Editing Haute-Loire

{{short description|Department in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
<!-- See Template:Infobox settlement for additional fields and descriptions -->| name               = Haute-Loire
| native_name        = {{native name|oc|Naut Léger}}
| native_name_lang   = fr<!-- ISO 639-2 code e.g. "fr" for French. If more than one, use {{lang}} instead -->
| type               = [[Departments of France|Department of France]]
| image_skyline      = {{Photomontage|position=center
   | photo2a = 00 1130 Le Puy-en-Velay - Frankreich.jpg
   | photo2b = F08.Brioude.0049.jpg
   | photo1a = Mont Mézenc03 2016-05-20.jpg
   | size = 270
   | spacing = 2
   | color = #FFFFFF
   | border = 0
   | foot_montage = From top to bottom, left to right: [[Mont Mézenc]], [[Prefectures in France|prefecture]] building in [[Le Puy-en-Velay]], and [[Basilica of Saint-Julian, Brioude|St Julien Basilica]] in [[Brioude]]}}
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| image_map          = Haute-Loire-Position.svg
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| map_caption        = Location of Haute-Loire in France
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| coordinates        = {{coord|45|0|N|4|0|E|region:FR_type:adm2nd|display=inline,title}}
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| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = France
| subdivision_type1  = [[Regions of France|Region]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes]]
| established_title  = 
| established_date   = 
| founder            = 
| seat_type          = [[Prefectures in France|Prefecture]]
| seat               = [[Le Puy-en-Velay]]
| parts_type         = [[Subprefectures in France|Subprefectures]]
| parts_style        = para
| p1                 = [[Brioude]]<br>[[Yssingeaux]]
| government_footnotes = 
| leader_party       = [[The Republicans (France)|LR]]
| leader_title       = [[List of presidents of departmental councils (France)|President of the Departmental Council]]
| leader_name        = Marie-Agnès Petit<ref>{{cite web |title=Répertoire national des élus: les conseillers départementaux |url=https://www.data.gouv.fr/fr/datasets/r/601ef073-d986-4582-8e1a-ed14dc857fba |website=data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises |date=4 May 2022 |language=fr}}</ref>
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| area_total_km2     = 4977
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| population_footnotes = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_footnotes2}}
| population_rank    = [[List of French departments by population|87th]]
| population_density_km2 = auto
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| blank_name_sec1    = [[Departments of France|Department number]]
| blank_info_sec1    = 43
| blank_name_sec2    = [[Arrondissements of France|Arrondissements]]
| blank_info_sec2    = [[Arrondissements of the Haute-Loire department|3]]
| blank1_name_sec2   = [[Cantons of France|Cantons]]
| blank1_info_sec2   = [[Cantons of the Haute-Loire department|19]]
| blank2_name_sec2   = [[Communes of France|Communes]]
| blank2_info_sec2   = [[Communes of the Haute-Loire department|257]]
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| footnotes          = {{note|area|1}} French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries and lakes, ponds and glaciers larger than 1 km<sup>2</sup>
}}

'''Haute-Loire''' ({{IPA|fr|ot lwaʁ|-|Fr-Paris--Haute-Loire.ogg}}; {{langx|oc|Naut Léger}} or ''Naut Leir''; English: '''Upper Loire''') is a landlocked [[Departments of France|department]] in the [[Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes]] [[Regions of France|region]] of south-central France. Named after the [[Loire|Loire River]], it is surrounded by the departments of [[Loire (department)|Loire]], [[Ardèche]], [[Lozère]], [[Cantal]] and [[Puy-de-Dôme]]. In 2019, it had a population of 227,570;<ref name=pop2019>[https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/fichier/6011060/dep43.pdf Populations légales 2019: 43 Haute-Loire], INSEE</ref> its inhabitants are called ''Altiligériens'' in French (English : Altiligerians).

The department, which has its [[Prefectures in France|prefecture]] in [[Le Puy-en-Velay]], covers the upper reaches of the Loire and consists of the Loire Valley and the surrounding mountains in the [[Massif Central]]. It is one of the original 83 departments of France created in 1790 during the French Revolution. Parts of the department are included in the [[Livradois-Forez Regional Natural Park]].

