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Loire-Atlantique (formerly Loire-Inférieure) is a department on the west coast of France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 named after the Loire River
Loire River

The Loire is the longest river in France. With a length of , it drains an area of , which represents more than a fifth of France's land area....
 and the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
.

e-Atlantique is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution
French Revolution

The French Revolution was a period of political and social upheaval and radical change in the history of France, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudalism for the aristocracy and Roman Catholic Church clergy, underwent radical change to forms based on Age of Enlightenment principles of cit...
 on March 4, 1790. Originally, it was named Loire-Inférieure, but its name was changed in 1957 to Loire-Atlantique.

The area was originally part of Brittany
Brittany

Brittany is a former independent Celtic nations monarchy and duchy, now incorporated into France. It is also, more generally, the name of the cultural area whose limits correspond to the historic province and independent duchy....
, and contains what many people still consider to be Brittany's capital, Nantes
Nantes

Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants , while its aire urbaine is the eighth with 804,833 inhabitants at a 2008 estimate....
.






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Loire-Atlantique (formerly Loire-Inférieure) is a department on the west coast of France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 named after the Loire River
Loire River

The Loire is the longest river in France. With a length of , it drains an area of , which represents more than a fifth of France's land area....
 and the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
.

History

Loire-Atlantique is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution
French Revolution

The French Revolution was a period of political and social upheaval and radical change in the history of France, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudalism for the aristocracy and Roman Catholic Church clergy, underwent radical change to forms based on Age of Enlightenment principles of cit...
 on March 4, 1790. Originally, it was named Loire-Inférieure, but its name was changed in 1957 to Loire-Atlantique.

The area was originally part of Brittany
Brittany

Brittany is a former independent Celtic nations monarchy and duchy, now incorporated into France. It is also, more generally, the name of the cultural area whose limits correspond to the historic province and independent duchy....
, and contains what many people still consider to be Brittany's capital, Nantes
Nantes

Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants , while its aire urbaine is the eighth with 804,833 inhabitants at a 2008 estimate....
. This department was separated from Brittany in 1941 by the Vichy government. There is a popular campaign to have it reintegrated in Brittany.

Geography

Loire-Atlantique is part of the current region of Pays-de-la-Loire and is surrounded by the department of Morbihan
Morbihan

Morbihan is a departments of France in the northwest of France named after the Morbihan , the enclosed sea that is the principal feature of the coastline....
, Ille-et-Vilaine
Ille-et-Vilaine

Ille-et-Vilaine is a departments of France of France, located in the regions of France of Bretagne in the northwest of the country....
, Maine-et-Loire
Maine-et-Loire

Maine-et-Loire is a departments of France in west-central France....
, and Vendée
Vendée

The Vend?e [] is a departments of France in the Pays-de-la-Loire region in west central France, on the Atlantic Ocean. The name Vend?e is taken from the Vend?e River which runs through the south-eastern part of the department....
, with the Atlantic on the west.

Culture

Eastern Brittany's autochtonous language is Gallo
Gallo language

Gallo is a languages of France. Gallo is a Romance language, one of the Langues d'o?l. It is spoken in Brittany and the west of France along the border with Normandy....
, a romance language related to French. Breton language, a Celtic language
Celtic languages

The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic", a branch of the greater Indo-European languages language family. The term "Celtic" was used to describe this language group by Edward Lhuyd in 1707, having much earlier been used by Greek and Roman writers to describe tribes in central Gaul....
, is only autochtonous to Western Brittany. The number of Gallo language speakers have been in steady decline since the 20th century. The language is neither official nor taught in primary or secondary education.

Folklore and musical traditions of Eastern Brittany are generally common to the ones in Western Brittany.

Transport

The département operates the Lila network of interurban buses, which link its villages, towns and cities. The urban areas of Nantes
Nantes

Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants , while its aire urbaine is the eighth with 804,833 inhabitants at a 2008 estimate....
 and Saint-Nazaire
Saint-Nazaire

Saint-Nazaire , is a Communes of France in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France in northwestern France.Also called St. Nazaire, the town has a major harbour, on the right bank of the Loire River estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean....
 operate their own urban transport networks, known as Tan
Semitan

Semitan is the company responsible for the comprehensive public transport network of the Urban Community of Nantes, the urban community of the France city of Nantes....
 and Stran respectively.

By rail, the regional trains and buses of the TER Pays de la Loire
TER Pays de la Loire

TER Pays de la Loire is the regional rail network serving Pays-de-la-Loire, France....
 link major towns and cities of the Pays de la Loire
Pays de la Loire

Pays de la Loire is one of the 26 regions of France. It is one of the regions created in the late 20th century to serve as a zone of influence for its capital, Nantes, one of a handful so-called "balancing metropolises" #Notes....
 and adjoining regions, including those of the département. Nantes is on the TGV
TGV

The TGV is France's high-speed rail service. It was developed during the 1970s by GEC-Alsthom and SNCF, the French national rail transport operations, and is now operated primarily by SNCF....
 network, with high speed trains running to Paris
Paris

Paris is the Capital of France and the country's largest city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the ?le-de-France Regions of France ....
 by the LGV Atlantique
LGV Atlantique

The LGV Atlantique is a high-speed railway line running from Paris to Western France. It opened in 1989-1990. It divides into two parts at Courtalain, one going westward to Le Mans , the second one going southwestward to Tours ....
 in just over 2 hours.

Nantes Atlantique Airport
Nantes Atlantique Airport

Nantes Atlantique Airport is an international airport serving Nantes, France. It is located 8 km southwest of the city, in Bouguenais.The airport is operated by the Chambre de commerce et d'industrie de Nantes....
, located 8km to the southwest of the city of Nantes, serves the département and surrounding areas. It is the biggest airport in northwestern France, linking with several French and European cities, as well as Montreal
Montreal

Montreal, or Montr?al, is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada of Quebec and the List of largest cities and second largest cities by country List of the 100 largest municipalities in Canada by population....
 in Canada. It is currently planned that this airport will be replaced by a new Aéroport du Grand Ouest
Aéroport du Grand Ouest

The A?roport du Grand Ouest is a planned new airport, to be situated to the north-west of the France city of Nantes in the commune of Notre-Dame-des-Landes....
, situated 30km to the north-west of Nantes in the commune of Notre-Dame-des-Landes
Notre-Dame-des-Landes

Notre-Dame-des-Landes is a Communes of France in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France in northwestern France.The commune is the planned site of the new A?roport du Grand Ouest, intended to replace Nantes Atlantique Airport....
. The €580 million project was approved in February 2008, with construction expected to start in 2012 and a opening date in 2015.

See also

  • Cantons of the Loire-Atlantique department
  • Communes of the Loire-Atlantique department
  • Arrondissements of the Loire-Atlantique department


External links