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Concept
Var (department)
Summary
Var (vaʁ, ˈbaɾ) is a department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. It is bordered on the east by the Alpes-Maritimes department; to the west by Bouches-du-Rhône; to the north of the river Verdon by the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department; and to the south by the Mediterranean Sea. It had a population of 1,076,711 in 2019.
The Var department takes its name from the river Var, which flowed along its eastern boundary, until the boundary was moved in 1860 and the department is no longer associated with the river.
Toulon is Var's largest city and administrative capital, known as the prefecture. Other important towns in Var include Fréjus, Saint-Raphaël, Draguignan, Brignoles, Hyères and La Seyne-sur-Mer. Var is known for the harbour of Toulon, the main port of the French Navy, for its seaside resorts, the most famous of which is Saint-Tropez, for some fine examples of Romanesque and other medieval architecture, such as Le Thoronet Abbey and the Fréjus Cathedral, for its wines, particularly the wines of Bandol, as well as for its motorsport race track Circuit Paul Ricard, located in Le Castellet.
French Riviera
The department of Var was created at the time of the French Revolution, on 4 March 1790, from a portion of the former royal province of Provence.
Its capital was originally Toulon, but this was moved to Grasse in 1793 to punish the Toulonnais for yielding the town to the British in 1793. Subsequently, the capital was moved to Brignoles in 1795, then to Draguignan in 1797. It was not returned to Toulon until 1974.
In 1815, following the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo the department was occupied by Austrian troops until November 1818. In 1854 the first railroad reached Toulon.
With the creation of the new department of Alpes-Maritimes in 1860 and following the annexation by France of Nice, the eastern part of the department, corresponding to the arrondissement of Grasse, was moved to the new department. This move also shifted the river Var, which had given the department its name, to the new department.
Official source
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