﻿MS 



LOIRE. LA. 



LOIRE. 



right bank of the Cher, 18 milM S. trom Bloia, ud haa 2326 iohabit- 

 wata. The knoient wall* of the town, which are piemed by four gatea 

 and flanked with towera, are still in a good atate of preserration. The 

 oaatle of Hontrichard waa founded A.D. 1010 by Foulquea Nem, count 

 of Anjon, on hia letom from the Holy Land. The ground on which 

 the castle waa built belonged to Qelduin, lord of Saumur and Pont- 

 le-Voy, who appealed to Eudea II., count of Bloia, for redreia. The 

 latter aaaembUng hia forces at Poutrle-Voy attacked the Angevine 

 troops, which marched out of Hontrichard to meet him (July 1(3, 

 1016) ; the resolt of the engagement waa the defeat and capture of 

 Foulquea Nerra. But Herbert, count of Maine, who had prudently 

 •fliBCted a retreat from the previous battle, watching his opportunity, 

 defeated Eudea a few days after, and delivered the Count of 

 Anjou and all the other prisoners. The castle came into the 

 hands of the lords of Amboisc, the heirs of Oelduin. The kiuf? 

 of England, as counts of Touraine, strengthened the castle and main- 

 tained a garrifon in it. In 118S Philippe Augiiste took it by assault, 

 but by the treaty of Colombiers (July 6, 1190) it was restored to the 

 king of Englanil, and Richard Coour-de-Lion then rebuilt the castle 

 and Burrounded the town with walls, which still remain. Near 

 SL-Aiffnan, a small town close to the southern boundary, on the left 

 bank of the Cher, are the great gun-flint quarries from which the 

 French armies were supplied. 



2. In the second arrondisaement the chief town, Somorantin, stands 

 at the junction of the Morantin with the SauUlre, 24 miloa S.(^ from 

 Bloia, and has tribunals of first iuBtance and of commerce, a college^ 

 and 7962 inhabitants in the commune. The town, formerly ill built, 

 has been considerably improved of late years, the streets having been 

 vridened and laid out more regtilarly, bouses erected in a modem style, 

 and the roadwaya well paved. It has important manufactures of cloth 

 and woollen stuffl^ several spinning-factories, tan-yards, and parckmeut- 

 mUla, At the siege of this town by the Black Prince, in 1366, Froiasart 

 says that artillery waa used. The prince, compelled by King John 

 to raise the aiege, r«treated towards Poitiers, where, overtaken by the 

 Fi«nch army, he gained his celebrated victoty. Sellmur-Cher, situated 

 in a fertile country, 10 miles S.W. from Bomorantin, on the Cher, 

 whidi is here spanned by a fine bridge, has 4252 inhabitants, who 

 manufacture cloth, and trade in com, wine, &0. At one end of the 

 town stands a fine ch&teau, erected by Philippe de Bethune. 



3. In the third arrondiasement the chief town, Vmd6me, prettily 

 dtoated on the slope of a vine-clad hill, above the Loir, which here 

 divides into two branches, stands 19 miles N.W. from Blois, and has a 

 tribunal of first instance, a college, and 8100 inhabitants, who manu- 

 facture woollen stufis, gloves, ootton-ram, calico, leather, and paper. 

 The town is well built On the height above it are the ruins of the 

 old castle of the dukes of Venddme, from which there is a fine view 

 of the scenery of the Loir. Among the mors remarkable structures 

 are the church of La-Sainte-Trinitd ; the Benedictine monastery, now 

 used as a barrack ; the desecrated church of St-Martin, now converted 

 into a corn-market ; the college buildings ; and the theatre. Venddme 

 from a very early period gave name to a county, which in 1514 was 

 raised to a duchy. In the wars of the League the town was token by 

 each of the opposing partiea. Henri IV. took it by assault and dis- 

 mantled the castle, which has since fallen to ruins. The Parliament 

 of Paris met in the castle of VendAme in 1227, during the minority 

 of SL-Louis; and again in 1458, to try the Duke of Alen^n for 

 treason. Charles VIL and Francia L resided in it occasionally. 

