Vienne

Vienne (French pronunciation: [vjɛn] (listen)) is a department in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It takes its name from the river 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
CountryFrance
RegionNouvelle-Aquitaine
PrefecturePoitiers
SubprefecturesChâtellerault
Montmorillon
Government
 • President of the General CouncilClaude Bertaud
Area
 • Total6,990 km2 (2,700 sq mi)
Population
 (2016)
 • Total436,069
 • Rank56th
 • Density62/km2 (160/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Department number86
Arrondissements3
Cantons19
Communes266
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2

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.

Current National Assembly Representatives
ConstituencyMember[2]Party
Vienne's 1st constituency Jacques Savatier La République En Marche!
Vienne's 2nd constituency Sacha Houlié La République En Marche!
Vienne's 3rd constituency Jean-Michel Clément La République En Marche!
Vienne's 4th constituency Nicolas Turquois MoDem

Demographics

Population development since 1801:

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1801240,990—    
1806252,351+0.93%
1821260,697+0.22%
1831282,731+0.81%
1841294,250+0.40%
1851317,305+0.76%
1861322,028+0.15%
1872320,598−0.04%
1881340,295+0.66%
1891344,355+0.12%
1901336,343−0.24%
1911332,276−0.12%
1921306,248−0.81%
1931303,072−0.10%
1936306,820+0.25%
1946313,932+0.23%
1954319,208+0.21%
1962331,619+0.48%
1968340,256+0.43%
1975357,366+0.70%
1982371,428+0.55%
1990380,005+0.29%
1999399,130+0.55%
2006418,460+0.68%
2011427,193+0.41%
2016436,069+0.41%
source:[3]

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
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in France

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. http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/
  3. Site sur la Population et les Limites Administratives de la France
  4. "Partneri- ja kummikaupungit (Partnership and twinning cities)". Oulun kaupunki (City of Oulu) (in Finnish). Retrieved 2013-07-27.
  5. 友好城市 (Friendly cities) Archived 2012-05-31 at WebCite, 市外办 (Foreign Affairs Office), 2008-03-22. (Translation by Google Translate.)
  6. 国际友好城市一览表 (International Friendship Cities List) Archived 2012-05-31 at WebCite, 2011-01-20. (Translation by Google Translate.)
  7. 友好交流 (Friendly exchanges) Archived 2014-03-31 at WebCite, 2011-09-13. (Translation by Google Translate.)
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