Clermont-Ferrand

Clermont-Ferrand is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne region. It is the prefecture (capital) of the Puy-de-Dôme department. Serge Godard is the current Mayor of the city.

Clermont-Ferrand sits on the plain of Limagne in the Massif Central and is surrounded by a major industrial area. The city is famous for the chain of volcanoes, the Chaîne des Puys surrounding it. The famous dormant volcano Puy-de-Dôme (10 km from the city) is one of the highest of these and well-known for the telecommunication antennas that sit on its top and are visible from far away.

Clermont-Ferrand is also famous for hosting one of the world's leading international festivals for short films, the Festival du Court Metrage de Clermont-Ferrand, as well as the corporate headquarters of Michelin, the global tire company created more than 100 years ago in the city.

Clermont-Ferrand's most famous public square is place de Jaude, on which stands a grand statue of Vercingetorix sitting imperiously on a horse and holding a glaive. This statue was sculpted by Frédéric Bartholdi, who also created the Statue of Liberty.

History

Clermont ranks among the oldest cities of France. The first known mention was by the Greek geographer Strabo, who called it the "metropolis of the Arverni" (meaning their oppidum, civitas or tribal capital). The city was at that time called Nemessos – a Gaulish word for a sacred forest, and was situated on the mound where the current cathedral of Clermont-Ferrand has been constructed. After the Roman conquest, the city became known as Augustonemetum sometime in the 1st century, a name which combined its original Gallic name with that of the Emperor Augustus.

The city became the seat of a bishop in the 5th century, at the time of the bishop Namatius or Saint Namace . Clermont went through a dark period after the disappearance of the Roman Empire and during the whole High Middle Ages, marked by pillaging by the peoples who invaded Gaul.

In 848, the city was renamed Clairmont, after the castle Clarus Mons. During this era, it was an episcopal city ruled by its bishop. Bishop Étienne II built a new Roman cathedral on the site of the current cathedral, consecrated in 946 but (apart from the towers, only replaced by the current ones in the 19th century, and some parts of the crypt, still visible) destroyed to build current Gothic cathedral.

Clermont was the starting point of the First Crusade, in which Christendom sought to free Jerusalem from Muslim domination.

Clermont became a royal city in 1551, and in 1610, the inseparable property of the Crown.

Main sights

Clermont-Ferrand has two famous churches:

  • Notre-Dame du Port: a Romanesque church built during the 11th and 12th centuries (the bell tower was rebuilt during the 19th century). It was nominated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1998.
  • Clermont-Ferrand Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption de Clermont-ferrand), built in Gothic style between the 13th and the 19th centuries.
  • Parks and gardens: Jardin botanique de la Charme, Arboretum de Royat, Jardin botanique d'Auvergne.