Martigues

Martigues
region	Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur
Department	Bouches-du-Rhône
Arrondissement	Istres
Canton	Martigues
Community association	Métropole d'Aix-Marseille-Provence
Coordinates	43 ° 24 ' N , 5 ° 3' E Coordinates: 43 ° 24 ' N , 5 ° 3' E
height	0-187 m
surface	71.44 km 2
Residents	48,188 (January 1, 2017)
Population density	675 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code	13500
INSEE code	13056
Website	www.mairie-martigues.fr
	; Port in Martigues

Martigues is a municipality and port city in the south of France . 48,188 inhabitants live on an area of 7,144 hectares (as of January 1, 2017). Martigues making it the fourth largest municipality of the department of Bouches-du-Rhone . The inhabitants call themselves Martégaux .

geography

The municipality is located about 30 km west of Marseille , on a narrow strip of land between the Golfe du Fos and the Étang de Berre . The Canal de Caronte , the connection of the Étang de Berre with the Mediterranean Sea , cuts the municipality into two parts. Martigues is a city of water and is also called the Venice of Provence in southern France .

Aerial view on Martigues

history

In ancient times the city was called Maritima at this point .

The place Martigues was created in 1581 from the three places L'Isle (old town center), Jonquières and Ferrières .

In the second half of the 20th century, the city participated in the industrialization promoted by Charles de Gaulle in the area east of the mouth of the Rhône ( Fos-sur-Mer ). It is characterized by its modernist residential building architecture.

Population development

year	1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999	2006	2017
Residents	21,515	27,945	38,373	42,037	42,678	43,497	46,318	48,188
Sources: Cassini and INSEE

coat of arms

Crest Description : In a silver red brick crenellated tower with two open windows and a doorway of a respective pole provided silver key with cross cut in the outwardly facing beard and a quatrefoil Ride accompanied.

Attractions

L'isle , the historic city center with canals
- the Quai Brescon , popularly known as the miroir des oiseaux : This former fishing district stretched towards the Ètang de Berre until the beginning of the 20th century, up to the Pointe du Brescon . In the course of leveling the banks of the new Gallifet Canal, through which large ships could now also cross Martigues, large parts of the district were destroyed. Even the imposing Pont du Roi, which connected the island to the Jonquière district, had to give way to a swing bridge in 1929, which was replaced by a lift bridge ( Pont levant ) in 1969 . The irregular shape of the arm of the sea, the alignment of the colored fishermen's houses of different heights and the contrast between the banks gave this remarkable location the name la petite Venise ("Little Venice") and is a preferred object of painters.
- the monument to Étienne Richaud
- Sainte Marie-Madelaine , 17th century baroque church
Saint Genest , baroque church in the southern Jonquière district
Fort du Bouc ,13th centuryfortress on the Canal de Caronte (renovated in 1840), opposite Port-de-Bouc
Galerie de l'histoire , historical museum with exhibits from prehistory to the present, Rond point de l'Hôtel de Ville, near the tourist information office
Musée Ziem , art museum with works by Félix Ziem , Raoul Dufy and others, Boulevard du 14 juillet
Cap Couronne , rocky shore landscape with lighthouse and location in the south of Martigues
Location of Carro