Puy-de-Dôme is a department in the centre of
FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
named after the famous dormant volcano, the Puy-de-Dôme.
Inhabitants were called Puydedomois until December 2005. With effect from Spring 2006, in response to a letter writing campaign, the name used for the inhabitants was change by the
departmental General CouncilThe General councils are assemblies of the French departments. They are elected by universal suffrage.-List of the Presidents of the General councils:-External links:*...
to Puydômois, and this is the name that has since then been used in all official documents and publications.
History
Puy-de-Dôme is one of the original 83 departments created during the
French RevolutionThe French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
on March 4, 1790. It was created from the
former provinceThe Kingdom of France was organised into provinces until March 4, 1790, when the establishment of the département system superseded provinces. The provinces of France were roughly equivalent to the historic counties of England...
of
AuvergneAuvergne was a historic province in south central France. It was originally the feudal domain of the Counts of Auvergne. It is now the geographical and cultural area that corresponds to the former province....
. Originally, the department was to be called
Mont-d'Or ("Golden Mountain"), but this was changed to Puy-de-Dôme following the intervention of Jean-François Gaultier de Biauzat, a local
deputyDuring the French Revolution, the National Assembly , which existed from June 17 to July 9, 1789, was a transitional body between the Estates-General and the National Constituent Assembly.-Background:...
, because of a concern that the name originally chosen risked attracting excessive unwelcome attention from the national taxation authorities.
Geography
Puy-de-Dôme is part of the current
regionFrance is divided into 27 administrative regions , 22 of which are in Metropolitan France, and five of which are overseas. Corsica is a territorial collectivity , but is considered a region in mainstream usage, and is even shown as such on the INSEE website...
of
AuvergneAuvergne is one of the 27 administrative regions of France. It comprises the 4 departments of Allier, Puy de Dome, Cantal and Haute Loire.The current administrative region of Auvergne is larger than the historical province of Auvergne, and includes provinces and areas that historically were not...
and is surrounded by the departments of
LoireLoire is an administrative department in the east-central part of France occupying the River Loire's upper reaches.-History:Loire was created in 1793 when after just 3½ years the young Rhône-et-Loire department was split into two. This was a response to counter-Revolutionary activities in Lyon...
,
Haute-LoireHaute-Loire is a department in south-central France named after the Loire River.-History:Haute-Loire is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
,
CantalCantal is a department in south-central France. It is named after the Cantal mountain range, a group of extinct, eroded volcanic peaks, which covers much of the department. Residents are known as Cantaliens or Cantalous....
,
CorrèzeCorrèze is a department in south central France, named after the Corrèze River.The inhabitants of the department are called Corréziens or Corréziennes according to gender.-History:...
,
AllierAllier is a department in central France named after the river Allier.- History :Allier is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Auvergne and Bourbonnais.In 1940, the government of Marshal...
, and
CreuseCreuse is a department in central France named after the Creuse River.-History:Creuse is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from the former province of La Marche....
.
The department is in the
Massif CentralThe Massif Central is an elevated region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaux....
and boasts more than 80 volcanic craters. It is three hours from
ParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and an hour from
LyonLyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
by
highwaysThe Autoroute system in France consists largely of toll roads, except around large cities and in parts of the north. It is a network of worth of motorways. Autoroute destinations are shown in blue, while destinations reached through a combination of autoroutes are shown with an added autoroute logo...
A71The A71 autoroute is a motorway in central France. It is also called the l'Arverne. It starts at Orléans and ends at Clermont-Ferrand.-Orléans to Bourges:...
and
A72The A72 is an autoroute in France.The motorway is operated by Autoroutes du Sud de la France and links Clermont-Ferrand to Saint-Étienne on one of the steepest and meandrous motorways in France...
. The
A75The A75 is an autoroute in France.Known also as la Méridienne, it is a developmental project with the aim of speeding up and reducing the cost of car travel from Paris southwards, and apart from the Millau Viaduct, it is entirely free for the between Clermont-Ferrand and Béziers...
links it to the
Mediterranean SeaThe Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
.
Its main cities are
Clermont-FerrandClermont-Ferrand is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne region, with a population of 140,700 . Its metropolitan area had 409,558 inhabitants at the 1999 census. It is the prefecture of the Puy-de-Dôme department...
,
ThiersThiers is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. Thiers is twinned with Bridgnorth, England and Schrobenhausen, Germany.Thiers is built upon a hillside along the Durolle river valley...
,
RiomRiom is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.-History:Until the French Revolution, Riom was the capital of the province of Auvergne, and the seat of the dukes of Auvergne. The city was of Gaulish origin, the Roman Ricomagus...
,
IssoireIssoire is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France.-Geography:Issoire is located on the Couze River, near its junction with the Allier, SSE of Clermont-Ferrand on the Paris-Lyon-Méditerranée railway to Nîmes...
,
Ambert-Places of interest:Ambert is famous for its fourme-d'Ambert cheese, its paper mills and its circular town hall ....
, and
Cournon-d'AuvergneCournon-d'Auvergne is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France.-References:*...
. Parts of the department belong to the Parc naturel régional Livradois-Forez.
Economy
The Prefecture,
Clermont-FerrandClermont-Ferrand is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne region, with a population of 140,700 . Its metropolitan area had 409,558 inhabitants at the 1999 census. It is the prefecture of the Puy-de-Dôme department...
, is home to one of the country's best known manufacturing businesses and brands,
MichelinMichelin is a tyre manufacturer based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne région of France. It is one of the two largest tyre manufacturers in the world along with Bridgestone. In addition to the Michelin brand, it also owns the BFGoodrich, Kleber, Riken, Kormoran and Uniroyal tyre brands...
.
The countryside lends itself to tourism and Puy-de-Dôme is a popular weekend destination for city dwellers. The 1999 census found that 11.7% of the usable homes in the department were being kept as second homes.
See also
- Cantons of the Puy-de-Dôme department
- Communes of the Puy-de-Dôme department
- Arrondissements of the Puy-de-Dôme department
External links
Prefecture website General Council website