Aix-en-Provence | ||
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Subprefecture and commune | ||
The Fontaine de la Rotonde, built in 1860
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Coordinates: 43°31′35″N 5°26′44″E / 43.526304°N 5.445429°ECoordinates: 43°31′35″N 5°26′44″E / 43.526304°N 5.445429°E | ||
Country | France | |
Region | Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur | |
Department | Bouches-du-Rhône | |
Arrondissement | Aix-en-Provence | |
Canton | 2 cantons | |
Intercommunality | Aix-Marseille-Provence | |
Government | ||
• Mayor (2014–2020) | Maryse Joissains-Masini | |
Area1 | 186.08 km2 (71.85 sq mi) | |
Population (2014)2 | 142,149 | |
• Density | 760/km2 (2,000/sq mi) | |
Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
• Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
INSEE/Postal code | 13001 /13100, 13090 | |
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.
Aix-en-Provence (French pronunciation: [ɛksɑ̃pʁɔvɑ̃s]; Provençal Occitan: Ais de Provença in classical norm, or Ais de Prouvènço in Mistralian norm,pronounced [ˈajz de pʀuˈvɛⁿsɔ], Latin: Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix (pronounced [ɛks]; medieval Occitan Aics), is a city-commune in the south of France, about 30 km (19 mi) north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône, of which it is a subprefecture. The population of Aix numbers approximately 143,000. Its inhabitants are called Aixois or, less commonly, Aquisextains.
Aix (Aquae Sextiae) was founded in 123 BC by the Roman consul Sextius Calvinus, who gave his name to its springs, following the destruction of the nearby Gallic oppidum at Entremont. In 102 BC its neighbourhood was the scene of the Battle of Aquae Sextiae, where the Romans under Gaius Marius defeated the Cimbri and Teutones, with mass suicides among the captured women, which passed into Roman legends of Germanic heroism.