Haute-Vienne

Haute-Vienne () is a department of France in the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It is named after the Vienne river that flows through the department.

History
Haute-Vienne is one of the 83 French departments made during the French revolution, on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the old province of Limousin, its southern half, and of the county of Marche, its northern half, as well as some parts of Angoumois and Poitou.

The new department had six districts: Limoges, Le Dorat, Bellac, Saint-Junien, Saint-Yrieix and Saint-Léonard. The capital (now prefecture) was Limoges.

In 1800, with the creation of the arrondissements in France, the six districts were changed into four arrondissements: Limoges, Bellac, Rochechouart and Saint-Yrieix.

On 10 September 1926, the arrondissement of Saint-Yrieix was eliminated.

Geography
Haute-Vienne is part of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. It has an area of .

The department is bordered by 6 departments of 2 regions: 
 Nouvelle-Aquitaine
 Charente
 Corrèze
 Creuse
 Dordogne
 Vienne
 Centre-Val de Loire region
 Indre

The department is in the nortwestern border of the Massif Central. Its altitude is  high; the lowest point is in the valley of the Vienne river and the highest is in the mountains near the Vassivière lake. The highest point in the department is Puy de Crozat (), that is  high.

The main rivers in the department are the Vienne, that gives its name to this the deparment and to Vienne, and the Gartempe, a tributary of the Creuse river.

Climate
The climate of Limoges 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 Limoges is . The month with the most precipitation on average is October with  of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is February with an average of .

The average temperature for the year in Limoges 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 .

Administration
The department is managed by the Departamental Council of the Haute-Vienne in Limoges. Haute-Vienne is part of the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

Administrative divisions
There are 3 arrondissements (districts), 21 cantons and 200 communes (municipalities) in Haute-Vienne.

The following is a list of the 21 cantons of the Haute-Vienne department, in France, following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:

 Aixe-sur-Vienne (8701)
 Ambazac (8702)
 Bellac (8703)
 Châteauponsac (8704)
 Condat-sur-Vienne (8705)
 Couzeix (8706)
 Eymoutiers (8707)
 Limoges-1 (8708)
 Limoges-2 (8709)
 Limoges-3 (8710)
 Limoges-4 (8711)
 Limoges-5 (8712)
 Limoges-6 (8713)
 Limoges-7 (8714)
 Limoges-8 (8715)
 Limoges-9 (8716)
 Panazol (8717)
 Rochechouart (8718)
 Saint-Junien (8719)
 Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat (8720)
 Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche (8721)

Demographics
The inhabitants of Haute-Vienne are known, in French, as Haut-Viennois (women: Haut-Viennoises).

Haute-Vienne has a population, in 2013, of 376,199, for a population density of  inhabitants/km2. The arrondissement of Limoges, with 298,578 inhabitants, is by far the largest. The other two, Bellac and Rochechouart, have respectively 39,744 and 37,877 inhabitants.

Evolution of the population in Haute-Vienne

The 10 most important cities in the department are:

Gallery

Related pages
 Arrondissements of the Haute-Vienne department

References

Other websites

 General Council website 
 Prefecture website 
 Tourism office of Haute-Vienne 

Departments in Nouvelle-Aquitaine