Sologne (; ) is a

natural region A natural region (landscape unit) is a basic geographic unit. Usually, it is a region which is distinguished by its common natural features of geography, geology, and climate. From the ecology, ecological point of view, the naturally occurring fl ...

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 Valley ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, extending over portions of the departements of

Loiret Loiret (; ) is a department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of north-central France. It takes its name from the river Loiret, which is contained wholly within the department. In 2019, Loiret had a population of 680,434.< ...

, 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 Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

. Its area is about . To its north is the river

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

, to its south the river

, while the districts of

Sancerre Sancerre () is a medieval hilltop town (ville) and commune in the Cher department, France overlooking the river Loire. It is noted for its wine. History Located in the area of Gaul settled by the powerful Celtic (Gaule Celtique) tribe, the B ...

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 Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''sœcalonia'' (" rye 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 The Sauldre (, ) is a long river in central France, a right tributary of the Cher. Its source is near the village of Montigny, southwest of Sancerre. The Sauldre flows generally northwest, through the following departments and towns: * Cher: ...

, 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 Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Romorantin-Lanthenay Romorantin-Lanthenay (), commonly known as Romorantin, is a commune and town in the Loir-et-Cher department, administrative region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the capital city of the natural region of Sologne. History The current ...

(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 La Ferté-Saint-Aubin () is a commune in the Loiret department in the administrative region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. Geography The commune is traversed by the Cosson river. Population Filming location During February 1939, the Chateau d ...

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 ...

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 Fed ...

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 Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

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 of ...

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 theory, 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 Fr ...

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 is set in the region of Sologne and mentions several places, such as Bourges,

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 northwe ...

, and the

. 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 loca ...

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