Loir-et-Cher
| Loir-et-Cher | |||
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| — département — | |||
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| Coordinates: 47°16′N 00°40′E / 47.267°N 0.667°ECoordinates: 47°16′N 00°40′E / 47.267°N 0.667°E | |||
| Country | France | ||
| Region | Centre | ||
| Prefecture | Blois | ||
| Subprefectures | Romorantin-Lanthenay Vendôme |
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| Government | |||
| • President of the General Council | Jean-Luc Brindeau (Nouveau Centre) | ||
| Area1 | |||
| • Total | 6,343 km2 (2,449 sq mi) | ||
| Population (1999) | |||
| • Total | 314,968 | ||
| • Rank | 69th | ||
| • Density | 50/km2 (130/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Department number | 41 | ||
| Arrondissements | 3 | ||
| Cantons | 30 | ||
| Communes | 291 | ||
| ^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2 | |||
Loir-et-Cher (French pronunciation: [lwa.ʁ‿e.ʃɛʁ]) is a département in north-central France named after the rivers Loir and Cher.
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[edit] History
Loir-et-Cher is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Orléanais and Touraine.
[edit] Geography
Loir-et-Cher is part of the modern region of Centre. Adjacent departments are Eure-et-Loir to the north, Loiret to the north-east, Cher to the south-east, Indre to the south, Indre-et-Loire to the south-west, and Sarthe to the west.
The department comprises 6,314 km2, which makes it the 31st largest of the French departments in terms of area. The line of the river Loire traverses the land, ensuring easy communication between its own capital, Blois, and the vibrant cultural and commercial centres of Tours to the west and the fringes of the Seine-Paris basin at Orléans to the east.
Its main rivers are the Loire, on which its prefecture (capital) Blois is situated, the Loir and the Cher.
[edit] Demographics
The inhabitants of the department are called Loir-et-Chériens.
[edit] Tourism
Loir-et-Cher has a number of historic castles, including the following:
[edit] See also
- Cantons of the Loir-et-Cher department
- Communes of the Loir-et-Cher department
- Arrondissements of the Loir-et-Cher department
[edit] External links
- (French) Prefecture website
- (French) General Council website
- (English) Loir-et-Cher at the Open Directory Project
