Vienne (French pronunciation: [vjɛn] vyen; Poitevin-Saintongeais: Viéne) is a landlocked department in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It takes its name from the river Vienne. It had a population of 438,897 in 2023.
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History
Established on 4 March 1790, during the French Revolution, Vienne is one of the original 83 departments of France. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Poitou, Touraine, and Berry, the last being a part of the Duchy of Aquitaine until the 15th century.
The original Acadians, who settled in and around what is now Nova Scotia, left Vienne for North America after 1604. Gregory Kennedy argues that the emigrants carried to Canada their customs and social structure. They were frontier peoples, who dispersed their settlements based on kinship. They optimized use of farmland and emphasized trading for a profit. They were hierarchical and politically active.
Geography
The department of Vienne has an area of 6,990 km2 (2,700 sq mi). Part of the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, it borders Maine-et-Loire to the northwest, Indre-et-Loire to the north, Indre to the east, Haute-Vienne to the southeast, Charente to the south and Deux-Sèvres to the west. It is crossed by the river Vienne, a tributary of the Loire.
Principal towns
The most populous commune is Poitiers, the prefecture. As of 2023, there are 6 communes with more than 7,000 inhabitants:
Demographics
Population development since 1801:
Politics
Édith Cresson, France's first woman prime minister from 1991 to 1992, was a deputy (MP) for the department. The president of the Departmental Council is Alain Pichon, elected for an additional term in 2021.
Vienne has three arrondissements: Poitiers, the prefecture, and the subprefectures Châtellerault and Montmorillon.
Religion
The capital, Poitiers, is the see of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Poitiers, which pastorally serves the department. Ligugé Abbey, a Benedictine monastery a few kilometers to the south of Poitiers, is the oldest continuously active monastery in Western Europe.
Tourism and sights
The most famous tourist sites include the Futuroscope theme park, Poitiers (city of Art and History), the Abbey Church of Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe, a UNESCO world heritage site, the animal parks of Monkey's Valley in Romagne and the Crocodile Planet in Civaux.
Economy
The production of goat cheese is an important industry in Vienne.
International relations
Vienne has a partnership relationship with:
Notable people
Benoît-François Bernier (1720–1799), New France army officer, served as financial commissary of wars.