Cour-Cheverny () is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Loir-et-Cher Loir-et-Cher (, ) is a department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France. Its name is originated from two rivers which cross it, the Loir in its northern part and the Cher in its southern part. Its prefecture is Blois. The INSEE and La P ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

Centre-Val de Loire Centre-Val de Loire (, , ,In isolation, ''Centre'' is pronounced . ) or Centre Region (french: région Centre, link=no, ), as it was known until 2015, is one of the eighteen Regions of France, administrative regions of France. It straddles the mi ...

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 and t ...

, France. The commune's land extends across the Loire Valley and across the Sologne region. Its inhabitants are known as Courchois.

Toponymy

* The name Cour-Cheverny has its origins in the vulgar

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

word, curtis, meaning farm. It seems likely, then, that the village of Cour-Cheverny was once a large piece of land belonging to the nearby village of Cheverny. *Over the years the village has had other names, such as Cour-en-Sologne, the name by which it was known up until the 19th century. * The church was mentioned in 1145 as belonging to the Abbey of Bourgmoyen. It came under the

diocese of Chartres The Diocese of Chartres (Latin: ''Dioecesis Carnutensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Chartres'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The diocese is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of t ...

at the time. Cour-Cheverny would have been a curtis, or farm, near to the small town of Cheverny, which began to grow in size and importance in the 6th century.

Sights

* The Château of Sérigny, la Sistière, Beaumont, Chantreuil, les Murblins, and la Taurie. * La Borde is a renowned psychiatric clinic offering institutional psychotherapy treatments * The 12th-century church of Saint-Aignan, which was altered in the 16th and 17th centuries, has a nave with two bays, two aisles, a semi-circular

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...

, arcades of two-centred pointed arches, ribbed vaulting with a keystone dating from 1609, an east-facing great door and a tall framed spire on a central bell tower. * The Chapel of Sérigny. * The Oratory of la Boide. * The Conon Valley. * The Beuvron, a 115 km long tributary of the

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 ...

, that runs into the Loire at Candé-sur-Beuvron.

Population

Economy

Wine

The Cour Cheverny ''

Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical bo ...

'' (AOC) was recognized in 1997.INAO : Textes Consolides
/ref> Geographically it corresponds to the commune of Cour-Cheverny and 10 other communes in the surrounding area. The single grape variety used is

Romorantin Romorantin is a traditional French variety of white wine grape, that is a sibling of Chardonnay. Once quite widely grown in the Loire, it has now only seen in the Cour-Cheverny AOC. It produces intense, minerally wines somewhat reminiscent o ...

, from which a dry, white wine is produced. The

Cheverny AOC Cheverny is a French wine region in the Loire Valley that makes dry white wines, light red wines and ''rosé'' wines. The area received AOVDQS (''Appellation d'Origine Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure'') status in 1973, and then AOC ( ''A ...

, which was also recognized in 1997, covers a wider area but also includes the commune of Cour-Cheverny. The wines produced under this appellation are dry, white wines (the main grape variety being

Sauvignon blanc is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words ''sauvage'' ("wild") and ''blanc'' ("white") due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in ...

), and red and rosé wines (the main grape variety being

Gamay Gamay is a purple-colored grape variety used to make red wines, most notably grown in Beaujolais and in the Loire_Valley_(wine), Loire Valley around Tours. Its full name is Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc. It is a very old cultivar, mentioned as long a ...

Events

* Weekly market day: Tuesday. *Town's saint's day: Whit Monday; *Town show:

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

and the Sunday following 15 August. * Saint Vincent's Day, in honour of the patron saint of wine-growers, celebrated on 22 January. * Bread Festival, first weekend in July. * Flea Market, first weekend in August. * Saint Cecilia's Day, in honour of the patron saint of musicians, celebrated on 22 November.

Sports

* Football * Tennis * Table Tennis * Basketball * Badminton There is even a combined sports association that oversees and coordinates 10 different sections (Gymnastics, Badminton, Basketball, Dance School, Football, Judo, Petanque, Table tennis, Shooting and Cycling (Moorland to Lakeside, i.e. off-road)). The association is called the E.S.C.C.C. (Étoile sportive de Cour-Cheverny et Cheverny or Sporting Star of Cour-Cheverny and Cheverny.) A gymnasium, built in the last ten years, is available for indoor activities.

Personalities

* Paul Renouard, the 19th-century artist, born in Cour-Cheverny *

Jean-François Deniau Jean-François Deniau (31 October 1928 – 24 January 2007) was a French politician, diplomat, essayist and novelist. Until 1998, he was a member of the Union for French Democracy (UDF). Biography Minister and diplomat In 1958, he became th ...

, a statesman and writer, 1928–2007. *

Alain Souchon Alain Souchon (; born Alain Édouard Kienast ; 27 May 1944) is a French singer-songwriter and actor. He has released 15 albums and has played roles in seven films. Profile Alain Souchon was born in Casablanca, Morocco. His family on his mother ...

, the singer, songwriter and actor