Nièvre


Nièvre is a department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in the centre of France named after the River Nièvre.

History

Nièvre is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from the former province of Nivernais.

Geography

Nièvre is part of the current region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, although historically it was not part of the province of Burgundy. It is surrounded by the departments of Yonne, Côte-d'Or, Saône-et-Loire, Allier, Cher, and Loiret.
The department is crossed by the river Loire, the longest river in France.

Demography

Nièvre is a rural department with about 33 inhabitants per km².
The main cities are Nevers, Cosne-sur-Loire, Varennes-Vauzelles, Marzy, Decize, Imphy, Clamecy and La Charité.
Only two cities reach 10 000 inhabitants. It indicates the characteristic of the department, which is predominantly rural.
Population development since 1801:

Wines

Nièvre is also well known for its white wine, Pouilly Fumé. The vineyards are scattered around villages including Pouilly-Sur-Loire, which lends its name to the appellation, Tracy sur Loire, Boisgibault, Saint Andelain. The word fumé is French for "smoky", and it is said the name comes from the smoky or flinty quality of these wines. The only grape allowed in the Pouilly-Fumé AC is Sauvignon blanc, which produces wines that are generally crisp, tart, and somewhat grassy.

Politics

In common with most French wine-producing departments, Nièvre is traditionally a left-wing department. The results of the second round of voting in presidential elections reflect this consistently:
Nièvre's best-known political representative was François Mitterrand who served as a senator and a deputy for the department, and as mayor of Château-Chinon for 22 years before his election to the presidency in 1981.

Current National Assembly Representatives

Tourism

Sport

The Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours hosted the Formula One French Grand Prix from 1991 to 2008, the Bol d'Or from 2000 to 2014, and the French round of the Superbike World Championship since 2003. USO Nevers is a professional rugby team that plays in Rugby Pro D2.