Aix-en-Othe

Aix-en-Othe
The Victor Baltard style Hall (19th century)
Coat of arms
Aix-en-Othe
Location within Champagne-Ardenne region  Aix-en-Othe
Coordinates: 48°13′27″N 3°44′07″E / 48.2242°N 3.7353°ECoordinates: 48°13′27″N 3°44′07″E / 48.2242°N 3.7353°E
Country	France
Region	Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine
Department	Aube
Arrondissement	Troyes
Canton	Aix-en-Othe
Intercommunality	Pays d'Othe aixois
Government
• Mayor (1995–2020)	Yves Fournier
Area^1	34.76 km^2 (13.42 sq mi)
Population (2012)^2	2,467
• Density	71/km^2 (180/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	10003 / 10160
Elevation	124–246 m (407–807 ft) (avg. 132 m or 433 ft)
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. ^2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Aix-en-Othe is a former commune in the Aube department in the Champagne-Ardennes region of north-central France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune Aix-Villemaur-Pâlis.^[1] It is the seat of Aix-Villemaur-Pâlis, and of the canton of Aix-en-Othe.

The inhabitants of the commune are known as Aixois or Aixoises ^[2]

The commune has been awarded three flowers by the National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom in the Competition of cities and villages in Bloom.^[3]

Geography

Aix-en-Othe is located in the western part of the department of the Aube, 25 km west of Troyes 30 km and 40 km east of Sens. It is in the Nosle valley: the Nosle is a tributary of the Vanne river. The motorway E54/E511/A5 passes west to east about 2 km north of the commune. The road D374 comes south from the motorway to the town and passes through the commune to Villemoiron-en-Othe. Several other district roads pass through the commune: the D31 from the west and continuing to the north, the D77 and D139 from the south, the D194 from the south-east and the D121 from the east. The nearest railway station is outside the commune about 3 km north of the town near Villemaur-sur-Vanne accessible from the D374 road.^[4]

The Nosle stream flows through the commune from the south-east to the north-west and into the Vanne river. There are forests in the south and north of the commune which is mostly farmland. There are a number of hamlets in the commune. These are: La Vove, Le Jarc, Druisy, Pitoite, Les Cornees Alexandre, Les Cornees Lalliat, La Bouillant, Le Mineroy, and Les Chevreux in the southern corner.

Neighbouring communes and towns

Heraldry

Blazon: Azure, with band of Argent between two cotices potent counter potent of Or, bordure barry wavy of 4 argent and azure, in chief Or charged with an eagle double-headed of sable.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors of Aix-en-Othe^[5]

From	To	Name	Party	Position
	1857	Fouet
	1887	Michant
1995	2020	Yves Fournier	PS

(Not all data is known)

Twinning

Aix-en-Othe has twinning associations with:^[6]

• Neresheim (Germany) since 1992.

Demography

In 2012, the commune had 2,467 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known through the population censuses conducted in the town since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of municipalities with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants is held every five years, unlike larger towns that have a sample survey every year.^{[Note 1]}

Population Change (See database)

1793	1800	1806	1821	1831	1836	1841	1846	1851
1,469	1,551	1,527	1,634	1,734	1,787	1,977	2,168	2,310

1856	1861	1866	1872	1876	1881	1886	1891	1896
2,427	2,623	2,785	2,779	2,939	2,906	3,007	3,041	2,670

1901	1906	1911	1921	1926	1931	1936	1946	1954
2,646	2,484	2,523	2,184	2,320	2,410	2,383	2,218	2,231

1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2006	2007	2010
2,270	2,112	2,313	2,349	2,260	2,131	2,348	2,379	2,434

Sources : Ldh/EHESS/Cassini until 1962, INSEE database from 1968 (population without double counting and municipal population from 2006)

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage

The commune has many buildings and structures that are registered as historical monuments:

• A House at CD 374 (19th century)^[7]

