Ambert
| Ambert | |
|---|---|
|
Town hall (originally the grain market) | |
  Ambert | |
|
Location within Auvergne region  Ambert | |
| Coordinates: 45°33′01″N 3°44′33″E / 45.5503°N 3.7425°ECoordinates: 45°33′01″N 3°44′33″E / 45.5503°N 3.7425°E | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes |
| Department | Puy-de-Dôme |
| Arrondissement | Ambert |
| Canton | Ambert |
| Intercommunality | Pays d'Ambert |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2014–2020) | Mrs. Myriam Fougere[1] |
| Area1 | 60.48 km2 (23.35 sq mi) |
| Population (2012)2 | 6,852 |
| • Density | 110/km2 (290/sq mi) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 63003 / 63600 |
| Elevation |
514–1,365 m (1,686–4,478 ft) (avg. 527 m or 1,729 ft) |
|
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
Ambert (French pronunciation: [ɑ̃bɛʁ]; Auvergnat: Embèrt) is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France.
Administration
Ambert is the seat of the canton of Ambert and the arrondissement of Ambert. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. The arrondissement consists of eight cantons (before March 2015).
Geography
Ambert lies on the Dore River, a tributary of the Allier River.
Population
| Historical population | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1962 | 7,160 | — |
| 1968 | 7,328 | +2.3% |
| 1975 | 7,603 | +3.8% |
| 1982 | 7,722 | +1.6% |
| 1990 | 7,420 | −3.9% |
| 1999 | 7,309 | −1.5% |
| 2006 | 7,376 | +0.9% |
| 2012 | 6,852 | −7.1% |
Sights
Ambert is famous for its fourme d'Ambert cheese, its paper mills (the first edition of Diderot's Encyclopédie was printed on paper made in Ambert) and its circular town market hall (popularized by Jules Romain in his novel Les copains).
The Agrivap Chemin de Fer Touristique operates out of Ambert.[2] There is a steam engine that makes a local run, but to see the line in full a ride on the Panoramique Autorail is not be missed.
There is an industrial museum with an interesting collection of tractors and small steam engines.
In the town the Museum of Cheese is worth a visit, as is the old paper mill a few kilometres outside the main town.
Personalities
Ambert was the birthplace of the mathematician Michel Rolle (1652–1719), composer Emmanuel Chabrier (1841–1894), and anthropologist Henri Pourrat (1887-1959), who collected the oral traditions of the Auvergne. It is also the birthplace of actor and director Pierre-Loup Rajot.
International relations
Ambert is twinned with:
Annweiler, Germany, since 1988
Saitama, Japan, since 1989
Gorgonzola, Italy, since 2002. Both cities, known for their blue cow's-milk cheeses (cheese and Fourme d'Ambert), have almost the same latitude: 45° 32' N for Gorgonzola, 45° 33' N for Ambert.
See also
References
- ↑ "List of Mayors of Puy-de-Dôme" (PDF). Prefecture of Puy-de-Dôme. 9 April 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
- ↑ http://perso.orange.fr/..agrivap/version%20anglaise.htm
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