Nièvre: French department

It is named after the Nièvre river, a tributary of the Loire. Its prefecture and largest city is Nevers.

Nièvre
Department
Prefecture building of the Nièvre department, in Nevers
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Nièvre in France
Coordinates: 47°05′N 03°30′E / 47.083°N 3.500°E / 47.083; 3.500
Country	France
Region	Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Département	4 March 1790
Prefecture	Nevers
Subprefecture	Château-Chinon, Clamecy, Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire
Government
• President	Patrice Joly
Area
• Total	6,816.7 km2 (2,631.9 sq mi)
Population  (2014)
• Total	213,569
• Density	31/km2 (81/sq mi)
Demonym	Nivernais
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	FR-58
Arrondissements	4
Cantons	17
Communes	309
Website	http://www.nievre.fr

Nièvre is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790 with Nevers as its capital. It was formed from part of the old province of Nivernais and its name was written at first as Nyèvre.

It was divided in nine districts: Nevers, Saint-Pierre-le-Moutier, Decize, Moulins-Engilbert, Château-Chinon, Corbigny, Clamecy, Cosne and La Charité.

In 1800, with the creation of the arrondissements in France, the nine districts were changed into four arrondissements: Nevers, Château-Chinon, Clamecy and Cosne.

On 10 September 1926, the arrondissement of Cosne was eliminated but in 1943 it became again an arrondissement of the department.

 

Nièvre is part of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region. It has an area of 6,816.7 km² (2,632 sq mi). The highest point of the department is Mont Préneley (46°57′24″N 4°0′7″E / 46.95667°N 4.00194°E / 46.95667; 4.00194 (Mont Préneley)), 855 m (2,805 ft) high; it is in the commune Glux-en-Glenne.

The department borders with six departments in three regions:

• Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region
  • Yonne (north)
  • Côte-d'Or (east)
  • Saône-et-Loire (southeast)
• Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region
  • Allier (southwest)
• Centre-Val de Loire region
  • Cher (west)
  • Loiret (nortwest)

There are three main geographical zones in the department:

1. Eastern zone, with small hills covered with forests; here is the Parc Naturel Régional du Morvan ("Morvan regional natural park").
2. Central zone, an agricultural zone.
3. Western zone, a zone organised along a north-south line formed by the valley of the Loire river; it is the zone of the department with higher population.

The main rivers in the department are the Loire, that makes most of the western border, with its tributaries Allier and Aron; and the Yonne, with its tributary Cure.

Climate

The Köppen climate classification type for the climate at Nevers is an "Oceanic climate" (also known as Maritime Temperate climate) and of the subtype "Cfb".

It rains in all seasons but precipitations are more important in the eastern zone, in the Morvan, and weaker in the Loire valley.

Nièvre is managed by the Departmental Council of Nièvre in Nevers. The department is part of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region.

Administrative divisions

There are 4 arrondissements (districts), 17 cantons and 309 communes (municipalities) in Nièvre.

The following is a list of the 17 cantons of the Nièvre department (with their INSEE codes), following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:

The inhabitants of Nièvre are known, in French, as Nivernais (women: Nivernaises).

Nièvre had a population, in 2014, of 213,569, for a population density of 31.3 inhabitants/km². The arrondissement of Nevers, with 118,087 inhabitants, is the arrondissement with more inhabitants.

Evolution of the population in Nièvre

The 10 communes with more inhabitants in the department are:

•  
  Ducal Palace in Nevers
•  
  Notre-Dame of La Charité-sur-Loire
•  
  Château de Villemolin, Anthien
•  
  Abbey of Corbigny
•  
  Château-Chinon (Ville): view from Dommartin
•  
  Bridge over the Loire, at Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire

• Arrondissements of the Nièvre department
• Communes of the Nièvre department

 

Wiki Commons has media related to Nièvre.

• Departmental Council website (in French)
• Prefecture website^{[permanent dead link]} (in French)
• Agence de Développement Touristique de la Nièvre (in French)