Nièvre
Nièvre () is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, central-east France. Named after the river Nièvre, it had a population of 204,452 in 2019.department in central
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 ar ...
.
Geography
The town is situated on a former
island
An island or isle is a piece of subcontinental land completely surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island in a river or a lake island may be ...
in 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 ...
("en Loire assise") at the
confluence
In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river ( main stem); ...
of the Aron river. The right channel of the Loire was dammed up to reclaim land and now remains as an arm ("la Vieille Loire") stretching upstream to the centre of town. The Loire at this point is an important navigation point as it forms the junction between the Canal du Nivernais and the Canal latéral à la Loire both of which are within the town boundaries.
History
Decize is an ancient settlement first noted in the
Commentarii de Bello Gallico
''Commentarii de Bello Gallico'' (; en, Commentaries on the Gallic War, italic=yes), also ''Bellum Gallicum'' ( en, Gallic War, italic=yes), is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it ...
where Julius Caesar settled a dispute involving the Decetiae from whom comes the town's name—in Roman times the town’s name was Decetia in
Gallia Lugdunensis
Gallia Lugdunensis (French: ''Gaule Lyonnaise'') was a province of the Roman Empire in what is now the modern country of France, part of the Celtic territory of Gaul formerly known as Celtica. It is named after its capital Lugdunum (today's Lyo ...
* Guy Coquille (1523–1603), French jurist, was born here. There is a statue of him in the town.
*
Louis de Saint-Just
Louis Antoine Léon de Saint-Just (; 25 August 17679 Thermidor, Year II 8 July 1794, was a French revolutionary, political philosopher, member and president of the French National Convention, a Jacobin club leader, and a major figure of the Fren ...
(1767–1794), a major figure in 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 ...
, was born here.
* Marguerite Monnot (1903–1961), songwriter and composer
Demographics
Tourism
In 2011 a new port for pleasure boats in the "Bassin de la Jonction" between the Lateral Canal and the Loire was opened.
See also
*
Communes of the Nièvre department
The following is a list of the 309 communes of the Nièvre department of France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territorie ...