Loir-et-Cher

**Loir-et-Cher** is a department in the centre of France in the Centre-Val de Loire region. It is named after the Loir and the Cher, two rivers that flow through the department.

Its prefecture is Blois and there are two subprefectures at Romorantin-Lanthenay and Vendôme.

## History

The department is one of the 83 French departments made during the French revolution, on 4 March 1790. The department was created from part of the former province of Orléanais together with small parts of other provinces.

The new department had six districts: Blois, Vendôme, Romorantin, Mondoubleau, Mer and Saint-Aignan. The capital (now prefecture) was Blois.

In 1800, with the creation of the _arrondissements_ in France, the six districts were changed into three _arrondissements_: Blois, Romorantin and Vendôme.

After the Battle of Waterloo (18 June 1815), the department was occupied by the Prussian army from June 1815 to November 1818.

On 10 September 1926, the _arrondissement_ of Romorantin was eliminated but in 1943 it was made again an _arrondissement_. In 1961, Romorantin was merged with Lanthenay and the name, of the _commune_ and of the _arrondissement_, was changed to Romorantin-Lanthenay.

## Geography

Loir-et-Cher is part of the Centre-Val de Loire region. It has an area of .

The highest point of the department is in the _Bois des Vallèes_ (), in the _commune_ of Bouffry, and that is  above sea level.

The department is bordered by the 6 departments in 2 regions:
- Centre-Val de Loire region
    - Eure-et-Loir
    - Loiret
    - Cher
    - Indre
    - Indre-et-Loire
- Pays de la Loire region
    - Sarthe

The main rivers are:
- Loire, that flows through the centre of the department. The city of Blois is along this river.
- Loir, a left tributary of the Sarthe; it flows through the northern part of the department.
- Cher, that flows through the southern part of the department. It is a left tributary of the Loire.
- Sauldre, a right tributary of the Cher river.

### Climate

The Köppen climate classification type for the climate at Vendôme is an "Oceanic climate" (also known as Marine West Coast Climate) and of the subtype **Cfb**.

The average amount of precipitation for the year in Vendôme 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 Vendôme 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 _Departmental Council of the Loir-et-Cher_ in Blois. Loir-et-Cher is part of the region of Centre-Val de Loire.

### Administrative divisions

There are 3 _arrondissements_ (districts), 15 _cantons_ and 276 _communes_ (municipalities) in Loir-et-Cher.

|INSEE code !!Arrondissement !! Capital !! Population <small>(2014)</small> !! width=60px | Area <small>(km²)</small> !! Density <small>(Inh./km²)</small> !! _Communes_|||||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|411|Blois|Blois|173,125|2,238.9||94|
|412|Vendôme|Vendôme|70,205|1,719.4||105|
|413|Romorantin-Lanthenay|Romorantin-Lanthenay|90,237|2,385.2||77|

The following is a list of the 13 cantons of the Loir-et-Cher department, following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:

1. La Beauce <small>(4101)</small>
1. Blois-1 <small>(4102)</small>
1. Blois-2 <small>(4103)</small>
1. Blois-3 <small>(4104)</small>
1. Chambord <small>(4105)</small>
1. Montoire-sur-le-Loir <small>(4106)</small>
1. Montrichard <small>(4107)</small>
1. Onzain <small>(4108)</small>
1. Le Perche <small>(4109)</small>
1. Romorantin-Lanthenay <small>(4110)</small>
1. Saint-Aignan <small>(4111)</small>
1. Selles-sur-Cher <small>(4112)</small>
1. La Sologne <small>(4113)</small>
1. Vendôme <small>(4114)</small>
1. Vineuil <small>(4115)</small>

## Demographics

The inhabitants of Loir-et-Cher are known, in French, as _Loir-et-Chériens_ (women: _Loir-et-Chériennes_).

Loir-et-Cher has a population, in 2014, of 333,567, for a population density of  inhabitants/km<sup>2</sup>. The _arrondissement_ of Blois, with 173,125 inhabitants, is by far the largest.

**Evolution of the population in Loir-et-Cher**

The main cities in the department are:

|City|Population <small>(2014)</small>|Arrondissement|
| --- | --- | --- |
|Blois|46,351|Blois|
|Romorantin-Lanthenay|17,459|Romorantin-Lanthenay|
|Vendôme|16,879|Vendôme|
|Vineuil|7,638|Blois|
|Mer|6,197|Blois|
|Salbris|5,398|Romorantin-Lanthenay|
|Lamotte-Beuvron|4,767|Romorantin-Lanthenay|
|Selles-sur-Cher|4,661|Romorantin-Lanthenay|
|La Chaussée-Saint-Victor|4,489|Blois|
|Saint-Laurent-Nouan|4,305|Blois|

## Related pages

- Arrondissements of the Loir-et-Cher department
- Communes of the Loir-et-Cher department

## Other websites

- Departmental Council website
- Prefecture website
- Comité Departamental du Tourisme

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Loir-et-Cher
- **type**: Departments of France, Department
- **image skyline**: Préfecture de Blois.jpg
- **image alt**: Prefecture building of the Loir-et-Cher department
- **image caption**: Prefectures in France, Prefecture building of the Loir-et-Cher department, in Blois
- **image flag**: Drapeau fr département Loir-et-Cher.svg
- **image shield**: Blason département fr Loir-et-Cher.svg
- **shield size**: 75
- **image map**: Loir-et-Cher-Position.svg
- **map caption**: Location of Loir-et-Cher in France
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **subdivision name**: France
- **subdivision type1**: Regions of France, Region
- **subdivision name1**: Centre-Val de Loire
- **established title**: Département
- **established date**: 4 March 1790
- **seat type**: Prefectures in France, Prefecture
- **seat**: Blois
- **parts type**: Prefectures in France, Subprefectures
- **parts style**: para
- **p1**: Vendôme
- **p2**: Romorantin-Lanthenay
- **leader title**: President of the Departmental Council, President
- **leader name**: Nicolas Perruchot
- **unit pref**: Metric
- **area total km2**: 6343.4
- **population total**: 333567
- **population as of**: 2014
- **population density km2**: auto
- **population demonym**: Loir-et-Chériens
- **blank name sec2**: Arrondissements of France, Arrondissements
- **blank info sec2**: 3
- **blank1 name sec2**: Cantons in France, Cantons
- **blank1 info sec2**: 15
- **blank2 name sec2**: Communes in France, Communes
- **blank2 info sec2**: 276
- **timezone1**: Central European Time, CET
- **utc offset1**: +1
- **timezone1 dst**: Central European Summer Time, CEST
- **utc offset1 dst**: +2
- **iso code**: FR-41
- **website**: [http://www.le-loir-et-cher.fr/ Official website]