Guide to Indre & Property for Sale in Department 36

Indre is a department located in the Loire-Valley in the heart of France, encompassed by the departments of Indre-et-Loire, Loir-et-Cher, Cher, Creuse, Vienne, and Haute-Vienne. The department is named after the river Indre, which flows through its central region. Indre occupies an area of 5,880 square kilometres and is part of the Centre-Val de Loire region of France. The department's administrative center is the city of Châteauroux, and it also has three sub-prefectures in Le Blanc, La Châtre, and Issoudun. Indre is one of the original 83 departments that were established during the French Revolution in March 1790 by the National Constituent Assembly order. It was formed from the merging of parts of the former provinces of Berry, Orléanais, La Marche and Touraine. Châteauroux, originally called "Château Raoul," is the department's largest town and capital.

Geographical Borders and Landscape

Indre (department number 36)  is bordered by Loir-et-Cher to the north, Cher to the east, Creuse and Haute-Vienne to the south, Vienne to the southwest, and Indre-et-Loire to the northwest. The department is characterised by relatively level plains in the broad Loire Valley, covering an area of 100 km from north to south and 90 km wide. The land is undulating and slopes gently towards the northwest. The Creuse, the Claise, and the Indre are the main rivers, with the Creuse being impounded in several places. The Eguzon Dam, constructed in 1926, was the largest in Europe then. The Claise is a tributary of the Creuse, while the Indre flows centrally through the department from south to north, passing through the major towns of La Châtre, Châteauroux, and Loches and joining the Loire at Chinon in the neighbouring department of Loir-et-Cher.

Natural Regions of Indre

Indre is divided into four natural regions: North Boischaut occupies the northeast of the department and is undulating land with an altitude between 80 and 215 meters. South Boischaut lies in the south and southeast and is hilly. Brenne is a marshy tract of land in the southwestern part of the department, and Champagne berrichonne, a flat, dry, flinty limestone plateau, is in the east and continues into Cher. The highest point of the department is near the town of Pouligny-Notre-Dame, where the land rises to 459 meters above sea level.

Economic Activities

Indre's economy is primarily agricultural, with a long history of sheep farming and woollen yarn production. Other industries include linen, hosiery, and paper manufacturing. The department is also rich in coal, iron, stone, marble, and clay minerals.

Key Information about Indre

• Main City/Prefecture: Châteauroux
• Nearest Airport: Châteauroux-Centre "Marcel Dassault" Airport or Paris
• Population: Around 220,000 (as of the latest census)
• Area: 6,791 sq. kilometres and 2,621 sq. miles
• Landmark: Château de Valençay, a Renaissance château once home to Talleyrand, Napoleon’s diplomat.
• Number of Tourists/Year: Approx. 900,000, drawn by the charming countryside, historic sites and the Brenne Nature Park.

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