Berry, France

Berry
Flag Coat of arms
Land	Frankreich
Seat	Bourges
Population  (new estimate)
• Total	1,235,666−3,445,644 population
Time zone	CET

Berry (French: [beʁi]; Occitan: Barric; Latin: Bituria) is a region located in central France. It was a province of France until départements replaced the provinces on 4 March 1790, when Berry became divided between the départements of Cher (High Berry) and Indre (Low Berry).

The Berry region now consists of the départements of Cher, Indre and parts of Creuse. The city of Bourges functioned as the capital of Berry. Berry is notable as the birthplace of several kings and other members of the French royal family, and was the birthplace of the famous knight Baldwin Chauderon, who fought in the First Crusade. In the Middle Ages, Berry became the center of the Duchy of Berry's holdings. It is also known for an illuminated manuscript produced in the 14th–15th century called Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry.

In later times, the writer George Sand spent much of her life at her Berry estate in Nohant, and Berry's landscape and specific culture figure in much of Sand's writings.

Map of the ancient province of Berry with the actual communes and départements.

Etymology

The name of Berry, like that of its capital, Bourges, originated with the Gaulish tribe of the Bituriges, who settled in the area before the Roman armies of Julius Caesar conquered Gaul. The name of the tribe gave name to the region, often mentioned in Medieval Latin sources as: Bituria.

Brenne

La Brenne, located west of Châteauroux and east of Tournon-Saint-Martin in the Indre department, is a region which of old straddled on the former provinces of Berry and Touraine, and is now a protected natural area (Parc naturel régional de la Brenne) as well called Pays des mille étangs, because of its many ponds created since the 8th c. by the monks of the local abbeys for pisciculture.

See also

• Saint-Benoît-du-Sault
• Berrichon dialect

Sources

• Abbott, Paul D. (1981). Provinces, pays, and seigneuries of France. Myrtleford, Australia. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Devailly, Guy (1973). Le Berry du Xe siècle au milieu du XIIIe: Étude politique, religieuse, sociale, et économique. Paris-La Haye: Mouton. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

External links

• Media related to Berry (region) at Wikimedia Commons
• Pictures
• Accommodation
• Flag of Berry (FOTW)
• Columbia Encyclopedia article on Berry