Nièvre
| Nièvre | ||
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| Department | ||
Prefecture building of the Nièvre department, in Nevers
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 Location of Nièvre in France |
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| Country | France | |
| Region | Bourgogne-Franche-Comté | |
| Prefecture | Nevers | |
| Subprefectures | Château-Chinon Clamecy Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire |
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| Government | ||
| • President of the General Council | Marcel Charmant | |
| Area1 | ||
| • Total | 6,817 km2 (2,632 sq mi) | |
| Population (2006) | ||
| • Total | 228,969 | |
| • Rank | 83rd | |
| • Density | 34/km2 (87/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
| Department number | 58 | |
| Arrondissements | 4 | |
| Cantons | 17 | |
| Communes | 312 | |
| ^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2 | ||
Nièvre (IPA: [njɛvʁ]) is a department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in the centre of France named after the River Nièvre.
Contents
History
Nièvre is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from the former province of Nivernais.
Geography
Nièvre is part of the current region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, although historically it was not part of the province of Burgundy. It is surrounded by the departments of Yonne, Côte-d'Or, Saône-et-Loire, Allier, Cher, and Loiret. The département is crossed by the river Loire, the longest river in France.
Demography
Nièvre is a rural department with about 50 inhabitants / km². The main cities are : Nevers, Cosne-sur-Loire, Varennes-Vauzelles, Marzy, Decize, Imphy, Clamecy and La Charité. Only three cities reach 10 000 inhabitants. It indicates the characteristic of the département, which is predominantly rural.
Wines
Nièvre is also well known for its white wine, Pouilly Fumé. The vineyards are scattered around villages including Pouilly-Sur-Loire, which lends its name to the appellation, Tracy sur Loire, Boisgibault, Saint Andelain. The word fumé is French for "smoky", and it's said the name comes from the smoky or flinty quality of these wines. The only grape allowed in the Pouilly-Fumé AC is Sauvignon blanc, which produces wines that are generally crisp, tart, and somewhat grassy.
Politics
In common with most French wine-producing departments, Nièvre is traditionally a left-wing department. The results of the second round of voting in presidential elections reflect this consistently:
- In the 2007 presidential election, Ségolène Royal received 52.91% of the department's votes, as against a national per centage of just 46.94%.
- In the 1995 presidential election, Lionel Jospin received 57.07% of the department's votes, as against a national per centage of just 47.36%.
- In the 1981 presidential election, François Mitterrand received 62.91% of the department's votes, as against a national per centage of 51.76%.
Nièvre's best-known political representative was François Mitterrand who served as a Senator and a Deputy for the department, and as mayor of Chateau-Chinon for 22 years before his election to the presidency in 1981.
Tourism
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Ducal Palace in Nevers
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Commandry of the Knights Templar in Villemoison
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Notre-Dame of La Charité-sur-Loire
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Abbey of Corbigny
See also
- Cantons of the Nièvre department
- Communes of the Nièvre department
- Arrondissements of the Nièvre department
- Parc naturel régional du Morvan
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External links
- (French) Prefecture website
- (French) General council website
- (English) Nievre at DMOZ
- Official website of the Departmental Touristic Agency of Nièvre in Burgundy
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