 MondoiihUau, a small place of 1671 inhabitants, is prettily situated 

 on a hill above the Qraiane, a small feeder of the Braye, IS miles N.W. 

 from Vinddme. A fine old castle, with walls, towers, and ditohes, 

 ■till neariy entire, stands above the town, and formed one of the chain 

 of fortresses that defended the frontier of the old province of Maine. 

 Montoir, a pretty town on the right bank of the Loir, and at the foot 

 of a hill crowned by the chAteau of St-Outrille, has 3306 inhabitants, 

 who manufacture linen, woollen hosiery, and leather. The church of 

 Bt.-aillrs, the interior of which is richly ornamented with frescoes, 

 and the handsome square in the centra of the town, are the most 

 remarkable objects. Savigny, near the left bank of the Braye, in the 

 north-west of the department, haa a population of 3065. 



The department forms the see of tne bishop of Blois, is included in 

 the jurisdiction of the High Court of Orl<Sana, and belongs to the 18th 

 Military Division, of which Tours is head-quarters. I^ir-ot.Cher is 

 one of the departments comprised within the limits of the University 

 Aeademr of Paris. It returns two members to the Legislative Body 

 of the French empire. 



LOIRE, LA (the Liger or Ligerit of the Romans, a river in France, 

 the basin of which is bounded E. by the C<vennea and the C6te-d'0r, 

 which divide it from the badn of the Hhdne; N. by the Morvan 

 Hills, the plateau of OrUan^ the heighU of Beauce, and their con- 

 tinuation westward round the source of the Mayenne, whence a ridge 

 of hills runs in a south-south-weat direction to the neighbourhood of 

 CbAtsaabriont forming the watershed between the Loire and the Vilaine ; 

 and S. and 8.W. by the Margeride Mountaioa, and the volcanic group 

 of Auvergne, with its ramiftcatioos westwanl to the AtUoUc, including 

 the Limousin Mountains and the platean of Qatine. The limits thus 

 described include a fourth part of Prance. The greatest length of the 

 basin from north-west to south-east is 370 miles ; it* grea^t breadth, 

 3S4 milea. It* area b ettimated at above 60,700 square miles. 



The Loire rises in Mont Gerbier^e»Joncn, one of the C^venae* in 

 the neighbouriiood of Mount Mexeo, in the department of Ardeohe. 

 The general direction of its course is at first north, then north-weet 

 to OrT(!ana, where it turns westward, and continues in this direction 

 to its entrance into the Atlantic, 36 miles below Nantes. The number 

 of streams received by the Loire is very great ; its navigable feeden 

 from the right bank are the Arroox, the Mome (formed by the junction 

 of the ilajrenne and the Sarthe) ; from the left — the Allier, the Loiret, 

 the Cher, the Indro, the Yienne, the Thou^t, the Sirre-Nontaiae, and 

 the Achenau, all of which, with their feeders, give a total amount of 

 internal navigation of about 1300 miles. In the upper part of ita 

 course, above the junction of the Allier, the valley of the Loire is 

 narrow. At its source the Loire is about 400U feet above the sea-level; 

 below Never«,at its junction with the Allier, 550 feet; at Oridaos, 294 

 feet ; a little below Tours, 160 feet ; at the junction of the Mayanna^ 

 115 feet ; and at Nantes, 83 feet above the sea-level. 



The whole course of the Loire is 546 miles, of which 505 mile* ara 

 navigable ; but of these 44 miles, trom La-Koirio to Roanne, are navi- 



fable down the stream only. The navigation is interrupted by froat, 

 eficiency of water, or by floods, during three or four months iu the 

 year. River steamers ply between Nantes and Houlius on the Allier. 

 For two-thirds of the distance above Roanne the Loire is available 

 for floating timber. 



This river, with its larger affluents, constitutes the great outlet for 

 the produce of central and western France. The banks are celebrated 

 for their beauty, particularly in the neighbourhood of Tours. From 

 the melting of the snows in the C^vennes, in which it has its source, 

 the Loire is subject to great inundations, to prevent which it has been 

 embanked in the level ti-acts below Organs. [Inoke-bt-Loibe.] The 

 sand and soil which its waters bring down form islands or shifting 

 banks in its course, which materially impede the navigation, especially 

 above Orldans : to avoid thia inconvenience a canal has been formed 

 along the left bank of the river, from the Cauol-du-Ceutre, at the 

 junction of the Arrouz, to the Canal de Briare, at Briare near Qian. 

