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 France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. 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 d ...

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 Rhôn ...

, 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 Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (ARA; ; frp, Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Ârpes; oc, Auvèrnhe Ròse Aups; it, Alvernia-Rodano-Alpi) is a region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Au ...

. 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 M ...

, with subprefectures in Autun,

Chalon-sur-Saône Chalon-sur-Saône (, literally ''Chalon on Saône'') is a city in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. It is the largest city in the department; h ...

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 locat ...

and Louhans. 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 November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

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

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The ...

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''), w ...

, 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 Autun,

and Louhans.

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 Autun, 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: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

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 source of the

, is south of the department, in the department of

Ardèche Ardèche (; oc, Ardecha; frp, Ardecha) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.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

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 Bourbince ...

, 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 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 o ...

, formerly noted for their coal mines and metallurgy.

Principal towns

The most populous commune is

; 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: * Autun *

* Louhans *

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, * Abbaye de Cluny, * Taizé and Taizé Community, *

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" a ...

, *

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 since 2 ...

, * Dompierre-les-Ormes (Galerie européenne de la forêt et du bois, Arboretum de Pézanin). 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 Autun File:Abbaye Cluny Kreuzgang1.jpg,

Cluny Abbey Cluny Abbey (; , formerly also ''Cluni'' or ''Clugny''; ) is a former Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was dedicated to Saint Peter. The abbey was constructed in the Romanesque architectural style, with three churche ...

File:Chalon-sur-Saône--place-du-marché.jpg,

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. Popu ...

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

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