fr}}

{{Lapurdi}}
{{Pyrénées-Atlantiques communes}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Bayonne| ]]
[[Category:Communes of Pyrénées-Atlantiques]]
[[Category:Subprefectures in France]]
[[Category:Labourd]]
[[Category:Port cities and towns on the French Atlantic coast]]
[[Category:Vauban fortifications in France]]
[[Category:Cities in Nouvelle-Aquitaine]]