Nièvre () is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, central-east France. Named after the river Nièvre, it had a population of 201,417 in 2023. although historically it was not part of the province of Burgundy.
The department is crossed by the river Loire, the longest river in France. Industry developed around cast iron foundries using the ample supply of wood then available. Coal mining also developed during the Middle Ages around Decize and continued until the last mine closed in 1974. Forestry is now an important provider of employment. Tourists are attracted by the numerous historic sites. The Canal du Nivernais is popular with houseboating enthusiasts.
Demographics
Nièvre is a rural department with about 30 inhabitants per km<sup>2</sup>. Only one commune (Nevers) has more than 10,000 inhabitants.
|graph-pos=bottom
|cols=2
|1801|232,590
|1806|241,739
|1821|257,990
|1831|282,521
|1841|305,346
|1851|327,161
|1861|332,814
|1872|339,917
|1881|347,576
|1891|343,576
|1901|323,783
|1911|299,312
|1921|270,148
|1931|255,195
|1936|249,673
|1946|248,559
|1954|240,078
|1962|245,921
|1968 |247702
|1975 |245212
|1982 |239635
|1990 |233278
|1999 |225198
|2007 |221488
|2012 |216786
|2017 |207182
|2023 |201417
Principal towns
The most populous commune is Nevers, the prefecture. As of 2023, there are 5 communes with more than 4,000 inhabitants:
{| class=wikitable
! Commune
! Population (2023)
|-
| Nevers
| style="text-align: center;" | 33,085
|-
| Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire
| style="text-align: center;" | 9,733
|-
| Varennes-Vauzelles
| style="text-align: center;" | 9,146
|-
| Decize
| style="text-align: center;" | 4,932
|-
| La Charité-sur-Loire
| style="text-align: center;" | 4,705
|}
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 and 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.
Representation in Parliament
National Assembly
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan="2"|Constituency!!Member!!Party
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| Nièvre's 1st constituency
| Perrine Goulet
| MoDem
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| Nièvre's 2nd constituency
| Julien Guibert
| National Rally
|}
Senate
In the 2017 Senate election, Nièvre elected Patrice Joly (Socialist Party) and Nadia Sollogoub (miscellaneous right) to the Senate.
Tourism
<gallery>
File:F06.Nevers.Palais Ducal.1161.JPG|Ducal Palace in Nevers
File:La commanderie de Villemoison - Vue d'ensemble - 002.jpg|Commandry of the Knights Templar in Villemoison
File:2012-07-21 20-23-03 3-33 3-49 4-03 4-12 4-23 4-34-PA00112826-La Charité sur Loire ShiftN.jpg|Notre-Dame of La Charité-sur-Loire
File:Chateau-de-Villemolin-0484.jpg|Château de Villemolin
File:Abbaye St Leonard a Corbigny DSC 0414.jpg|Abbey of Corbigny
</gallery>
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.
See also
- Cantons of the Nièvre department
- Communes of the Nièvre department
- Arrondissements of the Nièvre department
- Parc naturel régional du Morvan
References
External links
- Prefecture website
- Departmental council website
- Official website of the Departmental Touristic Agency of Nièvre in Burgundy