Clermont-Ferrand
| Typical view of the city from "La pierre CarrÃÂée", featuring the black cathedral on the left. |
Clermont-Ferrand is a city of France, in the Auvergne region, with a population of approximately 140,000. It is the prÃÂéfecture (capital) of the Puy-de-DÃÂôme dÃÂépartement. The city is famous for the chain of volcanoes surrounding it. The Puy-de-DÃÂôme (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.
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.
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 way from Clermont-Ferrand up to the Puy-de-DÃÂôme. This is the famous experiment where a vacuum is created in a mercury tube.
Its 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 libertÃÂé de tous (I took to arms for the liberty of all).
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.
Serge Godard is the current Mayor of the city.