Loire river, Amboise, Centre, France, Europe

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• published: 07 Jul 2014
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The Loire is the longest river in France. With a length of 1,012 kilometres (629 mi), it drains an area of 117,054 km2 (45,195 sq mi), or more than a fifth of France's land area, and is the 170th longest river in the world. It rises in the highlands of the southeastern quarter of the Massif Central in the Cévennes range (in the département of Ardèche) at 1,350 m (4,430 ft) near Mont Gerbier de Jonc; it flows northward for over 1,000 km (620 mi) through Nevers to Orléans, then west through Tours and Nantes until it reaches the Bay of Biscay (Atlantic Ocean) at St Nazaire. Its main tributaries include the Nièvre, Maine and the Erdre rivers on its right bank, and the Allier, Cher, Indre, Vienne, and the Sèvre Nantaise rivers to the left bank. The Loire gives its name to six départements: Loire, Haute-Loire, Loire-Atlantique, Indre-et-Loire, Maine-et-Loire, and Saône-et-Loire. The central part of the Loire Valley was added to the World Heritage Sites list of UNESCO on December 2, 2000. The banks are characterized by vineyards and chateaux in the Loire Valley. Historicity of the Loire River valley begins with the Middle Palaeolithic period of 90--40 kya (thousand years ago), followed by modern humans (about 30 kya), succeeded by the Neolithic period (6,000 to 4,500 BC), all of the recent Stone Age in Europe. Then came the Gauls, the historical tribes in the Loire during the Iron Age period 1500 to 500 BC; they made the Loire a major riverine trading route by 600 BC, establishing trade with the Greeks on the Mediterranean coast. Gallic rule ended in the valley in 56 BC when Julius Caesar conquered the adjacent provinces for Rome. Christianity made entry into this valley from 3rd century AD with many saints converting the pagans. This was also the time when wineries came to be established in the valley. The Loire Valley has been called the "Garden of France" and is studded with over a thousand chateaux, each with distinct architectural embellishments covering a wide range of variations, from the early medieval to the late Renaissance periods. They were originally created as feudal strongholds, over centuries past, in the strategic divide between southern and northern France; now many are privately owned. During the Roman period, they successfully subdued the Gauls in 52 BC and began developing Cenabum which they named Aurelianis and also began building the city of Caesarodunum, now Tours, from AD 1. The Romans used the Loire as far as Roanne, only around 150 km (93 mi) from the source. After AD 16, the Loire river valley became part of the Roman province of Aquitania, with its capital at Avaricum. From the 3rd century, Christianity spread through the river basin and many religious figures began cultivating vineyards along the river banks. In the 5th century, the Roman Empire declined and the Franks and the Alemanni came to the area from the east. Following this there was ongoing belligerence between the Franks and the Visigoths. In the 9th century, the Vikings began invading the west coast of France and used long ships to navigate the Loire. In 853 they ruined Tours and its famous abbey, later ruining Angers in 854 and 872. In 877 Charles the Bald died, marking an end to the Carolingian dynasty. After considerable conflict in the region, in 898 Foulques le Roux of Anjou gained power. During the Hundred Years' War from 1337 to 1453, the Loire River marked the border between the French and the English. One-third of the inhabitants died from the Black Death of 1348--9. The English defeated the French in 1356 and Aquitaine became English in 1360. In 1429, Joan of Arc persuaded Charles VII to banish the English from the country. Her successful relief of the siege of Orléans, on the Loire, was the turning point of the war. In 1477, the first printing press in France was established in Angers, and around this time the Chateau de Langeais was built. During the reign of François I from 1515 to 1547, the Italian Renaissance had a profound impact upon the region, and became deeply ingrained in the architecture and culture of the region, particularly among the elite and their chateaus. In the 1530s, the Reformation ideas reached the Loire valley and in 1560 Catholics drowned several hundred Protestants in the river. During the Wars of Religion from 1562 to 1598, Orléans served as a prominent stronghold for the Huguenots but in 1568 Orléans Cathedral was blown up by the Protestants. In 1572 the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre saw some 3000 Huguenots slaughtered in Paris, followed by the drowning of hundreds of them by the Catholics in the Loire River.