Arrondissements of the Indre-et-Loire department facts for kids
In France, a department is like a big region. Inside each department, there are smaller areas called arrondissements. You can think of an arrondissement as a district or a borough. The Indre-et-Loire department has three of these arrondissements.
The main town or city of an arrondissement is called a subprefecture. If the main city of the whole department (which is called the prefecture) is inside an arrondissement, then that city acts as both the prefecture and the subprefecture for that arrondissement. Arrondissements are then divided into even smaller areas called communes, which are like local towns or villages.
Contents
Understanding Arrondissements in Indre-et-Loire
The Indre-et-Loire department has three main arrondissements. Each one has its own capital city, population, and area. This helps manage the different parts of the department more easily.
INSEE code |
Arrondissement | Capital | Population (2014) |
Area (km²) |
Density (Inh./km²) |
Communes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
371 | Chinon | Chinon | 86,952 | 1,694.2 | 51.3 | 106 |
372 | Tours | Tours | 466,232 | 2,629.2 | 177.3 | 54 |
373 | Loches | Loches | 50,740 | 1,803.4 | 28.1 | 113 |
A Brief History of Indre-et-Loire's Arrondissements
The way the Indre-et-Loire department is organized has changed a few times over the years.
How the Department Was First Set Up
- 1790: The Indre-et-Loire department was first created. It had seven smaller areas called districts: Tours, Amboise, Château-Renault, Loches, Chinon, Preuilly, and Langeais. The main city for the whole department was Tours.
Changes Over Time
- 1800: The seven districts were changed into three larger arrondissements: Chinon, Loches, and Tours.
- 1926: The arrondissement of Loches was removed for a while.
- 1943: Loches was made an arrondissement again, and it has stayed that way since.