==History==
The first known inhabitants of this region were hunter-gatherers and it was later occupied by pastoralists, shepherds living in caves or simple huts. It later came under the control of a Gaulish tribe called [[Vellavi]] and at the time of [[Julius Caesar]]'s [[Gallic Wars]], this area lay on the border of [[Gallia Narbonensis]]. The area became a [[Roman province]] in 121 BC,<ref>{{cite book |last=Maddison |first=Angus |title=Contours of the World Economy 1–2030&nbsp;AD: Essays in Macro-Economic History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a-JGGp2suQUC |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2007 |isbn=9780191647581}}</ref> originally under the name ''Gallia Transalpina'' (Transalpine Gaul). The name distinguished it from [[Cisalpine Gaul]] on the near side of the Alps to Rome. In 40 BC, during the [[Second Triumvirate]], [[Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (triumvir)|Lepidus]] was given responsibility for Narbonese Gaul (along with Hispania and Africa), while [[Mark Antony]] was given the balance of Gaul.<ref>Boatwright et al., ''The Romans, From Village to Empire'', p.272 {{ISBN|978-0-19-511876-6}}</ref>

The area was ravaged by barbarian invasions in the last years of the Roman Empire, and ''Galla Narbonensis'' and surrounding areas were incorporated into the [[Visigothic Kingdom]] between 462 and 477 AD, permanently ending the political control of Rome. After the Gothic takeover, the Visigothic dominions were generally known as [[Septimania]]. The king of the Visigoths, [[Alaric I]] was killed at the [[Battle of Vouillé]] in 507, a battle won by [[Clovis I]] and Velay came under Frankish rule. On Clovis' death in 511, his kingdom was divided among his four sons, and Velay was included in the part of the king of [[Austrasia]], then part of the French kingdom. These subdivisions were united under the auspices of his longest surviving son [[Chlothar I]], only to be split again under his four sons at his death. It was reunited once more under [[Chlothar II]] who became the sole ruler of the Frankish people in 613.<ref>Lebecq, Stéphane  ''The Frankish origins'', Points / Seuil, 1990,   ( Part II, Chapter 1: " Clothar II and Dagobert ( 613-639 )) p.127</ref>

In about 928, the area became a fiefdom of the [[Count of Toulouse]], and later came under the control of the [[Count of Poitiers]]. In 1137, [[Eleanor of Aquitaine]] succeeded to the [[Duchy of Aquitaine]] and her marriage to Henry, Duke of Normandy, who later became [[Henry II of England]], brought Auvergne under English rule. By the end of the thirteenth century the area was known as the Dauphiné d’Auvergne.<ref name=Atchley>{{cite web |url=http://www.french-at-a-touch.com/French_Regions/Auvergne/auvergne_3.htm |title=Introduction to the Region of Auvergne |author=Atchley, Sharon |date=13 July 2014 |work=French at a Touch |access-date=1 October 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150815094429/http://www.french-at-a-touch.com/French_Regions/Auvergne/auvergne_3.htm |archive-date=15 August 2015}}</ref>

Haute-Loire is one of the original 83 departments created during the [[French Revolution]] on 4 March 1790, by order of the [[National Constituent Assembly (France)|National Constituent Assembly]]. The new departments were to be uniformly administered and approximately equal to one another in size and population. Haute-Loire was formed from parts of the former provinces of [[Auvergne (province)|Auvergne]], [[Languedoc]], and [[Lyonnais]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Schama,Simon |title=Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution |location=New York |publisher=Knopf |year=1989}}</ref>  Two thirds of the department, centred on [[Le Puy-en-Velay]], used to be part of the former province of Languedoc and is known as Velay. The geographical distance from [[Toulouse]] had allowed this region to enjoy a great deal of autonomy.

