Title: Niort Content: Niort is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France. It is a prefecture of the Deux-Sèvres department. It is also the capital of the arrondissement of Niort. == Geography == Niort is to the southwest of the Deux-Sèvres department on the left side of the Sèvre Niortaise river. The city is the main place to get into the Marais Poitevin, a large area of marshland in western France. Niort is at about from Parthenay and about from Bressuire, the two subprefectures of the department. The city is also at about from Bordeaux, from Paris, from Marseille and from Toulouse. The commune has an area of . Its average altitude is ; at the city hall, the altitude is .  The commune of Niort is surrounded by the communes: ===Climate=== The climate of Niort is an oceanic climate with template summers, Cfb (Marine West Coast Climate) in the Köppen climate classification. The average amount of precipitation for the year in Niort is . The month with the most precipitation on average is September with of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is July with an average of . The average temperature for the year in Niort is . The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of . The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of . ==Population== The inhabitants of Niort are known, in French, as Niortais (women: Niortaises). With a population of 58,311, Niort has a population density of inhabitants/km2. Evolution of the population in Niort Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.8) ImageSize = width:500 height:373 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:30 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:65000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:10000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:5000 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar:a text:1968 bar:b text:1975 bar:c text:1982 bar:d text:1990 bar:e text:1999 bar:f text:2006 bar:g text:2014 PlotData= color:barra width:30 align:left bar:a from:0 till: 48469 bar:b from:0 till: 62267 bar:c from:0 till: 58203 bar:d from:0 till: 57012 bar:e from:0 till: 56663 bar:f from:0 till: 58066 bar:g from:0 till: 58311 PlotData= bar:a at: 48469 fontsize:S text: 48,469 shift:(-12,5) bar:b at: 62267 fontsize:S text: 62,267 shift:(-13,5) bar:c at: 58203 fontsize:S text: 58,203 shift:(-13,5) bar:d at: 57012 fontsize:S text: 57,012 shift:(-13,5) bar:e at: 56663 fontsize:S text: 56,663 shift:(-13,5) bar:f at: 58066 fontsize:S text: 58,066 shift:(-13,5) bar:g at: 58311 fontsize:S text: 58,311 shift:(-13,5) Niort forms, with other 3 communes, the urban area of Niort with a population of 71,127 inhabitants (2013) and an area of . This urban area is the centre of the metropolitan area of Niort, formed by 76 communes with a population of 154,160 inhabitants (2013) and an area of . == Administration == Niort is the prefecture of the Deux-Sèvres department, the capital of the arrondissement of Niort and the administrative centre  of three cantons: * Niort-1, with 19,481 inhabitants (2014). * Niort-2, with 18,806 inhabitants (2014). * Niort-3, with 20,024 inhabitants (2014). It is part of the intercommunality Le Niortais . === Twinned and partner towns === Niort is twinned with: * Atakpamé, Togo, since 1958 * Coburg, Bavaria, Germany, since 1974 * Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, England, United Kingdom, since 1977 * Springe, Lower Saxony, Germany, since 1979 * Tomelloso, Spain, since 1981 * Gijón, Asturias, Spain, since 1982 * Biała Podlaska, Poland, since 1995 ==Gallery== File:Hôtel de ville de Niort 03.jpg|Niort town hall. File:Niort eglise sthilaire.jpg|Saint- Hilaire church.