• The Henry-Courtois Hosiery Factory at 1 Rue Eugène Léger (20th century)^[8]
• The Gabut Hosiery Factory at 10 Rue du Maréchal Foch (19th century)^[9]
• The Martinet-Chevance Textile Factory at 40 Rue Saint-Avit (20th century)^[10]
• The Sinelle Hosiery Factory at 52 Rue Saint-Avit (19th century)^[11]
• The Grosley Hosiery Factory at 9bis Rue Saint-Avit (20th century)^[12]
• The Furgon Hosiery Factory at 9 Rue Schentzlé (20th century)^[13]
• The Quinquarlet-Avit Hosiery Factory at 18-24 Rue des Vannes (19th century)^[14]
• The Maurice Agofroy Hosiery Factory at 21 Rue des Vannes (20th century)^[15]
• The Quinquarlet Tanning Mill at 8 Rue du Moulin à Tan (19th century)^[16]
• The Covered Market (1889)^[17]

• The Town Hall contains a number of items that are registered as historical objects:
  • Christ on the Cross (16th century)^[18]
  • A Bas-relief: Christ (18th century)^[19]
  • 4 Paintings: Saint Peter, Saint Paul, Saint Nicolas, and Saint Augustin (17th century)^[20]
  • A Triptych: Annunciation, Adoration of the Magi, Repose of the Holy Family (16th century)^[21]
  • A Chalice with Paten: Scenes of the life of Christ (17th century)^[22]
  • A Reliquary Cross (14th century)^[23]
  • A Chalice (1865-1879)^[24]
  • The Furniture in the Town Hall^[25]

Other sites of interest

• A Baltard type Hall (19th century)
• The War Memorial. Inaugurated on 27 September 1902, it includes the names of the dead soldiers of France in 1870-1871, the two world wars, and the dead in North Africa and TOE. On the base of the monument is a hunter in the position of an alerted sentry.
• Smokestacks from the 19th century. There are two of them with a height of 30 to 40 metres. They are from the old Hosiery factories. They testify to the type of industrial activity in their time.

Religious heritage

The Chapel of Saint-Avit

The commune has two religious buildings that are registered as historical monuments:

• The Chapel of Saint-Avit (15th century)^[26]
• The Church of the Nativity (16th century).^[27] The church contains a very large number of items that are registered as historical objects. For a complete list with links to descriptions (in French) and photographs click here.

Notable People linked to the commune

• Ernest Millot (1836-1891), explorer. In his expedition to the Red River (which flows through Hanoi) from 1872-1873 he sought a waterway to bring to Tonkin the immense wealth of Yunnan (South China). Ernest Millot was also mayor of the Shanghai French Concession
• Jacques Chéreau, sculptor, was born in Aix-en-Othe. He has exhibited in Napa (California) as well as Geneva, Brisbane, Miami, and San Francisco. His works are on permanent display in the Michelle Boullet Gallery in Paris, the Cafmeyer gallery in Knokke (Belgium), and recently at the Marie Ricco gallery in Calvi.
• Joachim du Bellay, in his "Ode to the Prince of Melphe"^[28] Antoine Caraccioli lauded Aiz, (that is to say Aix-en-Othe) as follows:^[29]

Go, see my sweet companion
The sweet pleasures of the Champaigne
Its fields, its waves and woods.
..........
Go and see this beautiful edifice
That nature and artifice
Have embellished with a hundred pleasures.
This is Aiz that beautiful abode
Only to be torn away in less than an hour
Our most ambitious desires.
There, a pleasant sorrow
The certainty fleeing across the plain
Where the hares follow us;
There saintly solitude
Far from trials and business affairs,
Happily we live.

