Maine-et-Loire

Maine-et-Loire (French pronunciation: [mɛn e lwaʁ] ) 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, Indre-et-Loire to the east, Vienne and Deux-Sèvres to the south, Vendée to the south-west, and Ille-et-Vilaine to the north-west. It also borders Ille-et-Vilaine in the north for just 20 yards (19 m), France's shortest department boundary. Its prefecture is Angers; its subprefectures are Cholet, Saumur and Segré-en-Anjou Bleu. Maine-et-Loire had a population of 818,273 in 2019.[3]

Maine-et-Loire
Prefecture gardens in Angers
Prefecture gardens in Angers
Flag of Maine-et-Loire
Coat of arms of Maine-et-Loire
Location of Maine-et-Loire in France
Location of Maine-et-Loire in France
Coordinates: 47°27′N 0°36′W
CountryFrance
RegionPays de la Loire
PrefectureAngers
SubprefecturesCholet
Saumur
Segré-en-Anjou Bleu
Government
  President of the Departmental CouncilFlorence Dabin[1] (DVD)
Area
  Total7,107 km2 (2,744 sq mi)
Population
 (Jan. 2020)[2]
  Total820,713
  Rank28th
  Density120/km2 (300/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Department number49
Arrondissements4
Cantons21
Communes177
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries and lakes, ponds and glaciers larger than 1 km2

History

Maine-et-Loire is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790, mostly out of the southern portion of the former province of Anjou.[4] Originally it was called Mayenne-et-Loire, but its name was changed to Maine-et-Loire in 1791. Its present name is drawn from the rivers Maine and Loire, which meet within the department.

Geography

Maine-et-Loire is part of the current region of Pays de la Loire. The principal city is Angers, the seat of a bishopric and of a court of appeal.[4]

It has a varied landscape, with forested ranges of hills in the south and north separated by the valley of the Loire. The highest point is Colline des Gardes at 210 m (690 ft). Part of the Loire Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site lies in Maine-et-Loire.[5]

The area has many navigable rivers such as the Loire, Sarthe, Mayenne, Loir, and Authion.

Principal towns

The most populous commune is Angers, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 6 communes with more than 20,000 inhabitants:[3]

Commune Population (2019)
Angers 155,850
Cholet 54,037
Saumur 26,467
Sèvremoine 25,162
Beaupréau-en-Mauges 23,419
Chemillé-en-Anjou 20,828

Demographics

The inhabitants of Maine-et-Loire have no official qualifier. They are sometimes known as Angevins, from the former province of Anjou, or Mainéligériens, from the name of the department.[6]

Population development since 1801:

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1801375,544    
1806404,134+1.48%
1821442,859+0.61%
1831467,871+0.55%
1841488,472+0.43%
1851515,452+0.54%
1861526,012+0.20%
1872518,471−0.13%
1881523,491+0.11%
1891518,589−0.09%
1901514,658−0.08%
1911508,149−0.13%
1921474,786−0.68%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1931475,991+0.03%
1936477,690+0.07%
1946496,068+0.38%
1954518,241+0.55%
1962556,272+0.89%
1968584,704+0.83%
1975629,849+1.07%
1982675,321+1.00%
1990705,882+0.55%
1999733,813+0.43%
2006766,659+0.63%
2011790,343+0.61%
2016810,934+0.52%
Sources:[7][8]

Politics

The president of the Departmental Council is Florence Dabin, elected in July 2021.

Current National Assembly Representatives

ConstituencyMember[9]Party
Maine-et-Loire's 1st constituency Matthieu Orphelin Ecology Democracy Solidarity
Maine-et-Loire's 2nd constituency Stella Dupont La République En Marche!
Maine-et-Loire's 3rd constituency Jean-Charles Taugourdeau The Republicans
Maine-et-Loire's 4th constituency Laëtitia Saint-Paul La République En Marche!
Maine-et-Loire's 5th constituency Denis Masséglia La République En Marche!
Maine-et-Loire's 6th constituency Nicole Dubré-Chirat La République En Marche!
Maine-et-Loire's 7th constituency Philippe Bolo MoDem

Tourism

Châteaux of the Loire Valley

Anjou traditions

  • The largest vineyard of the Loire Valley.
  • The boule de fort, the traditional boules game in Anjou

Angers and around:

Saumur and around:

Cholet and around:

Segré and around:

See also

References

  1. "Répertoire national des élus: les conseillers départementaux". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 4 May 2022.
  2. "Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2020". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 29 December 2022.
  3. Populations légales 2019: 49 Maine-et-Loire, INSEE
  4. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Maine-et-Loire" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 441.
  5. "The Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes". whc.unesco.org. UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
  6. "Vous voulez vous appeler Angevin ou Mainoligérien ? Dernier jour pour voter !". ouest-france.fr. Ouest France. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  7. "Le SPLAF - Historique de Maine-et-Loire". splaf.free.fr.
  8. "Évolution et structure de la population en 2016". INSEE.
  9. Nationale, Assemblée. "Assemblée nationale ~ Les députés, le vote de la loi, le Parlement français". Assemblée nationale.
  10. "Château de Montsoreau-Contemporary Art Museum - Les Châteaux de la Loire". Les Châteaux de la Loire. Archived from the original on 2019-03-29. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
  11. "Visit Chateau de Montsoreau-Museum of contemporary art on your trip to Montsoreau". www.inspirock.com. Archived from the original on 2018-10-06. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
  12. "Practical Information". Château de Montsoreau-Museum of Contemporary Art. Archived from the original on 2019-03-21. Retrieved 2018-09-15.
  13. "Snapshots of the Loire The Montsoreau flea market". TVMONDE. Retrieved 2018-09-17.
  14. "Discover the World's 500 Best Flea Markets". Fleamapket. Retrieved 2018-09-17.
  15. "Largest Art & Language Collection Finds Home - artnet News". artnet News. 2015-06-23. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
  16. "MACBA banks on History". Artinamericamagazine.com. 2011.
  17. "Art & Language Uncompleted". macba.cat. 2014.
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