Loire Valley

The Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes
UNESCO World Heritage Site
LocationFrance
CriteriaCultural: i, ii, iv
Reference933bis
Inscription2000 (24th Session)
Area86,021 ha
Buffer zone213,481 ha
Loire Valley is located in France
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Limits of the World Heritage site: 1 = Sully-sur-Loire, 2 = Chalonnes-sur-Loire
Sunset on the Loire River from the Château de Montsoreau-Museum of Contemporary Art

The Loire Valley (French: Val de Loire, pronounced [val lwaʁ]; Breton: Traoñ al Liger), spanning 280 kilometres (170 mi),[1] is a valley located in the middle stretch of the Loire river in central France, in both the administrative regions Pays de la Loire and Centre-Val de Loire. The area of the Loire Valley comprises about 800 square kilometres (310 sq mi).[2] It is referred to as the Cradle of the French and the Garden of France due to the abundance of vineyards, fruit orchards (such as cherries), and artichoke, and asparagus fields, which line the banks of the river.[3] Notable for its historic towns, architecture, and wines, the valley has been inhabited since the Middle Palaeolithic period.[2] The oldest known Neanderthal engravings have been found a cave in La Roche-Cotard which have been dated to more than 57,000 years ago.[4][5] In 2000, UNESCO added the central part of the Loire River valley to its list of World Heritage Sites.[1]

  1. ^ a b "The Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b Tockner, Klement; Uehlinger, Urs; Robinson, Christopher T. (2009). Rivers of Europe. Academic Press. p. 183. ISBN 978-0-12-369449-2. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
  3. ^ Williams, Nicola; Boone, Virginie (1 May 2002). The Loire. Lonely Planet. pp. 7–10. ISBN 978-1-86450-358-6. Retrieved 12 April 2011.
  4. ^ Sample, Ian (21 June 2023). "French cave markings said to be oldest known engravings by Neanderthals". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 21 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  5. ^ Marquet, Jean-Claude; Freiesleben, Trine Holm; Thomsen, Kristina Jørkov; Murray, Andrew Sean; Calligaro, Morgane; Macaire, Jean-Jacques; Robert, Eric; Lorblanchet, Michel; Aubry, Thierry; Bayle, Grégory; Bréhéret, Jean-Gabriel; Camus, Hubert; Chareille, Pascal; Egels, Yves; Guillaud, Émilie (2023-06-21). "The earliest unambiguous Neanderthal engravings on cave walls: La Roche-Cotard, Loire Valley, France". PLOS ONE. 18 (6): e0286568. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0286568. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 10284424. PMID 37343032.

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