Poitiers
is a city in
France
, the
prefecture
of the
Vienne
department
in the
Nouvelle-Aquitaine
region
. The town is picturesque; and its streets are interesting for their remains of ancient architecture, especially of the
Romanesque
period, and the memories of great historical events.
The city itself is very old. It already existed as a
Gaulish
fort in the time when
Julius Caesar
came to Gaul. It was the capital of the
Pictones
tribe
.
Poitiers is in the centre of the Vienne department, between the
valleys
of the Boivre and the
Clain
rivers
. The old town is on the
slopes
and the
summit
of a
plateau
which rises 130 feet (40 m) above the
streams
which surround it on three sides.
Poitiers is at about 220 km (140 mi) from
Bordeaux
, 340 km (210 mi) from
Paris
, 130 km (81 mi) from
Limoges
and 180 km (110 mi) from
Nantes
.
The
commune
has an area of 42.1 km
2
(16.3 sq mi).
[2]
Its average
altitude
is 105 m (344 ft); at the
city hall
, the altitude is 116 m (381 ft).
[3]
The
commune
of Poitiers is surrounded by the
communes
:
The climate of Poitiers, in the
Koppen climate classification
, is
Cfb
-
Oceanic climate
with template summers.
The inhabitants of Poitiers are known, in
French
, as
Pictaviens
(women:
Pictaviennes
).
[4]
With a population of 87,435,
[5]
Poitiers has a
population density
of 2,076 inhabitants/km
2
.
Evolution of the population in Poitiers
Poitiers forms, with seven other
communes
, the
urban area
of Poitiers with a population of 128,111 inhabitants (2013) and an area of 172.3 km
2
(66.5 sq mi).
[6]
This urban area is the centre of the
metropolitan area
of Poitiers, formed by 97
communes
, with a population of 257,233 inhabitants (2013) and an area of 2,303.4 km
2
(889.3 sq mi).
[7]
Poitiers is the
prefecture
of the Vienne department, the capital of the
arrondissement
of
Poitiers
and the
administrative centre
(
French
:
chef-lieu
) of five
canton
:
- Poitiers-1
, with 23,086 inhabitants
(2014)
.
- Poitiers-2
, with 25,371 inhabitants
(2014)
.
- Poitiers-3
, with 26,843 inhabitants
(2014)
.
- Poitiers-4
, with 20,756 inhabitants
(2014)
.
- Poitiers-5
, with 22,170 inhabitants
(2014)
.
It is part of the
intercommunality
Grand Poitiers
(
French
:
Communaute d'agglomeration Grand Poitiers
).
Poitiers is twinned with:
[8]
This is a list of people of interest who were born or resided in Poitiers:
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Poitiers
.
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