Clermont-Ferrand

Clermont-Ferrand sits on the plain of Limagne in the Massif Central and is surrounded by a major industrial area. The city is known for the chain of volcanoes, the Chaîne des Puys, which surround it. This includes the dormant volcano Puy de Dôme, 10 kilometres (6 miles) away, one of the highest in the surrounding area, which is topped by communications towers and visible from the city. Clermont-Ferrand has been listed as a "tectonic hotspot" since July 2018 on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

One of the oldest French cities, it was known by

Today Clermont-Ferrand hosts the

Name

Clermont-Ferrand's first name was Augustonemetum, Latin for "sanctuary for Augustus", or Civitas Arvernorum (town of the Arverni people).^[9] It originated on the central knoll where the cathedral is situated today, overlooking the capital of Gaulish Arvernis (fr). The fortified castle of Clarus Mons gave its name to the whole town in 848, to which the small episcopal town of Montferrand was attached in 1731, together taking the name of Clermont-Ferrand. The amalgamation of the two towns was decreed by Louis XIII and confirmed by Louis XV.^[10] The old part of Clermont is delimited by the route of the ramparts as they existed at the end of the Middle Ages.

Prehistory and Roman era

In 570, Bishop Avitus ordered the Jews of the city, who numbered over 500, to accept Christian baptism or be expelled.^[11]

In 848, the city was renamed Clairmont, after the castle Clarus Mons. During this era, it was an episcopal city ruled by its bishop. Clermont was not spared by the Vikings at the time of the weakening of the Carolingian Empire: it was ravaged by the Normans under Hastein in 862 and 864 and, while its bishop Sigon carried out reconstruction work, again in 898 (or 910, according to some sources). Bishop Étienne II built a new Romanesque cathedral which was consecrated in 946. It was almost entirely replaced by the current Gothic cathedral, though the crypt survives and the towers were only replaced in the 19th century.

Middle Ages

Clermont was the starting point of the

In the 20th century, the construction of the Michelin factories and of city gardens, which shaped modern Clermont-Ferrand, united the two cities, although two distinct downtowns survive and Montferrand retains a strong identity.

Geography

Climate

Clermont-Ferrand has an oceanic climate (Cfb). The city is in the rain shadow of the Chaîne des Puys, giving it one of the driest climates in metropolitan France, except for a few places around the Mediterranean Sea. The mountains also block most of the oceanic influence of the Atlantic, which creates a much more continental climate than in nearby cities west or north of the mountains, like Limoges and Montluçon. Thus the city has comparatively cold winters and hot summers. From November to March, frost is very frequent, and the city, being at the bottom of a valley, is frequently subject to temperature inversion, in which the mountains are sunny and warm, and the plain is freezing cold and cloudy. Snow is quite common, although usually short-lived and light. Summer temperatures often exceed 35 °C (95 °F), with sometimes violent thunderstorms. The highest temperature was reached in 2019 of 40.9 °C (105.6 °F) while the lowest was -29.0 °C (-20.2 °F).

Main sights

Religious architecture

Clermont-Ferrand has two famous churches. One is

• Jardin Lecoq
• Parc de Montjuzet
• Jardin botanique de la Charme
• Arboretum de Royat
• Jardin botanique d'Auvergne

Economy and infrastructure

The city's industry was for a long time linked to the French tyre manufacturer Michelin, which created the radial tyre and expanded from Clermont-Ferrand to become a worldwide leader in its industry. For most of the 20th century, it had extensive factories throughout the city, employing up to 30,000 workers. While the company has maintained its headquarters in the city, most of the manufacturing is now done in foreign countries. This downsizing took place gradually, allowing the city to court new investment in other industries, thus avoiding the fate of many post-industrial cities and keeping it a very wealthy and prosperous area home to many high-income executives.

Transport

The

The TGV will arrive in Auvergne after 2030. It will be one of the last regions not to have a TGV stop.

Clermont-Ferrand Auvergne Airport serves only a handful of mostly domestic destinations.

