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Vendée (Department, France)

Last modified: 2005-02-26 by ivan sache
Keywords: vendee | pays de la loire | heart | general council |
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[Flag of Vendée]by Jaume Ollé & Ivan Sache

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Administrative data

Code: 85
Region: Pays de la Loire
Traditional provinces: Poitou
Bordering departments: Charente-Maritime, Loire-Atlantique, Maine-et-Loire, Deux-Sèvres

Area: 6,720 km2
Population (1995): 525,700 inhabitants

Préfecture: La Roche-sur-Yon
Sous-préfecture: Fontenay-le-Comte, Les Sables-d'Olonne
Subdivisions: 3 arrondissements, 31 cantons, 282 communes.

The department is named after the historical region of Vendée.

The name of Vendée comes from Celtic uindo (wind / uind / vind), white. This root is cognate with find (Irish), gwyn (Welsh), and gwenn (Breton). Therefore, the Vendée is the white river. Colour names were often given to rivers, and especially the colour white, in the Celtic mythology. Another river of the west of France, the Vienne, has the same origin, as well as the Argenton (argent is silver in French).

Flag of the department of Vendée

The flag of the departement is vertically divided red-white with the logotype of the General Council in the centre.

The logo of the Général Council was created by the agence Carré Noir, who made also the logotypes of the cities of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Noisy-le-Roi and Sceaux.

Source: Société Vexillologique de l'Ouest

Ivan Sache & Jaume Ollé, 2 December 2000

Flag of the General Council of Vendée

[General Council of Vendee]by Jaume Ollé & Ivan Sache

The flag of the General Council is white with two vertical thin red and white stripes in the centre, charged with the logo. The writing VENDEE CONSEIL GENERAL appears below the logo.

The vertical stripes and logo are very commonly seen as car stickers but are not used as a banner.

Source: Société Vexillolo