Guéthary

Guéthary
Commune
The town hall of Guéthary
Coat of arms
Guéthary
Location within Nouvelle-Aquitaine region  Guéthary
Coordinates: 43°25′36″N 1°36′28″W / 43.4267°N 1.607778°W / 43.4267; -1.607778Coordinates: 43°25′36″N 1°36′28″W / 43.4267°N 1.607778°W / 43.4267; -1.607778
Country	France
Region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department	Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Arrondissement	Bayonne
Canton	Saint-Jean-de-Luz
Intercommunality	CA Pays Basque
Government
• Mayor (2001–2008)	Albert Larrousset
Area1	1 km2 (0.4 sq mi)
Population (2006)2	1,365
• Density	1,400/km2 (3,500/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
INSEE/Postal code	64249 /64210
Elevation	0–73 m (0–240 ft) (avg. 40 m or 130 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

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

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