Loir-et-Cher
Coat of arms of the Loir-et-Cher department
Location
Administration
Department number:	41
Region:	Centre
Prefecture:	Blois
Subprefectures:	Romorantin-Lanthenay Vendôme
Arrondissements:	3
Cantons:	30
Communes:	291
President of the General Council:	Maurice Leroy UDF
Statistics
Population	Ranked 69th
-1999	314,968
Population density:	50/km²
Land area¹:	6343 km²
¹ French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km².

Loir-et-Cher is a department in north-central France named after the rivers Loir and Cher.

History

Loir-et-Cher is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Orléanais and Touraine.

Geography

Loir-et-Cher is part of the current region of Centre (Val de Loire) and is surrounded by the departments of Eure-et-Loir, Loiret, Cher, Indre, Indre-et-Loire, and Sarthe.

Its main rivers are the Loire, on which its prefecture (capital) Blois is situated, the Loir and the Cher.

Demographics

The inhabitants of the department are called Loir-et-Chériens.

Tourism

Loir-et-Cher has a number of historic castles, including the following:

• Château de Blois
• Château de Chambord
• Château de Chaumont
• Château de Cheverny

See also

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

External links

• (French) Prefecture website
• (French) General Council website
• (English) Loir-et-Cher at the Open Directory Project

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