- Loire-Atlantique
-
Loire-Atlantique — Department — 
Coat of armsLocation of Loire-Atlantique in France
Coordinates: 47°20′N 1°40′E / 47.333°N 1.667°ECoordinates: 47°20′N 1°40′E / 47.333°N 1.667°E Country France Region Pays-de-la-Loire Prefecture Nantes Subprefectures Ancenis
Châteaubriant
Saint-NazaireGovernment – President of the General Council Patrick Mareschal (PS) Area1 – Total 6,815 km2 (2,631.3 sq mi) Population (2009) – Total 1,268,173 – Rank 12th – Density 186.1/km2 (482/sq mi) Time zone CET (UTC+1) – Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2) Department number 44 Arrondissements 4 Cantons 59 Communes 221 ^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2 Loire-Atlantique (formerly Loire-Inférieure) is a department on the west coast of France named after the Loire River and the Atlantic Ocean.
Contents
History
Loire-Atlantique is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. Originally, it was named Loire-Inférieure, but its name was changed in 1957 to Loire-Atlantique.
The area was originally part of Brittany, and contains what many people still consider to be Brittany's capital, Nantes. This department was separated from Brittany in 1941 by the Vichy government. There is a popular campaign to have it reintegrated in Brittany.
Geography
Loire-Atlantique is part of the current region of Pays-de-la-Loire and is surrounded by the department of Morbihan, Ille-et-Vilaine, Maine-et-Loire, and Vendée, with the Atlantic on the west.
Culture
Upper Brittany's indigenous language is Gallo, a romance language related to French. The number of Gallo language speakers has been in steady decline since the early 20th century. The language is neither official nor taught in primary or secondary education. The Breton language, a Celtic language, native to Lower Brittany, was historically spoken in the western area of Loire-Atlantique, and up to 1920 in Batz-sur-Mer. This area (Guérande, Le Croisic, and La Baule) has a rather Breton toponymy: for instance, Guérande originates from the Breton Gwenn Rann (white or pure place).
The folklore and musical traditions of eastern or Lower Brittany are generally similar to those of western or Upper Brittany.
Transport
The département operates the Lila network of interurban buses, which link its villages, towns and cities. The urban areas of Nantes and Saint-Nazaire operate their own urban transport networks, known as Tan and Stran respectively.
By rail, the regional trains and buses of the TER Pays de la Loire link major towns and cities of the Pays de la Loire and adjoining regions, including those of the département. Nantes is on the TGV network, with high speed trains running to Paris by the LGV Atlantique in just over 2 hours.
Nantes Atlantique Airport, located 8 km to the southwest of the city of Nantes, serves the département and surrounding areas. It is the biggest airport in northwestern France, linking with several French and European cities, as well as Montreal in Canada. It is currently planned that this airport will be replaced by a new Aéroport du Grand Ouest, situated 30 km to the north-west of Nantes in the commune of Notre-Dame-des-Landes. The €580 million project was approved in February 2008, with construction expected to start in 2012 and an opening date in 2015.[1]
See also
- Cantons of the Loire-Atlantique department
- Communes of the Loire-Atlantique department
- Arrondissements of the Loire-Atlantique department
- La Baule - Guérande Peninsula
References
- ^ "New Notre Dame des Landes Airport, Nantes, France". airport-technology.com. http://www.airport-technology.com/projects/newnantes/. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
External links
- (French) Prefecture
- (French) General council
- (English) Loire Atlantic Tourism
55Categories:
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
