Vienne (department)

Established on 4 March 1790, during the French Revolution, Vienne is one of the original 83 departments of France. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Poitou, Touraine, and Berry, the last being a part of the Duchy of Aquitaine until the 15th century.

The original Acadians, who settled in and around what is now Nova Scotia, left Vienne for North America after 1604. Gregory Kennedy 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.^[4]

The department of Vienne has an area of 6,990 km² (2,700 sq mi). Part of the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, it borders Maine-et-Loire to the northwest, Indre-et-Loire to the north, Indre to the east, Haute-Vienne to the southeast, Charente to the south and Deux-Sèvres to the west. It is crossed by the river Vienne, a tributary of the Loire.

Population development since 1801:

More information Year, Pop. ...

Historical population
Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1801 240,990 —     1806 252,351 +0.93% 1821 260,697 +0.22% 1831 282,731 +0.81% 1841 294,250 +0.40% 1851 317,305 +0.76% 1861 322,028 +0.15% 1872 320,598 −0.04% 1881 340,295 +0.66% 1891 344,355 +0.12% 1901 336,343 −0.24% 1911 332,276 −0.12% 1921 306,248 −0.81% 1931 303,072 −0.10%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1936 306,820 +0.25% 1946 313,932 +0.23% 1954 319,208 +0.21% 1962 331,619 +0.48% 1968 340,256 +0.43% 1975 357,366 +0.70% 1982 371,428 +0.55% 1990 380,005 +0.29% 1999 399,024 +0.54% 2007 421,891 +0.70% 2012 430,018 +0.38% 2017 436,876 +0.32% 2023 438,897 +0.08%
Sources:[6][3]

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Édith Cresson, 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 for an additional term in 2021.

Vienne has three arrondissements: Poitiers, the prefecture, and the subprefectures Châtellerault and Montmorillon.

The capital, Poitiers, is the see of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Poitiers, which pastorally serves the department. Ligugé Abbey, a Benedictine monastery a few kilometers to the south of Poitiers, is the oldest continuously active monastery in Western Europe.

The most famous tourist sites include the Futuroscope theme park, Poitiers (city of Art and History), the Abbey Church of Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe, a UNESCO world heritage site, the animal parks of Monkey's Valley in Romagne and the Crocodile Planet in Civaux.

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

Vienne has a partnership relationship with:

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

• 
  Notre-Dame of Poitiers
• 
  Saint-Martin-l'Ars
• 
  Romagne
• 
  Blanzay
• 
  Tympanum of the church of Civray

• Communes of the Vienne department
• Cantons of the Vienne department
• Arrondissements of the Vienne department
• Anjou wine