Population

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 30,000 —     1800 30,000 +0.00% 1806 30,982 +0.54% 1821 30,010 −0.21% 1831 28,257 −0.60% 1836 32,427 +2.79% 1841 35,152 +1.63% 1846 34,083 −0.62% 1851 33,516 −0.33% 1856 38,160 +2.63% 1861 37,275 −0.47% 1866 37,461 +0.10% 1872 37,357 −0.05% 1876 41,772 +2.83% 1881 43,033 +0.60% 1886 46,718 +1.66% 1891 50,119 +1.42% 1896 50,870 +0.30%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 52,933 +0.80% 1906 58,363 +1.97% 1911 65,386 +2.30% 1921 82,577 +2.36% 1926 111,711 +6.23% 1931 103,143 −1.58% 1936 101,128 −0.39% 1946 108,090 +0.67% 1954 113,391 +0.60% 1962 127,547 +1.48% 1968 148,759 +2.60% 1975 156,763 +0.75% 1982 147,224 −0.89% 1990 136,181 −0.97% 1999 137,140 +0.08% 2007 139,501 +0.21% 2012 141,569 +0.29% 2017 143,886 +0.33%
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Source: EHESS[15] and INSEE (1968-2017)[16]

Culture

Clermont-Ferrand was the home of mathematician and philosopher

Clermont-Ferrand also hosts the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, the world's first international short film festival, which originated in 1979. This festival, which brings thousands of people every year (137,000 in 2008) to the city, is the second French film Festival after Cannes in terms of visitors, but ranks first for spectators (in Cannes, visitors are not allowed in theatres, only professionals). This festival has revealed many young talented directors who are now well known in France and internationally, such as Mathieu Kassovitz, Cédric Klapisch and Éric Zonka.

Beside the short film festival, Clermont-Ferrand hosts more than twenty music, film, dance, theatre and video and digital art festivals every year. With more than 800 artistic groups from dance to music, Clermont-Ferrand and the Auvergne region's cultural life is significant in France. One of the city's nicknames is "The Liverpool of France". Groups such as The Elderberries and Cocoon were formed there.

Additionally, the city was the subject of the acclaimed documentary

, Pétain's "handman", was an Auvergnat.

Pascal's Wager

, whose author was born in the city in 1623.

The city also hosts L'Aventure Michelin, the museum dedicated to the history of Michelin group.

Sport

A

Charade Circuit, using closed-off public roads, held the French Grand Prix in 1965, 1969, 1970 and 1972. It was a daunting circuit, with such harsh elevation changes that some drivers became ill as they drove. Winners included Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart (twice), and Jochen Rindt

.

Clermont-Ferrand has some experience in hosting major international sports tournaments, including the FIBA EuroBasket 1999. The city was the finish of Tour de France stages in 1951 and 1959, and will host the start of the 2023 Tour de France Femmes.^[18]

The city is also home to a rugby union club competing at international level, ASM Clermont Auvergne, as well as Clermont Foot Auvergne, a football club that has competed in France's top tier, Ligue 1, since the 2021/22 season.

In the

2016

.

Famous people

Born in Clermont-Ferrand

• Avitus (c. 385 – c. 456), Roman emperor from the West from 455 to 456
• Fadela Amara (born 1964), feminist and politician
• Martine Blanc (born 1944), author and illustrator of ten books for children
• Antoine-Jean Bourlin (1752–1828), known as Dumaniant, comedian and goguettier
• Thomas Cailley (born 1980), French screenwriter and film director
• Nicolas Chamfort (1741–1794), writer of epigrams and aphorisms^[19]
• Étienne Clémentel (1864– 1936), politician, Govt. Minister and painter
• Cécile Coulon (born 1990), novelist, poet and short story writer
• Jacques Delille (1738 in Aigueperse – 1813). He translated Virgil's Georgics and wrote a didactic poem on gardening.^[20]
• Lolo Ferrari (1963–2000), dancer, actress and singer with very large breast implants
• Gregory of Tours (c. 538 – 594), Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours^[21]
• Ginette Hamelin (1913–1944), French engineer and architect, member of the French resistance, died in a concentration camp
• Annelise Hesme (born 1976), actress and player of cello and piano
• Thierry Laget (born 1959), writer, winner of the 1992 Prix Fénéon
• Edmond Lemaigre (1849–1890), composer and organist
• Antoine de Lhoyer (1768–1852), composer, guitarist and soldier
• Bernard Loiseau (1951– 2003), celebrity chef
• François-Bernard Mâche (born 1935), composer of contemporary music
• Antoine François Marmontel (1816–1898), pianist and teacher at the Paris Conservatory
• Léon Melchissédec (1843-1925), baritone and teacher at the Paris Conservatory
• André Michelin (1853–1931) and Édouard Michelin (1859–1940), creators of the Michelin tyre group, whose global headquarters are still located in Clermont-Ferrand
• Léonard Morel-Ladeuil (1820-1888), goldsmith and sculptor^[22]
• George Onslow (1784–1853), composer, mainly of chamber music
• Victor Pachon (1867–1938), physiologist. He worked on blood pressure.
• Drag Race France
  .
• Blaise Pascal (1623–1662), mathematician, physicist and religious philosopher^[23]
• Jacqueline Pascal (1625–1661), child prodigy, youngest sister of Blaise Pascal. She composed verses.^[24]
• Gilberte Périer (1620–1687), biographer, eldest sister of Blaise Pascal^[25]
• Dominique Perrault (born 1953), architect. He designed the French National Library.
• Henri Pognon (1853–1921), epigrapher, archaeologist and diplomat
• Henri Quittard (1864–1919), composer, musicologist and music critic
• François Dominique de Reynaud, Comte de Montlosier (1755–1838), politician and political writer^[26]
• Peire Rogier (born ca. 1145), Auvergnat troubadour (fl. 1160 – 1180) and cathedral canon
• Audrey Tautou (born 1976), actress and model
• Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955), philosopher, Jesuit priest and paleontologist

