Loire (department)
Loire | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
 Location of Loire in France | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes |
| Prefecture | Saint-Étienne |
| Subprefectures | Montbrison Roanne |
| Government | |
| • President of the General Council | Bernard Bonne (UMP) |
| Area | |
• Total | 4,781 km2 (1,846 sq mi) |
| Population (2013) | |
• Total | 756,715 |
| • Rank | 30th |
| • Density | 160/km2 (410/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Department number | 42 |
| Arrondissements | 3 |
| Cantons | 21 |
| Communes | 326 |
| ^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2 | |
Loire (French pronunciation: [lwaʁ]; Template:Lang-frp; Template:Lang-oc) is a department in the east-central part of France occupying the River Loire's upper reaches.
History
Loire was created in 1793 when after just 3½ years the young Rhône-et-Loire department was split into two. This was a response to counter-Revolutionary activities in Lyon which, by population, was the country's second largest city. By splitting Rhône-et-Loire the government sought to protect the French Revolution from the potential power and influence of counter revolutionary activity in the Lyon region.
The departmental capitals have been / are as follows:
- Feurs 1793-1795
- Montbrison 1795-1855
- Saint-Étienne since 1855
Geography
Loire is part of the current administrative region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and is surrounded by the departments of Rhône, Isère, Ardèche, Haute-Loire, Puy-de-Dôme, Allier, and Saône-et-Loire.
The River Loire traverses the department from south to north.
The Loire department is split into three arrondissements :
Parts of the department belong to Parc naturel régional Livradois-Forez.
Demographics
The inhabitants of the department are called Ligériens.
The industrial city of Saint-Étienne with its suburbs contains some 290,000 of the area's 728,542 inhabitants.
Tourism
See also
- Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
- Cantons of the Loire department
- Communes of the Loire department
- Arrondissements of the Loire department
- Loire coal mining basin
- Loire General Council
References
External links
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
