Cher (department)

Cher (department)
Cher
—  Department  —

Coat of arms
Location of Cher in France
Coordinates: 47°00′N 02°35′E / 47°N 2.583°E / 47; 2.583Coordinates: 47°00′N 02°35′E / 47°N 2.583°E / 47; 2.583
Country France
Region Centre
Prefecture Bourges
Subprefectures Saint-Amand-Montrond
Vierzon
Government
 – President of the General Council Alain Rafesthain (PS)
Area1
 – Total 7,235 km2 (2,793.4 sq mi)
Population (2008)
 – Total 313,251
 – Rank 70th
 – Density 43.3/km2 (112.1/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 – Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Department number 18
Arrondissements 3
Cantons 35
Communes 290
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2

Cher (Berrichon: Char) is an administrative department located in the centre of France. It is named after the Cher River.

Contents

History

Cher is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. Most of it was created, along with the adjacent department of Indre from the former province of Berry. The south-eastern corner of the department was part of the Duchy of Bourbon, however.

Geography

The department is part of the current administrative region of Centre (Val de Loire). It is surrounded by the departments of Indre, Loir-et-Cher, Loiret, Nièvre, Allier, and Creuse.

Demographics

The inhabitants of the department are called Berrichons from the former province of Berry.

Politics

The President of the General Council is Alain Rafesthain of the Socialist Party.

Party seats
Union for a Popular Movement 10
Socialist Party 9
French Communist Party 7
Miscellaneous Right 5
Miscellaneous Left 4

Tourism

The Bourges Cathedral of St. Étienne is a major tourist attraction.

See also


Languages

The historical languages are Berrichon and the northern version of Bourbonais. These are both dialects of French, or the Langues d'oïl. They are named respectively after the former Province of Berry and the former Duchy of Bourbon. Some 11 communes in the extreme South used to speak Occitan.

The old dialects were in widespread use until the middle decades of the twentieth century and incorporated major regional variations within the department, influenced by the dialects of adjacent regions near the departmental frontiers. During the twentieth century government educational policy promoted a more standardised version of the French language.

In the extreme south of the department influence from the southern Occitan language begins to appear, with "chambrat" being used in place of "grenier a foin" (hayloft), "betoulle" in place of "bouleau" (birch tree) and "aigue" in place of "eau" (water).

External links


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  • Arrondissements of the Cher department — The 3 arrondissements of the Cher department are: # Arrondissement of Bourges, (prefecture of the Cher department: Bourges) with 16 cantons and 131 communes. The population of the arrondissement was 176,631 in 1990, and was 174,031 in 1999, a… …   Wikipedia

  • Arrondissements of the Loir-et-Cher department — The 3 arrondissements of the Loir et Cher department are: # Arrondissement of Blois, (prefecture of the Loir et Cher department: Blois) with 14 cantons and 136 communes. The population of the arrondissement was 171,491 in 1990, and was 177,282 in …   Wikipedia

  • Cantons of the Cher department — The following list is a list of the 35 cantons of the Cher department, in France, sorted by arrondissement:Arrondissement of Bourges (16 cantons)* Les Aix d Angillon * Baugy * Bourges 1st Canton * Bourges 2nd Canton * Bourges 3rd Canton * Bourges …   Wikipedia

  • Cantons of the Loir-et-Cher department — The following is a list of the 30 cantons of the Loir et Cher department, in France, sorted by arrondissement:Arrondissement of Blois (14 cantons)* Blois 1st Canton * Blois 2nd Canton * Blois 3rd Canton * Blois 4th Canton * Blois 5th Canton *… …   Wikipedia

  • Communes of the Cher department — The following is a list of the 290 communes of the Cher département in France. (CAB) Communauté d agglomération de Bourges, created in 2003. INSEE Postal Commune 18001 18250 …   Wikipedia

  • Communes of the Loir-et-Cher department — The following is a list of the 291 communes of the Loir et Cher département, in France. (CAB) Communauté d agglomération du Blaisois, created in 2003. INSEE Postal Commune 41001 41310 …   Wikipedia

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  • Cher — /shair/; Fr. /sherdd/, n. 1. a river in central France, flowing NW to the Loire River. 220 mi. (355 km) long. 2. a department in central France. 316,350; 2820 sq. mi. (7305 sq. km). Cap.: Bourges. 3. a female given name. * * * ▪ 2001       During …   Universalium

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