During the Second World War, [[French Resistance#Role in the liberation of France and casualties|French partisans]] aided by Allied supply drops and leaders were able to liberate the province from Germans. By mid-August 1944 five weeks after the invasion at Normandy, [[Le Puy-en-Velay]] was besieged. Roads, railroad and telephone lines were cut. On 18 August, the Germans attempted to escape in a fifty-truck convoy. Five hundred were captured, and about 150 killed in a massive ambush. The town fell the next day. [[Estivareilles, Loire|Estivareilles]] in nearby Loire fell on 22 August. Paris was captured by conventional forces on 24 August.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Purnell |first1=Sonia |title=A Woman of No Importance |date=9 April 2019 |publisher=Viking |page=253 |edition=Kindle}}</ref>

==Geography==
Haute-Loire is a department in south central [[France]] and is part of the region of [[Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes]]. The capital and largest town in the department is [[Le Puy-en-Velay]]. To the north of Haute-Loire lie [[Puy-de-Dôme]] and [[Loire (department)|Loire]], to the east lies [[Ardèche]], to the south lies [[Lozère]] and to the west lies [[Cantal]]. The river [[Loire]] rises in the southern part of the department and flows northwards, creating a wide valley. On either side of this lie ranges of mountains in the [[Massif Central]].<ref name=Philips>{{cite book |title=Philips' Modern School Atlas |year=1973 |publisher=George Philip and Son, Ltd. |isbn=0-540-05278-7 |pages=42–43}}</ref> The north part of the department is part of the [[Livradois-Forez Regional Natural Park]], a [[protected area]] of traditionally-farmed agricultural land and woodland, covering a total area of {{convert|297,000|ha}}.<ref>{{cite book |author1=IUCN Commission on National Parks and Protected Areas |title=1990 United Nations list of national parks and protected areas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0uhtNruyLzkC&pg=PA88 |access-date=27 September 2015 |date=November 1990 |publisher=IUCN |isbn=978-2-8317-0032-8 |page=89}}</ref>

The department has four mountain ranges running north and south. These are the Haut-Vivarais and its continuation, the Boutières range, the Massif du [[Meygal]], the [[Velay mountains]] and the [[Margeride]] Mountains.<ref name=Everyman>{{cite book |title=Everyman's Encyclopaedia: Volume 8 |last=Bozman |first=E.F. |year=1966 |publisher=J.M. Dent and Sons |page=29}}</ref>

The highest point of the department is the [[Mont Mézenc]] (1753 m) and its average elevation is 719 m.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.zoomdici.fr/actualite/Haute-Loire-la-montagne-attire-t-elle-encore-du-monde--id141257.html |title=Haute-Loire : La montagne attire-t-elle encore du monde ?}}</ref> The two-thirds of the area is over 800 m and the lowest point is 393 m.

Historically, Velay has been associated with the traditional region of [[Vivarais]], now part of Ardèche. The two regions share a common dialect which is similar to that spoken in the south of [[Dauphiné]], the reason probably being associated with the trade links between the two regions.<ref name=Clout>{{cite book |author=Clout, Hugh D. |title=Themes in the Historical Geography of France |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zhrgBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA61 |year=2013 |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-1-4832-6724-1 |pages=61–62}}</ref>

{{Further|topic=the lava dome|La Durande}}

==Demographics==
{{historical populations
|cols=2|align=none|percentages=pagr|footnote=Sources:<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://splaf.free.fr/43his.html |title=Historique de la Haute-Loire |website=Le SPLAF}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/4176909?geo=DEP-43 |title=Évolution et structure de la population en 2016 |publisher=INSEE}}</ref>|graph-pos=bottom
|1801|229773|1821|276830|1831|292078|1841|298137|1851|304615|1861|305521|1872|308732|1881|316461|1891|316735|1901|314058|1911|303838|1921|268910|1931|251608|1936|245271|1946|228076|1954|215577|1962|211036|1968|208337|1975|205491|1982|205895|1990|206568|1999|209113|2006|219484|2011|224907|2016|227339}}

===Principal towns===

The most populous commune is [[Le Puy-en-Velay]], the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 6 communes with more than 5,000 inhabitants:<ref name=pop2019/>

{| class=wikitable
! Commune
! Population (2019)
|-
| [[Le Puy-en-Velay]]
| style="text-align: center;" | 19,215
|-
| [[Monistrol-sur-Loire]]
| style="text-align: center;" | 8,875
|-
| [[Yssingeaux]]
| style="text-align: center;" | 7,278
|-
| [[Brioude]]
| style="text-align: center;" | 6,609
|-
| [[Aurec-sur-Loire]]
| style="text-align: center;" | 6,142
|-
| [[Sainte-Sigolène]]
| style="text-align: center;" | 5,989
|}

==Politics==

The president of the Departmental Council is Marie-Agnès Petit, elected in July 2021.

