Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand is a city of France, in the Auvergne region, with a population of approximately 140,000. It is the préfecture (capital) of the Puy-de-Dôme département. The city is famous for the chain of volcanoes surrounding it. The Puy-de-Dôme (13km from the city) is the highest of these and well-known for the telecommunication antennas that sit on its top and are visible from far away.
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| Typical view of the city from "La pierre Carrée", featuring the black cathedral on the left.
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Coat of Arms
History
Clermont and Montferrand originally constituted two distinct (and often rival) cities. They were forcefully merged under king Louis XIV.
Clermont ranks among the oldest cities of France. It witnessed the famous Battle of Gergovie won by the Gauls led by Vercingetorix over the Romans led by Julius Caesar. It was also the starting point of the First Crusade from the Christian world to free Jerusalem from Muslim domination - Pope Urban II preached the crusade there in 1095 at the Council of Clermont.
Sights
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. The inscription reads J'ai pris les armes pour la liberté de tous (I took to arms for the liberty of all).
Economy
The French tire manufacturer Michelin created the tire and grew up from Clermont-Ferrand to become a worldwide leader in its industry. It has kept its headquarters in the city.
Miscellaneous
Its most famous figure is the mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal who tested Torricelli's hypothesis concerning the influence of gas pressure on liquid equilibrium by running all the way from Clermont-Ferrand up to the Puy-de-Dôme. This is the famous experiment where a vacuum is created in a mercury tube.
Serge Godard is the current
