Clermont Ferrand tourist information
Clermont-Ferrand is also a city of sport boasting with more than 100 French or international champions, a tourist place in the vicinity of the "Parc des Volcans - Volcano Park", a town of culture hosting major events eg the International Festival of Short Films or the SATCAR (a week long exhibition of Car and Road Arts Technology and Culture) that attracts researchers, scientists, industrialists and artists from all over Europe that makes Clermont-Ferrand the European capital of the road culture.
Clermont-Ferrand is a city of international cultural interest. This is due to its religious architecture with its gothic style cathedral and the Romanesque church of "Notre-Dame-du-Port".
Clermont-Ferrand and its neighbourhood have been inhabited since prehistoric times. There is proof that the Celts probably settled here around the IV th century BC, for numerous buildings, kilns and pieces of pottery have come to light. During the conquest of Gaul, Julius Caesar was confronted with strong résistance led by the Arvern Chieftain Vercingetorix, being beaten by the latter at the battle of Gergovia : the Gergovia oppidum was located close to the present-day city of Clermont-Ferrand. The town which gradually grew in importance during Gallo-Roman times was known as Augustonemetum : originally it was not enclosed but spread over a large area, being a centre not only for communications but probably also for government.
A large quantity of archaeological treasures bear witness to a highly developped community. However the insecure times towards the end of the Roman Empire caused the town to retreat inwards to take refuge behind ramparts with five main gates. This walled city encompassed just the summit of the volcanic outcrop which today lies at the heart of the conurbation.
Christianity came to the area thanks largely to Saint Austremoine. The first cathedral was built inside the city walls by Saint Namace in 450 AD, marking the beginning of a long conflict between the Count and the Clergy for power over the city until the Bishop finally won in the XIII th century. During this period the name Clairmont or Clermont came into common use and the city was important enough to be chosen by Pope Urbain II for the 1095 Synod where he preached the First Crusade.
The city continued to grow within its walls, the cathédral being rebuilt in the gothic style from the mid-thirteenth century onwards and the various city districts mushrooming on all sides, some devoted to religions communities, others to commerce. Among these was the "Portus" district which contained an exceptionally beautiful Romanesque Church ("Notre Dame du Port") consecrated to the Virgin.
During the Hundred Years War the city managed to escape both capture and pillage, perhaps thanks to the extensive fortifications which then protected some of the districts and all of the central mound. At the beginning of the XVI th century the entire Auvergne region lay in the power of the King, except for Clermont which still paid allegiance to the Church. When Catherine de Medecis came into the inheritance from the Count of Auvergne, she decided the city should be hers and after a long legal battle at the Paris Parliament, obtained the title of Dame of Clermont. The city became Crown property in 1551 and was granted a multitude of favours : the establishment of a seneschal's court followed by a Crown court, a consular jurisdiction, a presidial and the installation of a Town Hall near the Cathedral. During the XVI th century and later the favourable economic conditions saw a burgeoning of new buildings. Houses were built for craftsmen, tradesmen, the bourgeoisie and nobility, often constructed along similar lines with an internal courtyard, a gallery between two wings and a corkscrew staircase. Such was the city which witnessed the birth of Blaise Pascal in 1623.
The next century saw the installation of numerous religious communities in and around Clermont. In 1630 the Edict of Troyes proclaimed the union of Clermont and Montferrand, where since the XII th century a town had grown up around a castle built by the Counts of Auvergne. This was the beginning of the present-day city of Clermont-Ferrand. Montferrand, however, abandoned by both the Court of Aids and many of its inhabitants in favour of Clermont, was to sink into lethargy for many centuries to come.
The XVIII th century was a period of embellishment for Clermont : the city walls disappeared completely, the streets were widened and the buildings given new façades. Local economic activity became more diversified but it was not until after the Revolution (where there was little trouble locally) and a calm beginning of the century that new industries were set up. Some of these were to have a decisive influence on the city's way of life : the rubber industry flourished under the Michelin Brothers, André and Edouard, marking the beginning of the industrial agglomeration we know today.
Clermont-Ferrand today is the chief town of the Puy-de-Dôme department and capital of the Auvergne region, combining fonctions as a centre for administration, service and higher education with various industrial activities. The city is also developping as a communications cross roads, with direct access to an increasing number of motorways. Its important heritage from the past is a source of pride, prompting a policy of active rénovation and restoration.
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