Sport

• Chakir Ansari (born 1991), Moroccan freestyle wrestler. He competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
• Laure Boulleau (born 1986), footballer with 216 club caps and 65 for France women
• Patrick Depailler (1944–1980), Formula One driver
• Yves Dreyfus (1931–2021), epee fencer, bronze medalist at the 1956 Summer Olympics^[27]
• Raphaël Géminiani (born 1925), French former road bicycle racer
• Jordan Lotiès (born 1984), footballer with 370 club caps
• Émile Mayade (1853–1898), motoring pioneer and racing driver
• Darline Nsoki (born 1989), basketball player
• Gabriella Papadakis (born 1995), ice dancer, Olympic champion & World and European champion
• Émile Pladner (1906–1980) flyweight champion boxer; 104 wins, 16 losses and 13 draws
• Jean-Louis Rosier (1925–2011), racing driver
• Aurélien Rougerie (born 1980), rugby union player, with 417 club caps and 47 for France
• Christian Sarron (born 1955), Grand Prix motorcycle road racer
• Gauthier de Tessières (born 1981), World Cup alpine ski racer
• Remi Cavagna (born 1995), professional road cyclist

Resident in Clermont-Ferrand

• Sidonius Apollinaris (ca. 430–after 489), Gallo-Roman poet, diplomat and bishop^[28]
• Henri Bergson (1859–1941), philosopher
• Olivier Bianchi (born 1970), politician and Mayor of Clermont-Ferrand since 2014
• Paul Bourget (1852–1935), novelist and critic^[29]
• Ivor Bueb (1923–1959), British professional sports car racing and Formula One driver
• Anton Docher (1852–1928), "The Padre of Isleta", Roman Catholic priest, missionary and defender of the Indians. He lived in the pueblo of Isleta, in the state of New Mexico, for 34 years.
• Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (1927–2020), president of France from 1974 to 1981. He lived in the city of Chamalières, part of Clermont-Ferrand's metropolitan area.
• Claude Lanzmann (1925–2018), filmmaker. He attended the Lycée Blaise-Pascal.

Education

Education is also an important sector in the economy of Clermont-Ferrand.

The

university faculty

and staff.

With around 2,700 students, Clermont Auvergne INP is the biggest engineering graduate school in the city.

A division of Polytech (an engineering school of Clermont Auvergne INP) located in Clermont-Ferrand made the news when two of its students, Laurent Bonomo and Gabriel Ferez, were murdered in June 2008 while enrolled in a program at Imperial College in London in what was to be known as the New Cross double murder.^[31]

The ESC Clermont Business School, created in 1919, is also located in the city.