===Current National Assembly Representatives===

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan="2"|Constituency!!Member<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/ |title=Assemblée nationale ~ Les députés, le vote de la loi, le Parlement français |first=Assemblée |last=Nationale |website=Assemblée nationale}}</ref>!!Party
|-
|style="background-color: {{party color|The Republicans (France)}}" |
| [[Haute-Loire's 1st constituency]]
| [[Isabelle Valentin]]
| [[The Republicans (France)|The Republicans]]
|-
|style="background-color: {{party color|The Republicans (France)}}" |
| [[Haute-Loire's 2nd constituency]]
| [[Jean-Pierre Vigier (politician)|Jean-Pierre Vigier]]
| [[The Republicans (France)|The Republicans]]
|}

==Notable people==
[[Claude-Jean Allouez]] (1622–1689) was born in Saint-Didier-en-Velay. He was a [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] missionary and explorer in [[North America]] who is said to have converted ten thousand [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wisconsinhistory.org |title=Allouez, Claude Jean (1622-1689) |publisher=Wisconsin Historical Society |access-date=1 October 2015}}</ref> The town of [[Allouez, Wisconsin]] is named after him.<ref>{{cite book |author=Chicago and North Western Railway Company |title=A History of the Origin of the Place Names Connected with the Chicago & North Western and Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railways |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OspBAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA166 |year=1908 |page=166}}</ref> The de Polignac family has its historic seat in the department, and various descendants of [[Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette|General Lafayette]] were senators for this region in the nineteenth century. The black metal band Peste Noire comes from the city La Chaise-Dieu. The [[Château de Chavaniac]], located in the commune, was the birthplace of Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette in 1757. Originally named Chavaniac, the commune was renamed Chavaniac-Lafayette in 1884 in honor of its most famous resident.

==Tourism==
The department has attractive landscapes and is popular with tourists.<ref name=Atchley/> [[Le Puy-en-Velay]] has a historic [[Le Puy Cathedral|cathedral]] at which pilgrims gather before starting their journey to [[Santiago de Compostela]]. The cathedral has been a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]] since 1998, as part of the "[[World Heritage Sites of the Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France|Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France]]". Another site of pilgrimage is at [[Saint Michel d'Aiguilhe]], a twelfth century chapel on top of a rocky pinnacle approached by a flight of 268 steps.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sacred-destinations.com/france/le-puy-st-michael-chapel |title=St. Michel d'Aiguilhe, Le Puy |publisher=Sacred destinations |access-date=1 October 2015}}</ref>

<gallery>
File:Le Puy-en-Velay, Église Saint-Laurent et Aiguilhe PM 48569.jpg|[[Le Puy-en-Velay]]
File:Lavaudieu - Vieux pont -1.jpg|[[Lavaudieu]]
File:Brioude - Basilique St-Julien - JPG1.jpg|[[Brioude]]
File:France Lavoute Chilhac 01.jpg|[[Lavoûte-Chilhac]]
File:Polignac - Château -1.jpg|[[Polignac, Haute-Loire]]
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Cantons of the Haute-Loire department]]
*[[Communes of the Haute-Loire department]]
*[[Arrondissements of the Haute-Loire department]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Haute-Loire}}
* {{in lang|fr}} [http://www.haute-loire.gouv.fr/ Prefecture website] 
* {{in lang|fr}} [http://www.hauteloire.fr/ Departmental council website]
* {{in lang|en}} [https://www.auvergnevacances.com/ Tourist website]

{{Departments of France}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Haute-Loire| ]]
[[Category:Massif Central]]
[[Category:1790 establishments in France]]
[[Category:Departments of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1790]]