Saône-et-Loire (; Arpitan: ''Sona-et-Lêre'') is a department in the

Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (; , sometimes abbreviated BFC; Arpitan: ''Borgogne-Franche-Comtât'') is a region in Eastern France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions, from a merger of Burgundy and Franche-Comté. The new region ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. It is named after the rivers

Saône The Saône ( , ; frp, Sona; lat, Arar) is a river in eastern France. It is a right tributary of the Rhône, rising at Vioménil in the Vosges department and joining the Rhône in Lyon, at the southern end of the Presqu'île. The name ...

and

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

, between which it lies, in the country's central-eastern part. Saône-et-Loire is Bourgogne-Franche-Comté's most populous department with a population of 551,493 as of 2019.Populations légales 2019: 71 Saône-et-Loire
INSEE It is also its southernmost department, as it is situated on the regional border with Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Saône-et-Loire's prefecture is

Mâcon Mâcon (), historically anglicised as Mascon, is a city in east-central France. It is the prefecture of the department of Saône-et-Loire in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Mâcon is home to near 34,000 residents, who are referred to in French as ...

, with subprefectures in

Autun Autun () is a subprefecture of the Saône-et-Loire department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of central-eastern France. It was founded during the Principate era of the early Roman Empire by Emperor Augustus as Augustodunum to give a Ro ...

, Chalon-sur-Saône,

Charolles Charolles (; Burgundian: ''Tsarolles'') is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Since 2004 is Charolles part of the Charolais-Brionnais Country. Geography Charolles is located ...

and

Louhans Louhans () is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France.

. Its INSEE and postcode number is 71.

History

When it was formed during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

, as of March 4, 1790 in fulfillment of the law of December 22, 1789, the new department combined parts of the

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of southern Burgundy and

Bresse Bresse () is a former French province. It is located in the regions of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté of eastern France. The geographical term ''Bresse'' has two meanings: ''Bresse bourguignonne'' (or ''louhannaise''), whi ...

, uniting lands that had no previous common history nor political unity and which have no true geographical unity. Thus its history is that of Burgundy, and is especially to be found in the local histories of

, Chalon-sur-Saône,

and

Louhans Louhans () is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France.

Geography

Saône-et-Loire is the seventh largest department of France. It is part of the

. In the west, the department is composed of the hills of the ''Autunois'', the region around

, in the southwest the Charollais, and the

nais in the south. In the centre, the department is traversed from north to south by the Saône in its wide plain; the Saône is a tributary of the River

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

that joins it at

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

and thus is connected to the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

. The source of the

, is south of the department, in the department of Ardèche. It then makes its way in the opposite direction, forming the southwest border of the department, and eventually draining into the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. The Canal du Centre links the Saône to the Loire between Chalon-sur-Saône and

Digoin Digoin () is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. The junction of the '' Canal du Centre'' and the '' Canal latéral à la Loire'' is near Digoin. Geography The river Bourbinc ...

, thereby linking the

to the

Atlantic ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. In the east, the department occupies the northern part of the plain of Bresse. In the west, its industrial heart is in

Le Creusot Le Creusot () is a commune and industrial town in the Saône-et-Loire department, region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, eastern France. The inhabitants are known as Creusotins. Formerly a mining town, its economy is now dominated by metallurgic ...

and

Montceau-les-Mines Montceau-les-Mines () is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. It is the second-largest commune of the metropolitan Communauté urbaine Creusot Montceau, which lies southwest of ...

, formerly noted for their coal mines and metallurgy.

Principal towns

The most populous commune is Chalon-sur-Saône; the prefecture

is the second-most populous. As of 2019, there are 5 communes with more than 10,000 inhabitants:

Subdivisions

The department consists of five arrondissements: *

* Chalon-sur-Saône *

Louhans Louhans () is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France.

There are 29 cantons in the department and 565 communes.

Demographics

Politics

The president of the Departmental Council is André Accary, elected in 2015.

Current National Assembly Representatives

Tourism

Touristic sites : *

Roche de Solutré F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, commonly known as Roche, is a Swiss multinational corporation, multinational healthcare company that operates worldwide under two divisions: Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics. Its holding company, Roche Holding AG, has ...

, * Abbaye de Cluny, * Taizé and

Taizé Community The Taizé Community is an ecumenical Christian monastic fraternity in Taizé, Saône-et-Loire, Burgundy, France. It is composed of more than one hundred brothers, from Catholic and Protestant traditions, who originate from about thirty countrie ...

, *

Paray-le-Monial Paray-le-Monial is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Since 2004 is Paray-le-Monial part of the Charolais-Brionnais Country. It is nicknamed the "city of the Sacred Heart ...

, *

La Clayette La Clayette () is a commune in the east-central French department of Saône-et-Loire. Geography La Clayette is situated in the southernmost part of Burgundy, north of the historical province of Beaujolais. It belongs to an area designated sinc ...

, *

Dompierre-les-Ormes Dompierre-les-Ormes () is a commune in the department of Saône-et-Loire in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France. It is a rural and touristic village, with characteristic landscapes: little mountains crowded with forests and pastures. The main part ...

(Galerie européenne de la forêt et du bois,

Arboretum de Pézanin The Arboretum de Pézanin or Arboretum Domanial de Pézanin (''Federal Arboretum of Pézanin'') is an arboretum located in Dompierre-les-Ormes, Saône-et-Loire, Bourgogne, France. It is one of the oldest and richest forest collections in France, ...

). File:Saône-et-Loire (septembre 2012) 032.JPG,

Lamartine Alphonse Marie Louis de Prat de Lamartine (; 21 October 179028 February 1869), was a French author, poet, and statesman who was instrumental in the foundation of the Second Republic and the continuation of the Tricolore as the flag of France. ...

's statue in

File:Temple Janus angle.jpg, Temple of Janus in

File:Abbaye Cluny Kreuzgang1.jpg, Cluny Abbey File:Chalon-sur-Saône--place-du-marché.jpg, Chalon-sur-Saône File:Tournus abbaye.jpg,

Tournus Tournus () is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Geography Tournus is located on the right bank of the Saône, 20 km. northeast of Mâcon on the Paris-Lyon railway. Pop ...

File:Arboretum, lac de Pezanin.jpeg, Lake of Pézanin File:Château de la Clayette vu de la rive du lac.jpg,

Château de La Clayette The Château de La Clayette is a 14th- and 19th-century castle in the French town of La Clayette, situated in south-western Burgundy, in the north of the historical province of Beaujolais. It is a listed historical monument. Description Origina ...

References

External links

*
Departmental Council website
*
Prefecture website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saone-Et-Loire 1790 establishments in France Departments of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté States and territories established in 1790

History

Geography

Principal towns

Subdivisions

Demographics

Politics

Current National Assembly Representatives

Tourism

See also

References

External links