Loire-Atlantique
Loire-Atlantique is a department in France. It is in the Pays de la Loire region. Its capital is Nantes, which is also the region's capital. The department gets its name from the river which goes through it (la Loire), and because it is next to the Atlantic Ocean.
Liger-Atlantel (Breton) | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 47°20′N 1°40′W / 47.333°N 1.667°WCoordinates: 47°20′N 1°40′W / 47.333°N 1.667°W | |
Country | France |
Region | Pays de la Loire |
Prefecture | Nantes |
Subprefectures | Châteaubriant Saint-Nazaire |
Government | |
• President of the Departmental Council | Michel Menard[1] (PS) |
Area | |
• Total | 6,881 km2 (2,657 sq mi) |
• Rank | 9th |
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Department number | 44 |
Arrondissements | 3 |
Cantons | 31 |
Communes | 207 |
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2 |
History
Loire Atlantique is one of the first 83 departments of France created in 1790. It used to be called Loire-Inférieure. It got its new name in 1957.
The department was part of Brittany until 1941 when the Vichy Governement separated it. Many people still think it is Brittany's capital. Some want it to be part of Brittany again.
Geography
Loire-Atlantique is next to 4 departements:
West of it is the Atlantic Ocean.
Loire-Atlantique Media
Stained glass-window of the church of Batz-sur-Mer
Coast near Le Pouliguen
References
- ↑ "Répertoire national des élus: les conseillers départementaux". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in français). 4 May 2022.
Other websites
Media related to Loire-Atlantique at Wikimedia Commons
- Loire-Atlantique essential information in English from FrenchEntrée
- Prefecture website (in French)
- General council website Archived 2005-12-17 at the Wayback Machine (in French)