Vienne ( ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Viéne'') is a landlocked department in the French

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine () is the largest Regions of France, administrative region in France by area, spanning the west and southwest of Metropolitan France. The region was created in 2014 by the merging of Aquitaine, Limousin, and Poitou-Charentes ...

. It takes its name from the river Vienne. It had a population of 438,435 in 2019.Populations légales 2019: 86 Vienne
INSEE

History

Established on 4 March 1790, during the French Revolution, Vienne is one of the original 83 departments. It was created from parts of the former

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

Poitou Poitou ( , , ; ; Poitevin: ''Poetou'') was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Both Poitou and Poitiers are named after the Pictones Gallic tribe. Geography The main historical cities are Poitiers (historical ...

, Touraine, 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 ...

, the last being a part of the

Duchy of Aquitaine The Duchy of Aquitaine (, ; , ) was a historical fiefdom located in the western, central, and southern areas of present-day France, south of the river Loire. The full extent of the duchy, as well as its name, fluctuated greatly over the centuries ...

until the 15th century. The original

Acadian The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern American region of Acadia, ...

s, who settled in and around what is now

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

, 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.Gregory M.W. Kennedy. ''Something of a Peasant Paradise? Comparing Rural Societies in Acadie and the Loudunais, 1604-1755'' (MQUP, 2014)

Geography

The department of Vienne has an area of . Part of the region

, it borders

Maine-et-Loire Maine-et-Loire () is a department in the Loire Valley in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France. It is named after the two rivers, Maine and the Loire. It borders Mayenne and Sarthe to the north, Loire-Atlantique to the west, Indr ...

to the northwest,

Indre-et-Loire Indre-et-Loire () is a department in west-central France named after the Indre River and Loire River. In 2019, it had a population of 610,079.Indre Indre (); is a department in central France named after the river Indre. The inhabitants of the department are known as the ''Indriens'' (masculine; ) and ''Indriennes'' (feminine; ). Indre is part of the current administrative region of Cent ...

to the east,

Haute-Vienne Haute-Vienne (; , ; Upper Vienne) is a département in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwest-central France. Named after the Vienne River, it is one of the twelve départements that together constitute Nouvelle-Aquitaine. The prefecture an ...

to the southeast,

Charente Charente (; Saintongese: ''Chérente''; ) is a department in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It is named after the river Charente, the most important and longest river in the department, and also the r ...

to the south and

Deux-Sèvres Deux-Sèvres (, Poitevin-Saintongese: ''Deùs Saevres'') is a French department. ''Deux-Sèvres'' literally means "two Sèvres": the Sèvre Nantaise and the Sèvre Niortaise are two rivers which have their sources in the department. It had a ...

to the west. It is crossed by the river Vienne, a tributary of the

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 ...

Principal towns

The most populous commune is

Poitiers Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...

, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 6 communes with more than 7,000 inhabitants:

Demographics

Population development since 1801:

Politics

Édith Cresson Édith Jeanne Thérèse Cresson (; Campion; born 27 January 1934) is a French politician of the Socialist Party. She served as Prime Minister of France from 1991 to 1992, the first woman to do so and only woman until Élisabeth Borne's appoint ...

, France's first woman prime minister from 1991 to 1992, was a deputy (MP) for the department. The president of the Departmental Council is Alain Pichon, elected in 2020. Vienne has three arrondissements:

, the prefecture, and the subprefectures Châtellerault and Montmorillon.

Current National Assembly Representatives

Religion

The capital, Poitiers, is the see of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Poitiers The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Poitiers (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Metropolitae Pictaviensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse Metropolitain de Poitiers'') is a Latin archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The archepiscopal see is in the city of ...

, which pastorally serves the department.

Tourism and sights

The most famous tourist sites include the Futuroscope theme park,

(city of Art and History), the Abbey Church of Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe, a

UNESCO world heritage site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

, the animal parks o
Monkey's Valley in Romagne
and th
Crocodile Planet in Civaux

Economy

The production of goat cheese is an important industry in Vienne.

International relations

Vienne has a

partnership A partnership is an agreement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments or combinations. Organizations ...

relationship with:

Notable people

* Benoît-François Bernier (1720–1799), New France army officer, served as financial commissary of wars

Gallery

File:Poitiers, Église Notre-Dame la Grande-PM 31852.jpg, Notre-Dame of

File:Saint-Martin-l'Ars 86 Abbaye la Réau Vue SW 2012.jpg, Saint-Martin-l'Ars File:Romagne Saint-Laurent 2010.jpg, Romagne File:Blanzay 86 Église 2012.jpg,

Blanzay Blanzay () is a Communes of France, commune in the Vienne (department), Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France. See also *Communes of the Vienne department References

Communes of Vienne (department) {{ ...

File:Civray Tympan 2012.jpg, Tympanum of the church of Civray

References

External links

Departmental Council website

Prefecture website

Vienne Tourism Agency
{{Authority control 1790 establishments in France Departments of Nouvelle-Aquitaine States and territories established in 1790