An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town , or the place where the central administration of a commune , is located.
31-650: Aurlandsvangen ( Urban East Norwegian: [ˈæ̂ʉrlɑnsˌvɑŋːn̩] ) is the administrative center of Aurland Municipality in Vestland county, Norway . The village is located on the east side of the Aurlandsfjorden (a branch of the main Sognefjorden ) where the Aurlandselvi river flows into the fjord . The village of Undredal and the famous Nærøyfjord are located just a few kilometres to
62-433: A canton may comprise several smaller communes . In the latter case, administrative services, the gendarmerie headquarters for example, are often situated in the principal town ( chef-lieu ) of the canton , although there are exceptions, such as cantons Gaillon-Campagne and Sarreguemines-Campagne , which have in common a "chief-town" which does not belong to either canton . For statistical ( INSEE ) purposes,
93-400: A département is known as the préfecture . This is the town or city where the prefect of the department (and all services under their control) are situated, in a building known as the prefecture . In every French region , one of the departments has pre-eminence over the others, and the prefect carries the title of Prefect of region X..., Prefect of Department Z... and the city where
124-664: A "High Council of Collectivites" seated at the nation's capital. Smaller sub-divisions in Mali's Communes (Villages, Tribal councils, Quarters) are administered from or identified as a Place / Site ( Site in French), so the chef-lieu is literally the Chief-Place even at the lowest level. In the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , the administrative centres are known as "chief towns" or nahias . Nahias may be in charge of
155-589: A central city as chef-lieu of delegation . In the United Kingdom it is the centre of a local authority , which is distinct from a historic county with a county town. Cantons of France The cantons of France ( French pronunciation: [kɑ̃tɔ̃] ) are territorial subdivisions of the French Republic 's departments and arrondissements . Apart from their role as organizational units in relation to certain aspects of
186-579: A government subdivision include Senegal , Burkina Faso , Benin , Mali , and Niger . Taking Niger and Mali as examples, the administrative subdivisions down to the Commune level each have a formal place of administrative headquarters, titled the chef-lieu. The larger portion of the terminology of administrative division is inherited from colonial rule as part of French West Africa , and has survived and been somewhat modified over time. In both nations there have been remarkably parallel histories. With
217-402: A sub-district ( qda ), a district ( liwa ), or a governorate ( muhafazah ). Luxembourg is divided into two judicial arrondissements (Luxembourg City, Diekirch), four electoral circonscriptions (constituencies), twelve cantons , as well as 100 communes (municipalities; Luxembourgish: Gemengen ). Arrondissements, districts and cantons have each a chef-lieu and are named after it. The same
248-506: Is a term commonly ascribed to the settlement that serves as a municipal administrative centre. This level handles the local administrative and political tasks of the surrounding settlements. Since central place theory was the guiding principle during the municipal reform 1962–1977, most municipalities were dominated by a larger urban area where the political seat was located. Most municipalities are named for their central locality, but there are several exceptions. There are many deviations from
279-544: Is called a chef-lieu . The capital of a district , the next largest division, is also called a chef-lieu , whilst the capital of the lowest division, the municipalities , is called agglomération de chef-lieu (chef-lieu agglomeration ) and is abbreviated as A.C.L. The chef-lieu in Belgium is the administrative centre of each of the ten provinces of Belgium . Three of these cities also give their name to their province ( Antwerp , Liège and Namur ). The chef-lieu of
310-630: Is true for each commune which is composed of more than one town or village. Usually (with a few exceptions), the commune is named after the communal chef-lieu. In Russia , several million-plus cities in federal districts have the official status of an administrative centre: Moscow (as the main city of the Central Federal District ), Vladivostok , Volgograd , Yekaterinburg , Nizhny Novgorod , Novosibirsk , Pyatigorsk , Rostov-on-Don and St. Petersburg . The main cities of regions and municipal districts are also called unofficially
341-604: The French departmental elections in March 2015 . Before the cantonal reform, there were 4,032 cantons; afterwards there were 2,054, with the cantons in Martinique and Guyana abolished. The 2013 reform law also changed the representation of the cantons in the departmental councils : each canton is now represented by a man and a woman. The number of cantons varies from one département to another. The Territoire de Belfort has
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#1732801830293372-501: The Stockholm metropolitan area . The term central locality has no legal standing and it is unclear how it should be applied to these municipalities. Some municipalities appointing one or several localities to be the central locality. A residence city (Swedish: "residensstad") is the town or city which is the political and administrative seat of the county . This level handles the more regional political and administrative tasks of
403-512: The Västra Götaland Region . The term chef-lieu is applied to the capital of each Swiss canton . In 16 of the 26 cantons, the territory is subdivided into districts. Every district also has a location nominated as chef-lieu and each has a prefect. The term chef-lieu is used to designate the capital of each gouvernorat (department). Each of the 24 gouvernorats is subdivided into delegations (districts) which each have
434-472: The canton is, essentially, to provide a framework for departmental elections. Each canton elects a woman and a man to represent it at the conseil départemental du département – or departmental council for the department , which is the principal administrative division of the French Republic. In urban areas, a single commune generally includes several cantons . Conversely, in rural areas,
465-544: The sub-prefecture . The arrondissement where the département prefecture is located does not normally have a sub-prefect or sub-prefecture, the administration being devolved usually to the Secretary-general of the departmental prefecture , who functions as sub-prefect for the arrondissement. The chef-lieu of a canton is usually the biggest city or town within the canton, but has only a nominal role. No specific services are controlled by it. In past decades, there
