Savoie

**Savoie** is a département in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France, bordering  Italy.

## Name

Before 1860, the territory of the modern Haute-Savoie and Savoie departments had been part of the Kingdom of Sardinia, as a Duchy, since 1713. Annexation of the region by France was made in 1860. In that year, the Emperor Napoléon III divided the territory in two departments: _Savoie_, to the south, with the city of Chambéry, and _Haute-Savoie_, to the north, with the city of Annecy.

## History

The department of Savoie was created in 1860 from the southern part of the Duchy of Sardinia with four _arrondissements_: Chambéry, Albertville, Moûtiers and Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. The capital was Chambéry.

On 10 September 1926, the _arrondissement_ of Moûtiers was eliminated.

During World War II, the department was occupied by fascist Italy from November 1942 to September 1943.

## Geography

The Savoie is part of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. It has an area of .

The department borders with the Ain, Isère and Haute-Savoie departments in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, the Hautes-Alpes in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region and with Italy (Piedmont region).

Much of Savoie is covered by mountains; the highest mountain in the department is _La Grande Casse_ () in the Alps; it is  high.

The main rivers in the department are the Isère and its tributary Arch; both flow through the department from east to west. They are within the watershed of the Rhône river. The main lake in the department is the _Lac du Bourget_, the largest and deepest lake entirely in France.

### Climate

The Köppen climate classification type for the climate at Chambéry is an "Oceanic climate" (also known as Maritime Temperate climate) and of the subtype **Cfb**.

## Administration

Savoie is managed by the _Departmental Council of Savoie_ in Chambéry. The department is part of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.

Savoie is a member of the UNPO (Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization) and maintains relations with several other underrepresented and unrepresented nations.

### Administrative divisions

There are 3 _arrondissements_ (districts), 19 _cantons_ and 285 _communes_ (municipalities) in Savoie.

|INSEE code !! Arrondissement !! Capital !! Population <small>(2014)</small> !! Area <small>(km²)</small> !! Density <small>(Inh./km²)</small> !! _Communes_|||||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|731|Albertville|Albertville|111,839|2,466.1||74|
|732|Chambéry|Chambéry|271,647|1,586.1||155|
|733|Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne|Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne|43,438|1,976.0||56|

The following is a list of the 19 cantons of the Savoie department (with their INSEE codes), following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:

1. Aix-les-Bains-1 <small>(7301)</small>
1. Aix-les-Bains-2 <small>(7302)</small>
1. Albertville-1 <small>(7303)</small>
1. Albertville-2 <small>(7304)</small>
1. Bourg-Saint-Maurice <small>(7305)</small>
1. Bugey savoyard <small>(7306)</small>
1. Chambéry-1 <small>(7307)</small>
1. Chambéry-2 <small>(7308)</small>
1. Chambéry-3 <small>(7309)</small>
1. Modane <small>(7310)</small>
1. Montmélian <small>(7311)</small>
1. La Motte-Servolex <small>(7312)</small>
1. Moûtiers <small>(7313)</small>
1. Le Pont-de-Beauvoisin <small>(7314)</small>
1. La Ravoire <small>(7315)</small>
1. Saint-Alban-Leysse <small>(7316)</small>
1. Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne <small>(7317)</small>
1. Saint-Pierre-d'Albigny <small>(7318)</small>
1. Ugine <small>(7319)</small>

## Demographics

The inhabitants of Savoie are known, in French, as _Savoyards_ (women: _Savoyardes_).

Savoie had a population, in 2014, of 426,924, for a population density of  inhabitants/km<sup>2</sup>. The _arrondissement_ of Chambéry, with 271,647 inhabitants, is the _arrondissement_ with more inhabitants.

**Evolution of the population in Haute-Savoie**

The _communes_ in the department with more inhabitants are:

|City|Population (2014)|Arrondissement|
| --- | --- | --- |
|Chambéry|59,490|Chambéry|
|Aix-les-Bains|30,291|Chambéry|
|Albertville|18,950|Albertville|
|La Motte-Servolex|11,726|Chambéry|
|La Ravoire|8,032|Chambéry|
|Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne|7,889|Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne|
|Bourg-Saint-Maurice|7,204|Albertville|
|Ugine|7,019|Albertville|
|Cognin|6,027|Chambéry|
|Entrelacs|5,920|Chambéry|

## Related pages

- Arrondissements of the Savoie department
- Communes of the Savoie department

## Other websites

- Departmental Council website
- Prefecture website

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Savoie
- **type**: Departments of France, Department
- **image skyline**: Préfecture de la Savoie.JPG
- **image alt**: Prefecture building of the Savoie department, in Chambéry
- **image caption**: Prefectures in France, Prefecture building of the Savoie department, in Chambéry
- **image flag**: Flag of Savoie.svg
- **image shield**: Blason duché fr Savoie.svg
- **shield size**: 80px
- **shield alt**: Coat of arms
- **image map**: Savoie-Position.svg
- **map alt**: Location of Savoie in France
- **map caption**: Location of Savoie in France
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **subdivision name**: France
- **subdivision type1**: Regions of France, Region
- **subdivision name1**: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
- **established title**: Département
- **established date**: 1860
- **seat type**: Prefectures in France, Prefecture
- **seat**: Chambéry
- **parts type**: Prefectures in France, Subprefectures
- **parts style**: para
- **p1**: Albertville
- **p2**: Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne
- **leader title**: President of the Departmental Council, President
- **leader name**: Hervé Gaymard
- **unit pref**: Metric
- **area total km2**: 6028.3
- **population total**: 426924
- **population as of**: 2014
- **population density km2**: auto
- **population demonym**: Savoyards
- **blank name sec2**: Arrondissements of France, Arrondissements
- **blank info sec2**: 3
- **blank1 name sec2**: Cantons in France, Cantons
- **blank1 info sec2**: 19
- **blank2 name sec2**: Communes in France, Communes
- **blank2 info sec2**: 285
- **timezone1**: Central European Time, CET
- **utc offset1**: +1
- **timezone1 dst**: Central European Summer Time, CEST
- **utc offset1 dst**: +2
- **iso code**: FR-73
- **website**: [http://www.savoie.fr/ www.savoie.fr]