Indre
Indre (); is a department in central France named after the river Indre. The inhabitants of the department are known as the ''Indriens'' (masculine; ) and ''Indriennes'' (feminine; ). Indre is part of the current administrative region of Cent ...
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.
It is located near
La Châtre
La Châtre () is a commune in the Indre department in central France.
Population
Personalities
*It was the birthplace of Henri de Latouche and Emile Acollas. André Boillot the auto racing driver crashed here in 1932 and died from his inj ...
, on the D943, approximately southeast of
Châteauroux
Châteauroux ( ; ; ) is the capital city of the French department of Indre, central France and the second-largest town in the province of Berry, after Bourges. Its residents are called ''Castelroussins'' () in French.
Climate
Châteauroux te ...
and consists of two villages, Vic and Nohant, extended along the road.
Geography
The commune lies on the lower Jurassic rocks at the southern margin of the
Paris Basin
The Paris Basin () is one of the major geological regions of France. It developed since the Triassic over remnant uplands of the Variscan orogeny (Hercynian orogeny). The sedimentary basin, no longer a single drainage basin, is a large sag in ...
. Just to the south of La Châtre, some twelve kilometres south of Vic, the
Variscan
The Variscan orogeny, or Hercynian orogeny, was a geologic mountain-building event caused by Late Paleozoic continental collision between Euramerica (Laurussia) and Gondwana to form the supercontinent of Pangaea.
Nomenclature
The name ''Variscan ...
Cambrian
The Cambrian ( ) is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 51.95 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran period 538.8 Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the Ordov ...
/
Ordovician
The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and System (geology), system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era (geology), Era, and the second of twelve periods of the Phanerozoic Eon (geology), Eon. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years f ...
migmatite
Migmatite is a composite rock (geology), rock found in medium and high-grade metamorphic environments, commonly within Precambrian craton, cratonic blocks. It consists of two or more constituents often layered repetitively: one layer is an old ...
.
It is near the southern end of the old province of
Berry
A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples of berries in the cul ...
country house
image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire
An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...
dating from late eighteenth century, built for the governor of
Vierzon
Vierzon () is a Communes of France, commune in the Cher (department), Cher departments of France, department, Centre-Val de Loire, France.
Geography
A medium-sized town by the banks of the river Cher (river), Cher with some light industry and a ...
George Sand
Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin de Francueil (; 1 July 1804 – 8 June 1876), best known by her pen name George Sand (), was a French novelist, memoirist and journalist. Being more renowned than either Victor Hugo or Honoré de Balz ...
spent her childhood and adolescence there. Most of her writing was done at the house. She received some illustrious guests including
Liszt
Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic period. With a diverse body of work spanning more than six decades, he is considered to be one of the most pro ...
and
Marie d'Agoult
Marie Catherine Sophie, Comtesse d'Agoult (born de Flavigny; 31 December 18055 March 1876), was a French romanticism, romantic author and historian, known also by her pen name, Daniel Stern.
Life
Marie was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, w ...
Flaubert
Gustave Flaubert ( , ; ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. He has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country and abroad. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flaubert, realis ...
. Delacroix also worked at Nohant while visiting George Sand. The estate is today a property of the nation and run by the ''
Centre des monuments nationaux
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...
''.
The ancient church of Saint-Martin in Nohant-Vic features a number of 12th century wall paintings.
George Sand
Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin de Francueil (; 1 July 1804 – 8 June 1876), best known by her pen name George Sand (), was a French novelist, memoirist and journalist. Being more renowned than either Victor Hugo or Honoré de Balz ...
(1804–1876), granddaughter of the above, who spent most of her life at Nohant.
*
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...
(March 1, 1810 – October 17, 1849) spent seven summers in Nohant and composed some of his greatest works in
George Sand
Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin de Francueil (; 1 July 1804 – 8 June 1876), best known by her pen name George Sand (), was a French novelist, memoirist and journalist. Being more renowned than either Victor Hugo or Honoré de Balz ...
Communes of the Indre department
The following is a list of the 241 communes of the Indre department of France.
The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2025):Communes of Indre
{{Indre-geo-stub