496-456: The administration of public services and justice , the chief purpose of the cantons today is to serve as constituencies for the election of members of the representative assemblies established in each of France's territorial departments ( departmental councils , formerly general councils). For this reason, such elections were known in France as "cantonal elections", until 2015 when their name
527-430: The administrative centre or simply the centre. The only exception to this rule is the republics , for which the term " capital " is used to refer to the seat of government. The capital of Russia is also an entity to which the term "administrative centre" does not apply. In Sweden there are two levels of administrative centre; the local municipal and the regional county . Central locality ( Swedish : "centralort")
558-450: The central locality principle. Some municipalities are dominated by two or more towns of similar size, and sometimes they share the municipal administration, with the municipality having its official address in one of the towns. For example, both Skillingaryd and Vaggeryd are central localities of Vaggeryd Municipality . Conversely, there are municipalities within metropolitan areas . For example, there are twenty-six municipalities within
589-504: The county, such as healthcare and public transport . The name comes from that this is the town or city where the governor ( Swedish : "landshövding") have their residence . There are some exceptions to this, however. In the newer amalgamated "greater counties", often referred to as "regions", the administrative centre is placed in one of the older residence cities . Examples of this is Malmö in Region Scania and Gothenburg in
620-490: The decentralization process begun in both nations in the 1990s, the chef-lieu has transitioned from the location of the Governor, Commandant, or Prefect and their staff, to the location of Commune, Cercles of Mali / Departments of Niger , and Regional Councils and a variety of decentralized bodies. The chefs-lieux of a Region, Cercle or Département, is usually also a Communal chef-lieu. Both nations collect these councils in
651-505: The government, were published in the Bulletin des lois in 1801 and 1802; these lists were the basis of the administrative divisions of France from then until 2015, although cantons with small populations were eliminated and new cantons created in areas of strong demographic growth. On the whole, their number increased appreciably. In May 2013 a law was adopted that reduced the number of cantons drastically. This law came into effect at
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#1732801830293682-535: The name of the town. For the towns of the mainland, the chef-lieu has the same name as the town. Nouméa is a town composed only of Nouméa. Many of the West African states which gained independence from France in the mid-20th century also inherited the French administrative structure of Departments and Communes, headed by a Chief-Lieu . States still using Chief-Lieu to identify the administrative headquarters of
713-577: The northwest. Aurlandsvangen is located on the European route E16 highway about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) northeast of the village of Flåm and 32 kilometres (20 mi) southwest of the village of Lærdalsøyri (through the Lærdal Tunnel ). The 0.63-square-kilometre (160-acre) village has a population (2019) of 824 and a population density of 1,308 inhabitants per square kilometre (3,390/sq mi). The Lærdal Tunnel has its western end on
744-416: The regional prefect is found is known as chef-lieu of the region or, more commonly, Regional prefecture . The services are, however, controlled by the prefecture of the department. The chef-lieu of an arrondissement , commonly known as the sous-préfecture is the city or town where the sub-prefect of the arrondissement (and the services directly under their control) are situated, in a building called
775-594: The same time as the départements by the Revolutionary Committee for the Division of Territory ( Comité de division ). They were more numerous than today (between 40 and 60 to each département ). Cantons were, at first, grouped into what were called districts . After the abolition of the district in 1800, they were reorganized by the Consulate into arrondissements . The number of cantons
806-646: The south side of Aurlandsvangen, and it heads east through the Aurlandsfjellet mountains before reaching the eastern end of the tunnel near Tønjum in Lærdal Municipality . The tunnel replaces the old Norwegian County Road 5627 which goes over the mountains between Aurland and Lærdal. The Vangen Church (built 1202) is located in Aurlandsvangen. The lake Fretheimsdalsvatnet is located about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) southeast of
837-404: The twenty arrondissements of Paris – the administrative subdivisions of that city – are sometimes considered cantons , but they serve no greater electoral function. Cantons also form legal districts, as seats of Tribunaux d'instance ( TI ) or Courts of First Instance . Historically, the cantons are called justices de paix or "district courts". The cantons were created in 1790 at
868-468: The village of Aurlandsvangen. It contains Aurland Stadion . Administrative center In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and many African countries), a chef-lieu ( French pronunciation: [ʃɛfljø] , plural form chefs-lieux , literally 'chief place' or 'main place'), is a town or city that is important from an administrative perspective. The capital of an Algerian province
899-494: Was always a Gendarmerie , a treasurer and a justice of the peace. The chef-lieu indicates the principal city of the provinces of New Caledonia. So Nouméa is the chef-lieu of South Province. But the chef-lieu can also mean the principal area within a town. So Wé is part of the town of Lifou , but is the chef-lieu of Lifou. In the Loyalty Islands and the other islands, the name of the chef-lieu differs from that of
930-604: Was changed to "departmental elections" to match the departmental councils' name. As of 2015, there were 2,054 cantons in France. Most of them group together a number of communes (the lowest administrative division of the French Republic), although larger communes may be included in more than one canton, since the cantons – in marked contrast to the communes, which have between more than two million inhabitants (Paris) and just one person ( Rochefourchat ) – are intended to be roughly equal in size of population. The role of
961-558: Was then drastically reduced (between 30 and 50 units) by the Loi du 8 pluviôse an IX (28 January 1801), or the "Law for the Reduction of the Number of District Courts", or Loi portant réduction du nombre de justices de paix in French. The département prefects were told by the government to group the communes within newly established cantons . The département lists, once approved by