When it was formed during theFrench Revolution, as of March 4, 1790 in fulfillment of the law of December 22, 1789, the new department combined parts of theprovinces of southernBurgundy andBresse, uniting lands that had no previous common history nor political unity and which have no true geographical unity. Thus its history is that of Burgundy, and is especially to be found in the local histories ofAutun,Mâcon,Chalon-sur-Saône,Charolles andLouhans.
Saône-et-Loire is the seventh largest department of France. It is part of theregionBourgogne-Franche-Comté. In the west, the department is composed of the hills of theAutunois, the region aroundAutun, in the southwest theCharollais, and theMâconnais in the south.
In the centre, the department is traversed from north to south by the Saône in its wide plain; the Saône is a tributary of the RiverRhône that joins it atLyon and thus is connected to theMediterranean Sea. The source of theLoire, is south of the department, in the department ofArdèche. It then makes its way in the opposite direction, forming the southwest border of the department, and eventually draining into theAtlantic Ocean. TheCanal du Centre links the Saône to the Loire betweenChalon-sur-Saône andDigoin, thereby linking theMediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, the department occupies the northern part of the plain of Bresse. In the west, its industrial heart is inLe Creusot andMontceau-les-Mines, formerly noted for their coal mines and metallurgy.
The most populous commune isChalon-sur-Saône; the prefectureMâcon is the second-most populous. As of 2019, there are 5 communes with more than 10,000 inhabitants:[3]
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found onPhabricator and onMediaWiki.org.
_032.JPG)
