Ax-les-Thermes (Municipality, Ariège, France)

Flag of Ax-les-Thermes - Image by Arnaud Leroy, 24 January 2003

See also:

Presentation of Ax-les-Thermes

Ax-les-Thermes (1,277 inhabitants, 3,026 ha) is a commune in the Ariège department.

The sodium sulfide waters of Ax, the hottest in the Pyrenees (up to 77°C), were already known in Gallo-Roman times. Six-towered fortifications are said to have existed at the place called "Castel Mau" during the reign of Julius Caesar, and Roman coins were found there in 1875, which could confirm a Roman presence on the site.

In 978, during the conflicts between Count Oliba Cabreta of Cerdanya and Count Roger I of Carcassonne, the monks of the Ripoll monastery stole the relics of Saint Eudald kept in the church of Saint Vincent. Under pressure from the Count of Cerdagne, Arnaud de Carcassonne or Sabarthès provided in his will to bequeath the lands of Ax to the Abbey of Lagrasse, or to the Abbey of Cuxa if he had no children, in 987. The town of Ax would eventually belong to the County of Foix and would become a consulate of the latter.

In 1260, Count Roger IV had a leper colony built next to the Bassin des Ladres, on the orders of Saint Louis, to treat crusaders returning from the Holy Land suffering from leprosy. In the 13th century, a new wall with eight towers was built, and in the 14th century, the Cathars spread to Ax and throughout the region (see Montségur Castle and the Albigensian Crusade), and a bloody repression ensued. The town suffered several major fires in the 13th century and again in 1355
In 1586, a plague epidemic killed around a hundred people. Fires devastated the town in 1587 (destruction of archives and exodus of the population) and 1615. In 1651, the town rose up against Commander Marchin, who, betraying the young King Louis XIV, joined Louis II de Condé during the Fronde des Princes.

In 1811 and 1812, the Spanish captured Ax. A fire caused serious damage in 1880. In 1888, the railway arrived in Ax and the town experienced a new boom.
In 1955, the cable car to Saquet (Ax 3 Domaines ski resort) was inaugurated and in 1977, the Porte d'Espagne, the last medieval rampart, was demolished.

Olivier Touzeau, 16 October 2025

Flag of Ax-les-Thermes

The arms of Ax-les-Thermes are the arms of Roger IV, Count of Foix. Therefore, the arms and the flag are shared with the former County of Foix, and with the commune of Foix.
Thee arms are blazoned Or, 3 pales of Gules.
The flag is a banner of arms: photo (2008), photo (2016).

Olivier Touzeau, 16 October 2025