Vienne

**Vienne** is a department in southwestern France in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. It is named after the Vienne river, the most important river in the department.

## History

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 provinces of Poitou, Touraine and Berry, until the 15th century part of the Duchy of Aquitaine.

The new department had six districts: Châtellerault, Civray, Loudun, Lusignan, Montmorillon and Poitiers. The capital (now prefecture) was Poitiers.

In 1800, with the creation of the _arrondissements_ in France, the six districts were changed into five _arrondissements_: Châtellerault, Civray, Loudun, Montmorillon and Poitiers.

On 10 September 1926, the _arrondissements_ of Civray and Loudun were eliminated.

## Geography

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

The highest point of the department is _Signal de Prun_,  high, in the _commune_ of Adriers, in the Massif Central.

The department is bordered by 6 departments in three regions:
- Pays de la Loire region
    - Maine-et-Loire
- Centre-Val de Loire region
    - Indre-et-Loire
    - Indre
- Nouvelle-Aquitaine region
    - Haute-Vienne
    - Charente
    - Deux-Sèvres

The main river in the department is the Vienne that gives its name to the department; it is one of the main tributary of the Loire river. The Vienne river flows through the department from north to south.

### Climate

The climate of Poitiers 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 Poitiers is . The month with the most precipitation on average is October with  of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is August with an average of .

The average temperature for the year in Poitiers 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 Vienne_ in Poitiers. Vienne is part of the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

### Administrative divisions

There are 3 _arrondissements_ (districts), 19 _cantons_ and 274 _communes_ (municipalities) in Vienne.

|INSEE code !!Arrondissement !! Capital !! Population <small>(2014)</small> !! width=70px |Area <small>(km²)</small> !! Density <small>(Inh./km²)</small> !! _Communes_|||||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|861|Châtellerault|Châtellerault|112,313|2,065.0||92|
|862|Montmorillon|Montmorillon|74,852|2,998.8||95|
|863|Poitiers|Poitiers|246,038|1,925.7||87|

The following is a list of the 19 _cantons_ of the Vienne department, following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:

1. Chasseneuil-du-Poitou <small>(8601)</small>
1. Châtellerault-1 <small>(8602)</small>
1. Châtellerault-2 <small>(8603)</small>
1. Châtellerault-3 <small>(8604)</small>
1. Chauvigny <small>(8605)</small>
1. Civray <small>(8606)</small>
1. Jaunay-Clan <small>(8607)</small>
1. Loudun <small>(8608)</small>
1. Lusignan <small>(8609)</small>
1. Lussac-les-Châteaux <small>(8610)</small>
1. Migné-Auxances <small>(8611)</small>
1. Montmorillon <small>(8612)</small>
1. Poitiers-1 <small>(8613)</small>
1. Poitiers-2 <small>(8614)</small>
1. Poitiers-3 <small>(8615)</small>
1. Poitiers-4 <small>(8616)</small>
1. Poitiers-5 <small>(8617)</small>
1. Vivonne <small>(8618)</small>
1. Vouneuil-sur-Vienne <small>(8619)</small>

## Demographics

The inhabitants of Vienne are known, in French, as _Viennois_ (women: _Viennoises_).

Vienne has a population, in 2014, of 433,203, for a population density of  inhabitants/km<sup>2</sup>. The _arrondissement_ of Poitiers, with 246,038 inhabitants, is by far the largest. The other two, Châtellerault and Montmorillon, have respectively 112,313 and 74,852 inhabitants.

**Evolution of the population in Vienne**

The 10 main cities in the department are:

|City|Population (2014)|Arrondissement|
| --- | --- | --- |
|Poitiers|87,435|Poitiers|
|Châtellerault|31,722|Châtellerault|
|Buxerolles|9,956|Poitiers|
|Chauvigny|7,088|Montmorillon|
|Saint-Benoît|7,064|Poitiers|
|Loudun|6,740|Châtellerault|
|Montmorillon|6,155|Montmorillon|
|Jaunay-Clan|6,025|Poitiers|
|Migné-Auxances|5,966|Poitiers|
|Naintré|5,866|Châtellerault|

## Related pages

- Arrondissements of the Vienne department
- Communes of the Vienne department

## Other websites

- Departamental Council website
- Prefecture website
- Tourism official website

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Vienne
- **type**: Departments of France, Department
- **image skyline**: Prefecture-Region-Poitiers-86.jpg
- **image alt**: Prefecture building of the Vienne department
- **image caption**: Prefectures in France, Prefecture building of the Vienne department, in Poitiers
- **image flag**: Drapeau_fr_département_Vienne.svg
- **image shield**: Blason_département_fr_Vienne.svg
- **shield size**: 80px
- **image map**: Vienne-Position.svg
- **map caption**: Location of  Vienne in France
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **subdivision name**: France
- **subdivision type1**: Regions of France, Region
- **subdivision name1**: Nouvelle-Aquitaine
- **established title**: Département
- **established date**: 4 March 1790
- **seat type**: Prefectures in France, Prefecture
- **seat**: Poitiers
- **parts type**: Prefectures in France, Subprefectures
- **parts style**: para
- **p1**: Châtellerault
- **p2**: Montmorillon
- **leader title**: President of the Departmental Council, President
- **leader name**: Bruno Belin
- **unit pref**: Metric
- **area total km2**: 6990.4
- **population total**: 433203
- **population as of**: 2014
- **population density km2**: auto
- **population demonym**: Viennois
- **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**: 274
- **timezone1**: Central European Time, CET
- **utc offset1**: +1
- **timezone1 dst**: Central European Summer Time, CEST
- **utc offset1 dst**: +2
- **iso code**: FR-86
- **website**: [http://www.lavienne86.fr/ http://www.lavienne86.fr]