Haute-Vienne: French department

It is named after the Vienne river that flows through the department.

Haute-Vienne
Department
Prefecture building of the Haute-Vienne department, in Limoges
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Haute-Vienne in France
Coordinates: 45°50′N 1°16′E / 45.833°N 1.267°E / 45.833; 1.267
Country	France
Region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Département	4 March 1790
Prefecture	Limoges
Subprefectures	Bellac, Rochechouart
Government
• President	Jean-Claude Leblois
Area
• Total	5,520.1 km2 (2,131.3 sq mi)
Population  (2014)
• Total	376,199
• Density	68/km2 (180/sq mi)
Demonym	Haut-Viennois
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	FR-87
Arrondissements	3
Cantons	21
Communes	200
Website	www.haute-vienne.fr

Haute-Vienne is one of the 83 French departments made during the French revolution, on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the old province of Limousin, its southern half, and of the county of Marche, its northern half, as well as some parts of Angoumois and Poitou.

The new department had six districts: Limoges, Le Dorat, Bellac, Saint-Junien, Saint-Yrieix and Saint-Léonard. The capital (now prefecture) was Limoges.

In 1800, with the creation of the arrondissements in France, the six districts were changed into four arrondissements: Limoges, Bellac, Rochechouart and Saint-Yrieix.

On 10 September 1926, the arrondissement of Saint-Yrieix was eliminated.

Haute-Vienne is part of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. It has an area of 5,520.1 km² (2,131 sq mi).

The department is bordered by 6 departments of 2 regions:

• Nouvelle-Aquitaine
  • Charente
  • Corrèze
  • Creuse
  • Dordogne
  • Vienne
• Centre-Val de Loire region
  • Indre

The department is in the nortwestern border of the Massif Central. Its altitude is 160–750 m (525–2,461 ft) high; the lowest point is in the valley of the Vienne river and the highest is in the mountains near the Vassivière lake. The highest point in the department is Puy de Crozat (45°47′30″N 1°50′45″E / 45.79167°N 1.84583°E / 45.79167; 1.84583), that is 777 m (2,549 ft) high.

The main rivers in the department are the Vienne, that gives its name to this the deparment and to Vienne, and the Gartempe, a tributary of the Creuse river.

Climate

The climate of Limoges is an oceanic climate with template summers, Cfb (Marine West Coast Climate) in the Köppen climate classification.

The average amount of precipitation for the year in Limoges is 726.4 mm (28.6 in). The month with the most precipitation on average is October with 86.4 mm (3.4 in) of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is February with an average of 45.7 mm (1.8 in).

The average temperature for the year in Limoges is 11.4 °C (52.5 °F). The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of 19.3 °C (66.7 °F). The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of 4.2 °C (39.6 °F).

The department is managed by the Departamental Council of the Haute-Vienne in Limoges. Haute-Vienne is part of the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

Administrative divisions

There are 3 arrondissements (districts), 21 cantons and 200 communes (municipalities) in Haute-Vienne.

The following is a list of the 21 cantons of the Haute-Vienne department, in France, following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:

The inhabitants of Haute-Vienne are known, in French, as Haut-Viennois (women: Haut-Viennoises).

Haute-Vienne has a population, in 2013, of 376,199, for a population density of 68.2 inhabitants/km². The arrondissement of Limoges, with 298,578 inhabitants, is by far the largest. The other two, Bellac and Rochechouart, have respectively 39,744 and 37,877 inhabitants.

Evolution of the population in Haute-Vienne

The 10 most important cities in the department are:

•  
  Abbaye de la Règle, Limoges
•  
  Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche
•  
  Maisonnais-sur-Tardoire
•  
  Mortemart

• Arrondissements of the Haute-Vienne department