See also

• Communes of the Aube department

Bibliography

• Aix-en-Othe and the region, by E-L Collot, 1935. reprint of the original edition by Res Universis, Paris, 1993. (ISBN 978-2-7428-0236-4) (French)
• Aix-en-Othe, memory of a commune of Aube, ARPA, 1988. (French)
• Guide to the North of France, Frederic Zégierman, Paris, Arthème Fayard, 1999. (ISBN 978-2-213-59960-1) (French)
• Our land of Othe, by Jeanne Martel and Jeannine Velut, Tourist Office of Othe country and the Vanne Valley, 2003. (ISBN 978-2-907894-32-6) (French)
• Marguerite Beau: Essay on the religious architecture of the southern Champagne from Aube to Troyes (1991) (French)
• Houses of yesterday in Othe country, by Jeanne Martel, ARPA, 2009 (ISBN 978-2-907894-49-4)

Notes

1. At the beginning of the 21st century, the methods of identification have been modified by law No. 2002-276 of 27 February 2002 , the so-called "law of local democracy" and in particular Title V "census operations" which allow, after a transitional period running from 2004 to 2008, the annual publication of the legal population of the different French administrative districts. For municipalities with a population greater than 10,000 inhabitants, a sample survey is conducted annually, the entire territory of these municipalities is taken into account at the end of the period of five years. The first "legal population" after 1999 under this new law came into force on 1 January 2009 and was based on the census of 2006.

References

1. Arrêté préfectoral 15 December 2015 (French)
2. Inhabitants of Aube (French)
3. Aix-en-Othe in the Competition for Towns and Villages in Bloom (French)
4. Google Maps
5. List of Mayors of France (French)
6. National Commission for Decentralised cooperation (French)
7. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA10000043 House at CD 374 (French)
8. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA10000036 Henry-Courtois Hosiery Factory at 1 Rue Eugène Léger (French)
9. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA10000039 Gabut Hosiery Factory at 1 Rue du Maréchal Foch (French)
10. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA10000038 Martinet-Chevance Textile Factory at 40 Rue Saint-Avit (French)
11. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA10000037 Sinelle Hosiery Factory at 52 Rue Saint-Avit (French)
12. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA10000035 Grosley Hosiery Factory at 9bis Rue Saint-Avit (French)
13. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA10000040 Furgon Hosiery Factory at 9 Rue Schentzlé (French)
14. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA10000042 Quinquarlet-Avit Hosiery Factory at 18-24 Rue des Vannes (French)
15. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA10000041 Maurice Agofroy Hosiery Factory at 21 Rue des Vannes (French)
16. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée IA10000044 Quinquarlet Tanning Mill at 8 Rue du Moulin à Tan (French)
17. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA00135304 Covered Market (French)
18. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM10000018 Christ on the Cross (French)
19. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM10000014 Bas-relief: Christ (French)
20. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM10000011 4 Paintings: Saint Peter, Saint Paul, Saint Nicolas, and Saint Augustin (French)
21. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM10000006 Triptych: Annunciation, Adoration of the Magi, Repose of the Holy Family (French)
22. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM10000005 Chalice with Paten: Scenes of the life of Christ (French)
23. Ministry of Culture, Palissy PM10000002 Reliquary Cross (French)
24. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM10006558 Chalice (French)
25. Ministry of Culture, Palissy IM10006584 Furniture in the Town Hall (French)
26. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA00078014 Chapel of Saint-Avit (French)
27. Ministry of Culture, Mérimée PA00078015 Church of the Nativity (French)
28. Works of Joachim du Bellay, Marty-Laveaux, Vol II, pp.88 et ss. on Gallica. (French)
29. Poetry is notoriously difficult to translate. Here is the original French:

    Allon' voir ma douce compaigne
    Les doux plaisirs de la Champaigne
    Ses prez, ses ondes et ses bois.
    ..........
    Allon'voir ce bel édifice
    Que la nature et l'artifice
    Ont embelly de cent plaisirs.
    C'est Aiz dont la belle demeure
    Peult arracher en moins d'une heure
    Nos plus ambicieux désirs.
    Là, d'une plaisante peine,
    Le cert fuyant par la plaine
    Ou le lyèvre nous suyvrons ;
    Là sainctement solitaires,
    Loing de procès et d'affaires,
    Heureusement nous vivrons.

External links

• Aix-en-Othe official website (French)
• Aix-en-Othe on the old National Geographic Institute website (French)
• Aix-en-Othe on Lion1906
• Aix-en-Othe on the 1750 Cassini Map
• Aix-en-Othe on the INSEE website (French)
• INSEE (French)