Cher (department)

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Cher
Department
Prefecture of Cher, in Bourges
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Cher in France
Coordinates: 47°0′N 2°35′E / 47.000°N 2.583°E / 47.000; 2.583Coordinates: 47°0′N 2°35′E / 47.000°N 2.583°E / 47.000; 2.583
Country	France
Region	Centre-Val de Loire
Prefecture	Bourges
Subprefectures	Saint-Amand-Montrond Vierzon
Government
• President of the General Council	(LR)
Area 1
• Total	7,235 km2 (2,793 sq mi)
Population  (2016)
• Total	307,110
• Rank	73rd
• Density	42/km2 (110/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Department number	18
Arrondissements	3
Cantons	19
Communes	287
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2

Cher (/ʃɛər/; French: [ʃɛʁ]; Berrichon: Char) is a department in the administrative region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is named after the Cher River.

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 southeastern corner of the department, however, was part of the Duchy of Bourbon.

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 of the Socialist Party.

Current National Assembly representatives[]

Tourism[]

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

• 

  Bourges Cathedral

• 

  Bourges

• 

  Apremont-sur-Allier

• 

  Noirlac Abbey

• 

  Château de Meillant

See also[]

• Cantons of the Cher department
• Communes of the Cher department
• Arrondissements of the Cher department
• Coat of arms of Cher

Languages[]

The historical languages are Berrichon and the northern version of Bourbonnais. 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).

References[]

External links[]

• (in French) General Council of Cher
• (in French) Prefecture of Cher
• (in English) Cher at Curlie
• https://web.archive.org/web/20051203082547/http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/fnart/arch/bourges.html
• https://web.archive.org/web/20041204220326/http://www.sitesatlas.com/Europe/France/Bourges.htm
• http://berrichou.free.fr/