Venelles

Venelles (French pronunciation: [vənɛl]; Occitan: Venèla) is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France near Aix-en-Provence. The current mayor is Arnaud Mercier.^[3]

Venelles
Commune
The bell tower of the church of Venelles
Coat of arms
Location of Venelles
Venelles Show map of France Venelles Show map of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Coordinates: 43°35′57″N 5°29′00″E
Country	France
Region	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Department	Bouches-du-Rhône
Arrondissement	Aix-en-Provence
Canton	Trets
Intercommunality	Aix-Marseille-Provence
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Arnaud Mercier[1]
Area 1	20.54 km2 (7.93 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]	8,420
• Density	410/km2 (1,060/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	13113 /13770
Elevation	254–442 m (833–1,450 ft) (avg. 409 m or 1,342 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

History

In 15 BC, there was a Roman settlement there. It was then destroyed by the Lombards in 574 AD, and again in the 11th century by the Saracens.

In the 15th century, the land was finally re-settled.

In 1530 there were seven houses, by 1728 there were 30, in 1765 there were 124 and in 1820 there were 211.

In 1865 a railway was built, followed by a school in 1882.

On 11 June 1909, an earthquake destroyed many houses.

Population

Historical population
Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 796 —     1800 722 −1.38% 1806 800 +1.72% 1821 833 +0.27% 1831 828 −0.06% 1836 740 −2.22% 1841 716 −0.66% 1846 659 −1.65% 1851 753 +2.70% 1856 698 −1.51% 1861 740 +1.18% 1866 709 −0.85% 1872 680 −0.69% 1876 676 −0.15% 1881 612 −1.97% 1886 600 −0.40% 1891 538 −2.16% 1896 539 +0.04%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 519 −0.75% 1906 506 −0.51% 1911 511 +0.20% 1921 467 −0.90% 1926 514 +1.94% 1931 512 −0.08% 1936 447 −2.68% 1946 452 +0.11% 1954 531 +2.03% 1962 623 +2.02% 1968 1,553 +16.44% 1975 2,672 +8.06% 1982 5,225 +10.05% 1990 7,046 +3.81% 1999 7,535 +0.75% 2007 8,110 +0.92% 2012 8,278 +0.41% 2017 8,383 +0.25%
Source: EHESS[4] and INSEE (1968-2017)[5]

See also

• Communes of the Bouches-du-Rhône department