Venelles

Venelles is a commune with 8227 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2011 ) in the department of Bouches -du -Rhône in the Provence- Alpes- Côte d' Azur.

Geography

Venelles is located seven kilometers north of Aix -en- Provence. Other neighboring towns are Meyrargues, Peyrolles -en- Provence and Le Puy -Sainte- Réparade. The municipality belongs to the community association Communauté d' agglomération du Pays d' Aix.

History

The previously populated by the Salluviern territory became Roman in 15 BC. The Lombards besieged and destroyed the village in the year 574 In the Middle Ages there were two churches: one was under the influence of the bishops of Aix -en- Provence, who had the dominion over the village, the other belonged to the Abbey of Saint -Victor in Marseille. For the economy, particularly the transportation of wood from the Haute -Provence played an important role in the Middle Ages. From the mid-15th century, the settlement of the suspension began. Where agriculture was in the 16th century successfully operated, main products were wheat, wine, olives and almonds. In 1540 there were only seven houses in the community, in 1728 there were thirty and finally in 1765 already 124 houses. In 1820 there were 211 houses with 833 inhabitants. As the road from Aix -en- Provence did not lead directly through the town, came on the road two hamlets, Logis les and les Logissons. By choosing a new mayor in 1865, there were many innovations: The water supply work, a police station was set up and the place was a station on the route to Marseille. 1882 The first public school was opened. The church and several houses were destroyed in a massive earthquake on 11 June 1909. After the earthquake, the important buildings were gradually shifted from high - Venelles to Nieder- Venelles. In 1970, the local government, to settle on the main road in the lower part of the village.

Culture and sights

• Feudal castle with Chabaud - cellar
• Romanesque church of high - Venelles
• Windmill ( privately owned )
• The historical core of high - Venelles

Twinning

Since 2009 with the Italian community Valfabbrica twinned.

Demography

Demographics

Age structure

25 % of the population are 19 years old or younger. 5 % of the population 75 years of age or older.