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Aigues-Mortes
Occitanietown
Aigues-Mortes
Total population
8,685
Demographic figures from INSEE. Overview below cites Wikipedia and may reference a different year.
City facts
Facts from Wikidata (CC0).
Overview
Aigues-Mortes is a commune in the Gard department in the Occitania region of southern France. The medieval city walls surrounding the city are well preserved. Situated on the junction of the Canal du Rhône à Sète and the Chenal Maritime to Le Grau-du-Roi, the town is a transit center for canal craft and Dutch barges.
Read more on WikipediaHistory & geography
History
The Roman general Gaius Marius is said to have founded Aigues-Mortes around 102 BC, but there is no documentary evidence to support this. A Roman by the name of Peccius cultivated the first salt marsh and gave his name to the Marsh of Peccais. Salt mining started from the Neolithic period and was continued in the Hellenistic period, but the ancient uses of saline have not resulted in any major archaeological discovery. It is likely that any remains were destroyed by modern saline facilities. In 791, Charlemagne erected the amid the swamps for the safety of fishermen and salt workers. Some argue that the signaling and transmission of news was not foreign to the building of this tower which was designed to give warning in case of arrival of a fleet, as for the at Nîmes. The purpose of this tower was part of the war plan and spiritual plan which Charlemagne granted at the Benedictine abbey, dedicated to Opus Dei (work of God) and whose incessant chanting, day and night, was to designate the convent as Psalmody or Psalmodi. This monastery still existed in 812, as confirmed by an act of endowment made by the Badila from Nîmes at the abbey. At that time, the people lived in reed huts and made their living from fishing, hunting, and salt production from several small salt marshes along the sea shore. The region was then under the rule of the monks from the Abbey of Psalmody. In 1240, Louis IX, who wanted to get rid of the dependency on the Italian maritime republics for transporting troops to the Crusades, focused on the strategic position of his kingdom. At that time, Marseille belonged to his brother Charles of Anjou, King of Naples, Agde to the Count of Toulouse, and Montpellier to the King of Aragon. Louis IX wanted direct access to the Mediterranean Sea. He…
Geography
Aigues-Mortes is located in the some northwest of Marseille. By road, Aigues-Mortes is about southwest of Nîmes, and east of Montpellier in a direct line. Access to the commune is by route D979 coming south from Saint-Laurent-d'Aigouze to Aigues-Mortes town. Route D979 continues southwest through the commune to Le Grau-du-Roi. Route D62 also starts from Aigues-Mortes heading southwest parallel to D979 before turning eastwards and forming part of the southern border of the commune. Route D62A continues to Plan d'Eau du Vidourie. The commune is composed of a portion of the wet plains and lakes of the Petite Camargue. It is separated from the Gulf of Lions (and, thus, the Mediterranean) by the town of Le Grau-du-Roi, however Aigues-Mortes is connected to the sea through the Canal du Rhône à Sète. There is only one other hamlet in the commune called Mas de Jarras Listel on the western border. The Canal du Rhône à Sète enters the commune from the northwest and the northeast in two branches from the main canal to the north and the branches intersect in the town of Aigues-Mortes before exiting as a single canal alongside route D979 and feeding into the Mediterranean Sea at Le Grau-du-Roi. A rail branch line from Nîmes passes through Aigues-Mortes from north-east to south-west, with a station in the town of Aigues-Mortes, to its terminus on the coast at Le-Grau-du-Roi. This line also transports sea salt. The communes of Saint-Laurent-d'Aigouze and Le Grau-du-Roi are adjacent to the town of Aigues-Mortes. Its inhabitants are called ' or '; in Occitan they are . Aigues-Mortes is one of 79 member communes of the ' of South Gard and is also one of 34 communes in the Pays Vidourle-Camargue. Aigues-Mortes is one of the four communes of the ' of in the South of Gard.
Excerpted from the corresponding Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA).
Geography
Coordinates & boundaries from the US Census TIGER/Line shapefiles.
Climate
10-year averages from ERA5 reanalysis (Open-Meteo).
Air quality
Walkability
Amenities nearby
Wildlife & biodiversity
Earthquake history
Photos
Sights & places nearby
Notable people from here
People born within ~10 km, from Wikidata (CC0). Click any name for their Wikipedia article.
Nearby places in Occitanie
- Le Grau-du-Roi3.4 mi away · pop. 8,438
- La Grande-Motte5.3 mi away · pop. 8,573
- Lunel-Viel9.2 mi away · pop. 4,488
- Mudaison9.5 mi away · pop. 2,894
- Valergues9.6 mi away · pop. 2,107
- Codognan11.4 mi away · pop. 2,458
- Saturargues11.5 mi away · pop. 1,018
- Mus12.1 mi away · pop. 1,542
- Castries12.8 mi away · pop. 6,523
- Palavas-les-Flots13.3 mi away · pop. 5,881
- Beaulieu14.1 mi away · pop. 2,213
- Boissières14.6 mi away · pop. 590
Geography & sun
Elevation, sunrise/sunset and daylight from Open-Meteo. Solar climatology from NASA POWER.
Nearby airports
Public attention
Pageview totals from the Wikimedia Pageviews API.
Books about this place
Recent natural events nearby
Ground air-quality sensors
Recently spotted species
Events
Gallery
Geotagged photos within ~6 miles of Aigues-Mortes, from Wikimedia Commons contributors.
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Official Identifiers
INSEE — French National Institute of Statistics
- INSEE code
- 30003
- Department
- 30
- Region
- 76
- Population (Wikidata)
- 8,699
geo.api.gouv.fr
Sources
- • Wikipedia
- • Open-Meteo (ERA5 reanalysis)
- • Wikimedia Commons
- • Wikidata
- • Open-Meteo / sunrise-sunset.org
- • Wikipedia Pageviews API
- • INSEE — French national statistics, via geo.api.gouv.fr (official commune code, population, surface, department, region)
- • INSEE — French National Institute of Statistics — geo.api.gouv.fr