AITZE'MA, LIEUWE VAN, a Dutch author whose History of the _Netherlands from 1621 to 1668 is valuable for original documents. He was an active politician, and agent of the Hanse towns at the Hague.
AIX, a t. in France, formerly the capital of Provence, now the chief t. of an arron dissement in the department of the Bouches-du-Rhone. It is believed to have been built by the Roman consul, C. Sextius (120 p.c.), on account of the mineral springs in the neighborhood, and thence called Aqua: Sextiw. A. is the seat of a court of appeals; and possesses an academy for theology and law, and a public library which reckons nearly 100,000 vols. and 1100 MSS. The baptistery of the cathedral is believed to have been originally a temple of Apollo. The numerous public fountains give a cheerful air to the place. One of them has a sculpture of the good king R6ne, executed by David. There is also an old clock-tower, the machinery of which, when the clock strikes, sets various quaint-looking figures in motion. The industry of this again flourishing town consists chiefly in the cultivation of the olive, in cotton-spinning, leather-dressing, and trade in oil, wine, almonds, etc. The warm springs are slightly sulphureous, with a temperature from 90° to 100° F., clear and transparent as the purest -well-water, almost free from smell, yet with a slightly bitter taste. They have the reputation of imy roving the beauty of the skin, and are on this account especially frequented by the fair sex. The field on which Marius defeated the Teutones lies in the plain between A. and Arles. In the middle ages, under the counts of Provence (see RENE), A. was long the literary capital of southern Europe. The pop. of Aix in '76 was 23,407.
AIX (Aqua! Gratiama, Allobrogum), a small town of Savoy, pop. 2000 to 3000, in a delightful valley near lake Bourget, 7 m. n. from Chambery. It was a much frequented bathing-place in the times of the Roman 'empire, and among its numerous remains of ancient times are the arch of Pomponius, the ruins of a temple and of a vapoiarium. The king of Sardinia has a palace here. The hot springs, two in number, are of sulphu rous quality, and of a temperature above 100° F. They are used both for drinking and as baths, and attract annually above 2000 visitors.
(Ger. Aachen) is the capital of a district in Rhenish Prussia. It is situated in a fertile hollow, surrounded by heights, and watered by the Wurm; n. lat. 50° 47', e. long. 6° 5'; pop. '75, 79,606. of whom a very small proportion are Protes tants. A. is the center of numerous thriving manufactories, especially for spinning and weaving woolen fabrics, and for needle and pin-making. There are also immense manu factures of machinery, bells, glass buttons, chemicals, cigars, etc. As a principal sta tion on the Belgian-Rhenish railways, A. is an important staple place of Prussian trade. The city is rich in historical associations. It emerges from historical obscurity about
the time of Pepin, and Charlemagne founded its world-wide celebrity. Whether it was the birthplace of Charlemagne is doubtful, but it became his grave 814 A.D. In 796 A.D., Charlemagne caused the already existing palace, called the imperial palace, to be entirely rebuilt, as well as the chapel, in which Pepin had celebrated Christmas in 765 A.D. The two buildings were connected by a colonnade, which fell into ruins a short time before the emperor's death, probably from the effects of an earthquake. pres ent town-house has been built on the ruins of the palace; the chapel, after being destroyed by the Normans, was rebuilt on the ancient plan by Otho 111., in 983, and forms the nucleus of the present cathedral. This ancient cathedral is in fl;e form of an octagon, which, with various additions round it, forms, on the outside, a sixteen-sided figure. In the middle of the octagon, a stone, with the inscription " CAl201.0 MAGNO," marks the grave of Charlemagne. Otto III. opened the vault in the year 997 A.D. The body of the emperor was found in a wonderful state of preservation, seated upon a marble chair, dressed in his robes, his scepter in his hand, the gospel on his knee, a piece of the holy cross on his head, and a pilgrim's scrip attached to his girdle. Otto caused the tomb to be built up again, after repairing the injuries of the arch. In 1165 A.a, when the emperor Frederick I. caused the vault to be re-opened, the bones of the great emperor were enshrined in a casket of gold and silver, and a large and beautifully wrought chan delier was hung up over the tomb as a memorial. In 1215 A.D., Frederick II. caused the remains of the emperor to be inclosed in a costly chest, in which they are yet kept in the sacristy. The marble chair was, in later times, overlaid with gold plates, and used till 1558 A.D. at the imperial coronations, as a throne for the newly crowned emperor. The imperial insignia were removed to Vienna in 1795.—In the 14th c., a choir in the Gothic style was added to the east side of the octagon, which had been built in the Byzantine style; while on the west side a square belfry was joined to it, as well as two small round towers, with winding stairs leading to the treasury. Here are kept the so-called "great relics," which, once in seven years, are still shown to the people, iu the month of July, from the gallery of the tower. This spectacle attracts many thousands of strangers to A. has of late years been done to restore this venerable pile. The columns brought by Charlemagne from time palace of the Exarch at Ravenna, to decorate the interior of the octagon, had been carried off by the French ; and although part of them had been restored at the peace of Paris, they were not replaced in the build ing till recently.