Vivarais [key], region, roughly coextensive with Ardèche dept., SE France. Its mountainous terrain rises to 5,753 ft (1,754 m) in the Mézenc. Cattle raising is the chief occupation. Silk manufacturing has declined, but other textile industries still exist. Privas is the principal town. The medieval county of Viviers or Vivarais, a part of the kingdom of Arles, was held in fief by the counts of Toulouse, who lost it to the French crown in 1229.
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