The Shire is the fictional land where J.R.R. Tolkien’s hobbits live at the beginning of The Lord of the Rings.
The Shire is a settled region in the north-west of Middle-earth. It is divided into areas including the Four Farthings and contains villages, farms, roads, and the hill-settlement of Hobbiton. Bilbo and Frodo Baggins live at Bag End, a hobbit-hole on a hill above Hobbiton.
Tolkien presents the Shire as a homeland of ordinary routines, gardens, meals, local customs, and family histories. Its peaceful appearance contrasts with the larger conflicts of Middle-earth, but the story shows that the Shire is not isolated from history. The events of the quest eventually bring danger back to it, leading to the Scouring of the Shire near the end of the book.
The Shire is not the same place as Bree, where the hobbits meet Aragorn, or Rivendell, where Elrond lives. Gondor is a human kingdom much farther south and is one of the major powers opposing Sauron.