Clermont-Ferrand

Clermont-Ferrand (UK: /ˌklɛərmɒ̃ fɛˈrɒ̃/, US: /-moʊn -/, French: [klɛʁmɔ̃ fɛʁɑ̃] ^ⓘ; Auvergnat: Clarmont-Ferrand or simply Clarmont [çɒʁˈmu]^[5][6]) is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region,^[7] with a population of 147,284 (2020). Its metropolitan area (aire d'attraction) had 504,157 inhabitants at the 2018 census.^[4] It is the prefecture (capital) of the Puy-de-Dôme département. Olivier Bianchi is its current mayor.

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 Greeks as the capital of the Arvernie tribe before developing in the Gallo-Roman era under the name of Augustonemetum in the 1st century BC. The forum of the Roman city was located on the top of the Clermont mound, on the site of the present cathedral. During the decline of the Western Roman Empire it was subjected to repeated looting by the peoples who invaded Gaul, including Vandals, Alans, Visigoths and Franks. It was later raided by Vikings in the ninth and tenth century AD as the Carolingian Empire weakened in the early Middle Ages.^[8] Growing in importance under the Capetian dynasty, in 1095 it hosted the Council of Clermont, where Pope Urban II called the First Crusade.^[9] In 1551, Clermont became a royal town, and was declared an inseparable property of the Crown in 1610.

Today Clermont-Ferrand hosts the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival (Festival du Court-Métrage de Clermont-Ferrand), one of the world's leading festivals for short films. It is also home to the corporate headquarters of Michelin, the global tyre company founded in the city more than 100 years ago. With a quarter of the municipal population being students, and some 6,000 researchers, Clermont-Ferrand is the first city in France to join the UNESCO Learning City Network.

Along with its highly distinctive black lava stone Gothic styled Cathedral, Clermont-Ferrand's other famous sites include the public square Place de Jaude, in which stands a grand statue of Vercingetorix astride a warhorse and brandishing a sword. The inscription reads in French: J'ai pris les armes pour la liberté de tous, lit. 'I took up arms for the liberty of all'). This statue was sculpted by Frédéric Bartholdi, who also created the Statue of Liberty.