Nièvre

Nièvre
Department
Prefecture building of the Nièvre department, in Nevers

Coat of arms

Location of Nièvre in France
Coordinates: 47°05′N 03°30′E / 47.083°N 3.500°E / 47.083; 3.500Coordinates: 47°05′N 03°30′E / 47.083°N 3.500°E / 47.083; 3.500
Country France
Region Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Prefecture Nevers
Subprefectures Château-Chinon
Clamecy
Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire
Government
 • President of the General Council Marcel Charmant
Area1
 • Total 6,817 km2 (2,632 sq mi)
Population (2013)
 • Total 215,221
 • Rank 87th
 • Density 32/km2 (82/sq mi)
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)
Department number 58
Arrondissements 4
Cantons 17
Communes 309
^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.[1]

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,[1] 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 department is crossed by the river Loire, the longest river in France.

Demography

Nièvre is a rural department with about 33 inhabitants per km².[2] The main cities are Nevers, Cosne-sur-Loire, Varennes-Vauzelles, Marzy, Decize, Imphy, Clamecy and La Charité.[2] Only two cities reach 10 000 inhabitants.[2] It indicates the characteristic of the department, which is predominantly rural.

Wines

Nièvre is also well known for its white wine, Pouilly Fumé.[3] 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 is said the name comes from the smoky or flinty quality of these wines.[3] 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:

Nièvre's best-known political representative was François Mitterrand who served as a senator and a deputy for the department, and as mayor of Château-Chinon for 22 years before his election to the presidency in 1981.[4]

Tourism

Sport

The Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours hsoted the Formula One French Grand Prix from 1991 to 2008, the Bol d'Or from 2000 to 2014, and the French round of the Superbike World Championship since 2003. USO Nevers is a professional rugby team that plays in Rugby Pro D2.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "A Guide to the Departments of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté - New Regions". frenchentree.com. 13 October 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 "NIEVRE : map, cities and data of the departement of Nièvre 58". www.map-france.com. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Pouilly-Fumé". www.pouilly-fume.com. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  4. ↑ "History of Burgundy, Famous Names". www.burgundytoday.com. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
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