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 ecological point of view, the naturally occurring flora and ...

Centre-Val de Loire Centre-Val de Loire (; ,In isolation, ''Centre'' is pronounced . ) or Centre Region (, ), as it was known until 2015, is one of the eighteen Regions of France, administrative regions of France. It straddles the middle Loire Valley in the interior ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, extending over portions of the departements of Loiret,

Loir-et-Cher Loir-et-Cher (, ) is a Departments of France, department in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region of France. It is named after two rivers which run through it, the Loir in its northern part and the Cher (river), Cher in its southern p ...

and

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

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

Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) 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. It rises in the so ...

, to its south the river

, 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 of berries in the cul ...

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 languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''sœcalonia'' (" rye country") or ''sabulonia'' ("sandy country"). Sologne_France_topo

Geography

The Sologne is watered by the Cosson 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 Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and Romorantin-Lanthenay (which hosts the Museum of Sologne) * La Ferté-Saint-Aubin * Salbris * Lamotte-Beuvron * Aubigny-sur-Nère

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 land alterations. Arable farming and stock-raising are fairly flourishing in the Sologne, but there is little manufacturing activity, the cloth manufacture of Romorantin 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 ...

composed a famous harpsichord piece, ''Les Niais de Sologne'', whose name translates as "the simpletons of Sologne". The form is a

rondo The rondo or rondeau is a musical form that contains a principal theme (music), theme (sometimes called the "refrain") which alternates with one or more contrasting themes (generally called "episodes", but also referred to as "digressions" or "c ...

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'' by Alain-Fournier is set in the region of Sologne and mentions several places, such as

Bourges Bourges ( ; ; ''Borges'' in Berrichon) is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre (Cher), Yèvre. It is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Cher (department), Cher, and also was the capital city of the former provin ...

Vierzon Vierzon () is a Communes of France, commune in the Cher (department), Cher departments of France, department, Centre-Val de Loire, France. Geography A medium-sized town by the banks of the river Cher (river), Cher with some light industry and a ...

, 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 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" Natural regions of France Geography of France Geography of Cher (department) Geography of Loir-et-Cher Geography of Loiret