Nièvre

**Nièvre** is a department in the centre of France, in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region. It is named after the Nièvre river, a tributary of the Loire. Its prefecture and largest city is Nevers.

## History

Nièvre is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790 with Nevers as its capital. It was formed from part of the old province of _Nivernais_ and its name was written at first as **Nyèvre**.

It was divided in nine districts: Nevers, Saint-Pierre-le-Moutier, Decize, Moulins-Engilbert, Château-Chinon, Corbigny, Clamecy, Cosne and La Charité.

In 1800, with the creation of the _arrondissements_ in France, the nine districts were changed into four _arrondissements_: Nevers, Château-Chinon, Clamecy and Cosne.

On 10 September 1926, the _arrondissement_ of Cosne was eliminated but in 1943 it became again an _arrondissement_ of the department.

## Geography

Nièvre is part of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region. It has an area of . The highest point of the department is Mont Préneley (),  high; it is in the _commune_ Glux-en-Glenne.

The department borders with six departments in three regions:
- Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region
    - Yonne (north)
    - Côte-d'Or (east)
    - Saône-et-Loire (southeast)
- Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region
    - Allier (southwest)
- Centre-Val de Loire region
    - Cher (west)
    - Loiret (nortwest)

There are three main geographical zones in the department:
1. Eastern zone, with small hills covered with forests; here is the _Parc Naturel Régional du Morvan_ ("Morvan regional natural park").
1. Central zone, an agricultural zone.
1. Western zone, a zone organised along a north-south line formed by the valley of the Loire river; it is the zone of the department with higher population.

The main rivers in the department are the Loire, that makes most of the western border, with its tributaries Allier and Aron; and the Yonne, with its tributary Cure.

### Climate

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

It rains in all seasons but precipitations are more important in the eastern zone, in the Morvan, and weaker in the Loire valley.

## Administration

Nièvre is managed by the _Departmental Council of Nièvre_ in Nevers. The department is part of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region.

### Administrative divisions

There are 4 _arrondissements_ (districts), 17 _cantons_ and 309 _communes_ (municipalities) in Nièvre.

|INSEE code !! Arrondissement !! Capital !! Population <small>(2014)</small> !! width=60px | Area <small>(km²)</small> !! Density <small>(Inh./km²)</small> !! _Communes_|||||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|581|Château-Chinon (Ville)|Château-Chinon (Ville)|25,717|1,929.1||80|
|582|Clamecy|Clamecy|24,993|1,464.0||84|
|583|Nevers|Nevers|118,087|2,020.3||82|
|584|Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire|Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire|44,772|1,403.3||63|

The following is a list of the 17 cantons of the Nièvre department (with their INSEE codes), following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:

1. La Charité-sur-Loire <small>(5801)</small>
1. Château-Chinon <small>(5802)</small>
1. Clamecy <small>(5803)</small>
1. Corbigny <small>(5804)</small>
1. Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire <small>(5805)</small>
1. Decize <small>(5806)</small>
1. Fourchambault <small>(5807)</small>
1. Guérigny <small>(5808)</small>
1. Imphy <small>(5809)</small>
1. Luzy <small>(5810)</small>
1. Nevers-1 <small>(5811)</small>
1. Nevers-2 <small>(5812)</small>
1. Nevers-3 <small>(5813)</small>
1. Nevers-4 <small>(5814)</small>
1. Pouilly-sur-Loire <small>(5815)</small>
1. Saint-Pierre-le-Moûtier <small>(5816)</small>
1. Varennes-Vauzelles <small>(5817)</small>

## Demographics

The inhabitants of Nièvre are known, in French, as _Nivernais_ (women: _Nivernaises_).

Nièvre had a population, in 2014, of 213,569, for a population density of  inhabitants/km<sup>2</sup>. The _arrondissement_ of Nevers, with 118,087 inhabitants, is the _arrondissement_ with more inhabitants.

**Evolution of the population in Nièvre**

The 10 _communes_ with more inhabitants in the department are:

|City|Population <small>(2014)</small>|Arrondissement|
| --- | --- | --- |
|Nevers|34,485|Nevers|
|Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire|10,553|Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire|
|Varennes-Vauzelles|9,467|Nevers|
|Decize|5,626|Nevers|
|La Charité-sur-Loire|5,008|Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire|
|Fourchambault|4,456|Nevers|
|Clamecy|3,889|Clamecy|
|Garchizy|3,835|Nevers|
|Marzy|3,656|Nevers|
|Coulanges-lès-Nevers|3,591|Nevers|

## Related pages

- Arrondissements of the Nièvre department
- Communes of the Nièvre department

## Other websites

- Departmental Council website
- Prefecture website
- Agence de Développement Touristique de la Nièvre

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Nièvre
- **type**: Departments of France, Department
- **image skyline**: Nevers prefecture ext 01.jpg
- **image alt**: Prefecture building of the Tarn-et-Garonne department, in Montauban
- **image caption**: Prefectures in France, Prefecture building of the Nièvre department, in Nevers
- **image flag**: Drapeau fr département Nièvre.svg
- **flag size**: 125px
- **image shield**: Blason département fr Nièvre.svg
- **shield alt**: Coat of arms
- **image map**: Nièvre-Position.svg
- **map caption**: Location of Nièvre in France
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **subdivision name**: France
- **subdivision type1**: Regions of France, Region
- **subdivision name1**: Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
- **established title**: Département
- **established date**: 4 March 1790
- **seat type**: Prefectures in France, Prefecture
- **seat**: Nevers
- **parts type**: Prefectures in France, Subprefecture
- **parts style**: para
- **p1**: Château-Chinon (Ville), Château-Chinon
- **p2**: Clamecy, Nièvre, Clamecy
- **p3**: Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire
- **leader title**: President of the Departmental Council, President
- **leader name**: Patrice Joly
- **unit pref**: Metric
- **area total km2**: 6816.7
- **population total**: 213569
- **population as of**: 2014
- **population density km2**: auto
- **population demonym**: Nivernais
- **blank name sec2**: Arrondissements of France, Arrondissements
- **blank info sec2**: 4
- **blank1 name sec2**: Cantons in France, Cantons
- **blank1 info sec2**: 17
- **blank2 name sec2**: Communes in France, Communes
- **blank2 info sec2**: 309
- **timezone1**: Central European Time, CET
- **utc offset1**: +1
- **timezone1 dst**: Central European Summer Time, CEST
- **utc offset1 dst**: +2
- **iso code**: FR-58
- **website**: [http://www.nievre.fr/ http://www.nievre.fr]