Vienne

This article is about a department of France. For the city in France, see Vienne, Isère. For other uses, see Vienne (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Vienna.
Vienne
Department

Prefecture building of the Vienne department, in Poitiers

Coat of arms

Location of Vienne in France
Coordinates: 46°30′N 00°30′E / 46.500°N 0.500°E / 46.500; 0.500Coordinates: 46°30′N 00°30′E / 46.500°N 0.500°E / 46.500; 0.500
Country France
Region Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Prefecture Poitiers
Subprefectures Châtellerault
Montmorillon
Government
 • President of the General Council Claude Bertaud
Area1
 • Total 6,990 km2 (2,700 sq mi)
Population (2013)
 • Total 431,248
 • Rank 56th
 • Density 62/km2 (160/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Department number 86
Arrondissements 3
Cantons 19
Communes 280
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2

Vienne (French pronunciation: ​[vjɛn]) is a department in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It takes its name from the river Vienne.

History

Established on March 4, 1790 during the French Revolution, Vienne is one of the original 83 departments. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Poitou, Touraine, and Berry, the latter being a part of the Duchy of Aquitaine until the 15th century.

The original Acadians, who settled in and around what is now Nova Scotia, left Vienne for North America after 1604. Kennedy (2014) argues that the emigrants carried to Canada their customs and social structure. They were frontier peoples, who dispersed their settlements based on kinship. They optimized use of farmland and emphasized trading for a profit. They were hierarchical and politically active.[1]

Politics

Édith Cresson, France's first woman Prime Minister from 1991-1992, was a deputy (MP) for the department.

It has three arrondissements : Poitiers, the prefecture, and the subprefectures Châtellerault and Montmorillon.

Religion

The capital Poitiers is the see of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Poitiers, which pastorally serves the department.

Tourism and sights

The most famous tourist sites include the Futuroscope theme park, Poitiers (city of Art and History), the Abbey Church of Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe, a UNESCO world heritage site, the animal parks of Monkey's Valley in Romagne & the Crocodile Planet in Civaux.

Economy

Goat cheese making is an important industry of Vienne.

International relations

Vienne has a partnership relationship with:

See also

References

  1. ↑ Gregory M.W. Kennedy. Something of a Peasant Paradise? Comparing Rural Societies in Acadie and the Loudunais, 1604-1755 (MQUP, 2014)
  2. ↑ "Partneri- ja kummikaupungit (Partnership and twinning cities)". Oulun kaupunki (City of Oulu) (in Finnish). Retrieved 2013-07-27.
  3. ↑ 友好城市 (Friendly cities), 市外办 (Foreign Affairs Office), 2008-03-22. (Translation by Google Translate.)
  4. ↑ 国际友好城市一览表 (International Friendship Cities List), 2011-01-20. (Translation by Google Translate.)
  5. ↑ 友好交流 (Friendly exchanges), 2011-09-13. (Translation by Google Translate.)
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