Twin towns – sister cities

Clermont-Ferrand is twinned with:^[32]

• Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom (since 1983)
• Braga, Portugal
• Gomel, Belarus
• Norman, Oklahoma, United States
• Oviedo, Spain
• Regensburg, Germany (since 1969)
• Salford, England, United Kingdom

See also

• Communes of the Puy-de-Dôme department
• Jaude Centre
• List of works by Auguste Carli
• List of twin towns and sister cities in France
• Trémonteix sanctuary

References

1. ^ "Decree 2014-210/Décret 2014-210 du 21 février 2014 portant délimitation des cantons dans le département du Puy-de-Dôme". Légifrance (in French). 21 February 2014.
2. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
3. ^ "Populations légales 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
4. ^ ^{a b c} Comparateur de territoire: Aire d'attraction des villes 2020 de Clermont-Ferrand (022), Unité urbaine 2020 de Clermont-Ferrand (63701), Commune de Clermont-Ferrand (63113), INSEE
5. ISBN 2848190213
   .
6. ISBN 2-909797-32-5
   .
7. Latin
   : Augustonemetum
8. ^ INSEE commune file
9. ^ Dartevelle, Hélène (2023). "La fondation". augustonemetum.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 4 June 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2023. Traditionnellement, la ville aurait été créée lors de la fondation de la voie d'Agrippa Lyon/Saintes reliant la capitale des Gaules (Lyon) à Saintes, capitale de l'Aquitaine.
10. ^ "History – Ville de Clermont-Ferrand" (in French). Clermont-ferrand.fr. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
11. Cengage Learning. as quoted by Palomino, Michael. "Encyclopaedia Judaica: Jews in France 01: Roman times and Carolingians"
    . History in Chronology. geschichteinchronologie.ch.
12. ^ "Climatological Information for Clermont-Ferrand, France". Meteo France. 7 August 2019. Archived from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
13. ^ "CLERMONT–FD (63)" (PDF). Fiche Climatologique: Statistiques 1991–2020 et records (in French). Meteo France. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
14. ^ "Normes et records 1961–1990: Clermont-Ferrand – Aulnat (63) – altitude 339m" (in French). Infoclimat. Archived from the original on 2 April 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
15. ^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Clermont-Ferrand, EHESS (in French).
16. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
17. ^ James Monaco. The New Wave. New York: Oxford University Press. 1976. p. 303.
18. ^ "Tour de France 2023: routes reach for the sky with limited sprint chances". the Guardian. 27 October 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
19. ^ "Chamfort, Sebastien Roch Nicolas" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 824–825.
20. ^ "Delille, Jacques" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 7 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 962–963.
21. ^ Pfister, Christian (1911). "Gregory, St, of Tours" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). pp. 564–565.
22. ^ "Morel-Ladeuil, Léonard" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 18 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 829.
23. ^ Saintsbury, George; Chrystal, George (1911). "Pascal, Blaise" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 20 (11th ed.). pp. 878–881.
24. ^ "Pascal, Jacqueline" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 20 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 881.
25. ^ "Étienne Pascal - Biography". Maths History. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
26. ^ "Montlosier, François Dominique de Reynaud, Comte de" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 18 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 786.
27. ^ Yves Dreyfus - Auteur - Ressources de la Bibliothèque nationale de France
28. ^ "Apollinaris Sidonius, Caius Sollius" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 183.
29. ^ "Bourget, Paul Charles Joseph" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 4 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 331–332.
30. ^ "Atlas Régional" (PDF) (in French). le ministère de l’Éducation nationale, de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche. April 2014. p. 51. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 April 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
31. ^ Fresco, Adam; Yeoman, Fran; Leroux, Marcus (4 July 2008). "Police baffled by horrific end of Laurent Bonomo and Gabriel Ferez". The Times. UK. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
32. ^ "Jumelages". international.clermont-ferrand.fr (in French). Clermont-Ferrand. Archived from the original on 12 November 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2019.

Bibliography

See also: Bibliography of the history of Clermont-Ferrand

• Sweets, John F. (1986). Choices in Vichy France: The French under Nazi Occupation. New York.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Clermont-Ferrand.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Clermont-Ferrand.

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Clermont-Ferrand".

• (in French) Town hall website
• (in French) Tourist office
• (in English) Visit Clermont Ferrand
• (in French) Unofficial Clermont-Ferrand website
• Joan of Arc's Letter to Clermont-Ferrand – Translation by Allen Williamson of an entry concerning Joan of Arc's letter to this city on 7 November 1429.