Loire is a département in the east-central part of France occupying the Loire River's upper reaches. Its name comes from the Loire River.
History
Loire was created in 1793 when the original department of Rhône-et-Loire was split.
Its capitals have been the following:
- Feurs from 1793-1795
- Montbrison from 1795-1855
- Saint-Étienne since 1855
Geography
Loire is part of the current region of Rhône-Alpes and is surrounded by the departments of Rhône, Isère, Ardèche, Haute-Loire, Puy-de-Dôme, Allier, and Saône-et-Loire.
The Loire crosses the department from south to north.
Demographics
The inhabitants of the department are called Ligériens.
The industrial city of Saint-Étienne with its suburbs contains some 290,000 of the area's 728,542 inhabitants.
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