Loir-et-Cher

Loir-et-Cher
—  département  —
Coat of arms
Location of Loir-et-Cher in France
Coordinates: 47°16′N 00°40′E / 47.267°N 0.667°E / 47.267; 0.667Coordinates: 47°16′N 00°40′E / 47.267°N 0.667°E / 47.267; 0.667
Country	France
Region	Centre
Prefecture	Blois
Subprefectures	Romorantin-Lanthenay Vendôme
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	49.7/km2 (128.6/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.

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.

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.

Demographics

The inhabitants of the department are called Loir-et-Chériens.

Tourism

Château de Châteauvieux

Loir-et-Cher has a number of historic castles, including the following:

• Château de Blois
• Château de Chambord
• Château de Chaumont
• Château de Cheverny

See also

• Cantons of the Loir-et-Cher department
• Communes of the Loir-et-Cher department
• Arrondissements of the Loir-et-Cher department

External links

• (French) Prefecture website
• (French) General Council website
• (English) Loir-et-Cher at the Open Directory Project