Loire-Atlantique is a department on the west coast of France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 named after the Loire River 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 , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

.

History

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

French Revolution

The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

 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 cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...

, 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 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....

. 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 department in Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Morbihan , the enclosed sea that is the principal feature of the coastline.-History:...

, Ille-et-Vilaine

Ille-et-Vilaine

Ille-et-Vilaine is a department of France, located in the region of Brittany in the northwest of the country.- History :Ille-et-Vilaine is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...

, Maine-et-Loire

Maine-et-Loire

Maine-et-Loire is a department in west-central France, in the Pays de la Loire region.- History :Maine-et-Loire is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. Originally it was called Mayenne-et-Loire, but its name was changed to Maine-et-Loire in 1791....

, and Vendée

Vendée

The Vendée is a department in the Pays-de-la-Loire region in west central France, on the Atlantic Ocean. The name Vendée is taken from the Vendée river which runs through the south-eastern part of the department.-History:...

, with the Atlantic on the west.

Culture

Upper Brittany

Upper Brittany

Upper Brittany is a term used to describe the eastern part of Brittany which is predominantly of a Romance culture and is associated with the Gallo language. The name is in counterpoint to Lower Brittany, the western part of the ancient province and present-day region, where the Breton language...

's indigenous language is Gallo

Gallo language

Gallo is a regional language of France. Gallo is a Romance language, one of the Oïl languages. It is the historic language of the region of Upper Brittany and some neighboring portions of Normandy, but today is spoken by only a small minority of the population, having been largely superseded by...

, a romance language related to French. The number of Gallo language speakers has been in steady decline since the early 20th century. The language is neither official nor taught in primary or secondary education. The Breton language

Breton language

Breton is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany , France. Breton is a Brythonic language, descended from the Celtic British language brought from Great Britain to Armorica by migrating Britons during the Early Middle Ages. Like the other Brythonic languages, Welsh and Cornish, it is classified as...

, a Celtic language

Celtic languages

The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...

, native to Lower Brittany, was historically spoken in the western area of Loire-Atlantique, and up to 1920 in Batz-sur-Mer

Batz-sur-Mer

Batz-sur-Mer is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France.The town lies between the Bay of Biscay and its salt marshes and is a very Breton town of whitewashed granite houses.-History:...

. This area (Guérande

Guérande

The medieval town of Guérande is located in the département of Loire-Atlantique in western France.The inhabitants are so called Guérandais, for men, and Guérandaise, for women....

, Le Croisic

Le Croisic

Le Croisic is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France.-References:...

, and La Baule) has a rather Breton toponymy

Toponymy

Toponymy is the scientific study of place names , their origins, meanings, use and typology. The word "toponymy" is derived from the Greek words tópos and ónoma . Toponymy is itself a branch of onomastics, the study of names of all kinds...

: for instance, Guérande originates from the Breton Gwenn Rann (white or pure place).

The folklore and musical traditions of eastern or Lower Brittany are generally similar to those of western or Upper 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 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....

 and Saint-Nazaire

Saint-Nazaire

Saint-Nazaire , is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France.The town has a major harbour, on the right bank of the Loire River estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean. The town is at the south of the second-largest swamp in France, called "la Brière"...

 operate their own urban transport networks, known as Tan

Semitan

Semitan is the company responsible for the comprehensive public transport network of the Nantes Métropole, the urban community of the French city of Nantes. The network operated by Semitan is marketed under the name and logo of tan, and this abbreviated form is also sometimes used to refer to the...

 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.- Train :- Bus :*Redon-Saint-Nazaire*Nantes-Poitiers*Nantes-Challans-Saint-Jean-de-Monts*Nantes-Noirmoutier*Nantes-Saint-Jean-de-Monts*Fontenay-le-Comte-Niort...

 link major towns and cities of the Pays de la Loire

Pays de la Loire

Pays de la Loire is one of the 27 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" ¹...

 and adjoining regions, including those of the département. Nantes is on the TGV

TGV

The TGV is France's high-speed rail service, currently operated by SNCF Voyages, the long-distance rail branch of SNCF, the French national rail operator....

 network, with high speed trains running to Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 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 .-Route:The line leaves Gare Montparnasse to cross Paris's southern...

 in just over 2 hours.

Nantes Atlantique Airport

Nantes Atlantique Airport

Nantes Atlantique Airport is an international airport serving Nantes, France. It is located southwest of the city, in Bouguenais.The airport is operated by the Chambre de commerce et d'industrie de Nantes...

, located 8 km 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 is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

 in Canada. It is currently planned that this airport will be replaced by a new Aéroport du Grand Ouest

Aéroport du Grand Ouest

The Aéroport du Grand Ouest is a planned new airport, to be situated to the north-west of the French city of Nantes in the commune of Notre-Dame-des-Landes...

, situated 30 km to the north-west of Nantes in the commune of Notre-Dame-des-Landes

Notre-Dame-des-Landes

Notre-Dame-des-Landes is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France.The commune is the planned site of the new Aéroport du Grand Ouest, intended to replace Nantes Atlantique Airport. The €580 million project was approved in February 2008, with construction expected to start in...

. The €580 million project was approved in February 2008, with construction expected to start in 2012 and an opening date in 2015.

See also

• Cantons of the Loire-Atlantique department
• Communes of the Loire-Atlantique department
• Arrondissements of the Loire-Atlantique department
• La Baule - Guérande Peninsula

External links

Prefecture General council Loire Atlantic Tourism
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