Sologne (; ) is a
natural region in
Centre-Val de Loire
Centre-Val de Loire (, , ,In isolation, ''Centre'' is pronounced . ) or Centre Region (french: région Centre, link=no, ), as it was known until 2015, is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France. It straddles the middle Loire Valle ...
,
France, extending over portions of the
departements
A department (, ) is an administrative or political division in several countries. Departments are the first-level divisions of 11 countries, nine in the Americas and two in Africa. An additional 10 countries use departments as second-level div ...
of
Loiret,
Loir-et-Cher and
Cher
Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female autonomy in a male-dominated industr ...
. Its area is about . To its north is the river
Loire, to its south the river
Cher
Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female autonomy in a male-dominated industr ...
, while the districts of
Sancerre and
Berry
A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...
are to its east.
Its inhabitants are known as the ''Solognots'' (masculine) and ''Solognotes'' (feminine).
Its name is thought to derive either from the
Latin ''sœcalonia'' ("
rye
Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe (Triticeae) and is closely related to both wheat (''Triticum'') and barley (genus ''Hordeum''). Rye grain is u ...
country") or ''sabulonia'' ("sandy country").
Natural regions
Geography
The Sologne is watered by the
Cosson
The Cosson () is a long river in central France, a right tributary of the river Beuvron. Its source is near the village of Vannes-sur-Cosson, Sologne. The Cosson flows through the following departments and communes:
* Loiret: La Ferté-Saint ...
and the
Beuvron, tributaries of the Loire, and the
Sauldre, a tributary of the Cher, all three having a west-south-westerly direction. The pools and marshes which are characteristic of the region are due to the impermeability of its soil, which is a mixture of sand and clay.
[
The main towns of Sologne are:
* Orléans (the most southern part of the city (La Source) and the university have been built in the woods of Sologne)
* Romorantin-Lanthenay (which hosts the ]Museum of Sologne
The Museum of Sologne is a museum dedicated to the history and culture of the Sologne region. This museum is located in Romorantin-Lanthenay, France. The museum has three buildings:
* Chapter Mill
* Town Mill
* The Jacquemart Tower.
History
...
)
* La Ferté-Saint-Aubin
* Salbris
Salbris () is a commune in the Loir-et-Cher department in central France.
Population
See also
* Sologne
* Communes of the Loir-et-Cher department
The following is a list of the 267 communes of the Loir-et-Cher department of France.
The co ...
* Lamotte-Beuvron
Lamotte-Beuvron () is a town and commune of about 5000 inhabitants in the Loir-et-Cher department of Centre-Val de Loire, France.
The French Federal Equestrian Park, one of the largest in Europe, is based in Lamotte-Beuvron. Each July, the Fede ...
* Aubigny-sur-Nère
Aubigny-sur-Nère () is a town and commune in the Cher department in the administrative region of Centre-Val de Loire, France.
Geography
An area of forestry and farming surrounding a small light industrial town, situated in the valley of the r ...
History
In the middle of the 19th century Napoleon III led the way in the reclamation of swamps, the planting of pines and other trees and other improvements. Arable farming and stock-raising are fairly flourishing in the Sologne, but there is little manufacturing activity, the cloth manufacture of Romorantin
Romorantin is a traditional French variety of white wine grape, that is a sibling of Chardonnay. Once quite widely grown in the Loire, it has now only seen in the Cour-Cheverny AOC. It produces intense, minerally wines somewhat reminiscent o ...
being the chief industry. Game is abundant, and the region owes much of its revived prosperity to the creation of large sporting estates.[
]
Cultural references
In the early 18th century, Jean-Philippe Rameau
Jean-Philippe Rameau (; – ) was a French composer and music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of French opera and ...
composed a famous harpsichord piece, ''Les Niais de Sologne'', whose name translates as "the simpletons of Sologne". The form is a rondo
The rondo is an instrumental musical form introduced in the Classical period.
Etymology
The English word ''rondo'' comes from the Italian form of the French ''rondeau'', which means "a little round".
Despite the common etymological root, rondo ...
with two episodes that are variations on the main section. Despite the title (which may allude to the meandering melody throughout), its use of ornamentation denotes a work of great subtlety and sophistication.
The book ''Le Grand Meaulnes
''Le Grand Meaulnes'' () is the only novel by French author Alain-Fournier, who was killed in the first month of World War I. The novel, published in 1913, a year before the author's death, is somewhat autobiographical – especially the name of t ...
'' by Alain-Fournier
Alain-Fournier () was the pseudonym of Henri-Alban Fournier (3 October 1886 – 22 September 1914[Mémoi ...](_blank)
is set in the region of Sologne and mentions several places, such as Bourges
Bourges () is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre. It is the capital of the department of Cher, and also was the capital city of the former province of Berry.
History
The name of the commune derives either from the Bituriges, ...
, Vierzon
Vierzon () is a commune in the Cher department, Centre-Val de Loire, France.
Geography
A medium-sized town by the banks of the river Cher with some light industry and an area of forestry and farming to the north. It is situated some northwest ...
, and the Cher
Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female autonomy in a male-dominated industr ...
. It is somewhere in this region where Meaulnes becomes lost and stumbles across the mysterious estate.
Many stories and essays of Maurice Genevoix
Maurice Genevoix (; 29 November 1890 – 8 September 1980) was a French author.
Life
Born on 29 November 1890 at Decize, Nièvre as Maurice-Charles-Louis-Genevoix, Genevoix spent his childhood in Châteauneuf-sur-Loire. After attending the loc ...
are set in Sologne.
UN World Heritage Site
The Chateau de Chambord is situated in the region.
References
{{Reflist
*John Tyrrell, ed., New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd ed., s.v. "Rameau, Jean-Philippe"
Geography of France
Geography of Cher (department)
Geography of Loir-et-Cher
Geography of Loiret