 The tide flows about 40 miles up the river to a short distance above 

 Nantes. [LoiRE-lNFfeBiECBB; Nantes.] The Loire is connected 

 with the SaAne by the Canal-du-Centre ; with the Seine by the canals 

 de-Briare, d'Orldans, and du-Loiug ; and with Brest Harbour by the 

 canal from Nantes to Brest. 



At its mouth the Loire is about 7 milea wide, between Paimbceuf 

 and St.-Nazaire, where formerly large vessels of all nations were seen 

 afloat, prevented trom going up to Nantes by the shallowness of the 

 stream ; only vessels of about 300 tons could get up to Nantes, larger 

 vessels unloaded by means of lighters ; but smce the introduction of 

 steam-tugs all vessels, except those of the largest size, are hauled up 

 to Nautea with the flow tide. The entrance of the river ia dan- 

 gerous iu consequence of the shoals and banks that traverse it, and of 

 its want of shelter. In hard weather vessels make for Quiberon. 

 The mouth of the river is indicated by two lighthouses — d'Aiguillon 

 and du Commerce — which stand on the north shore about a mile 

 apart. The d'Aiguillon light, 101 feet high, stands in 47° 15' N. lat., 

 T 15' W. long. The du Commerce tower is 128 feet high, haa a 

 remittant light at three-minute intervals, and stands in 47° 15' N. lat., 

 2° 14' W. long. The distauce between the two lighU is 2132 yard& 

 The general fall of the river is 2132 feet in every 2132 yards of its 

 course ; its course therefore is rapid. In ordinary floods ita wateni 

 rise 13 to 15 feet; in extraordinary floods 20 to 23 feet above low- 

 water mark. The general width between the summits of the embank- 

 ments is G89 yards, and the breadth of the stream in the embanked 

 portion is ordinarily 419 yards. 



LOIRE, a department in France, named from the river Loire, is 

 bounded N. by the department of 8adne-et- Loire, E. by those of 

 Rhdne and Isire, S. by those of Ard&ohe and Haute-IiOire, and W. by 

 those of Puy-de-DAme and Allier. It extends from 45° 18' to 46° 17' 

 N. Ut., 3° 41' to 4° 45' E. long. IU greatest length is 77 mUes ; ita 

 average width is about 29 miles: the area is 1841'8 square milea. 

 The popuUtion in 1841 amounted to 434.085; in 1851 to 472,588. 

 This last number gives 256'5 to the square mile, being 82-01 alrave the 

 average per aquare mile for the whole of France. 



The department, which comprises the old province of Forei and 

 portions of Lyonnais and Beaiijolaia, waa included in the department 

 of RhOne till 1793. It belongs almost entirely to the basin of the 

 Loire, which is separated from that of the Rh6ne by the C^vennea 

 Mountains on the easi^ and from that of the Allier by a secondary 

 chain of the C^vennes Mountains on the west. The biKhest point of 

 the eastern mountains ia Mont Pilat, which rises 1509 fe«t above ita 

 base and 3985 feet above the sea. The highest summit of the western 

 chain, which is connected also with the mountains of Auvergne, is 

 Pierre-aur-Haute, 3884 feet above the level of the sea. The interior of 

 the department may be deacribed as two Urge inclined plains descend- 

 ing from these two mountain ranges, and interacting in the water- 

 line of the Loire ; but as the mountiuiu, in their course northward, 

 trend oflf respectively in directions ueany northnorth-east and nortb- 

 north-weat, the northern portion of the department has more the 

 appeantaos of a single wide plain, which includes part of the former 

 provinces of Beaijuolois and Bourbonnaia, and ia called the plain of 

 Roanne. The rest of the department is called the plain of Forez ; 

 and between it and the i>laiu of Roanne the division is marked by a 



