Issoire (; Auvergnat: ''Issoire'', ''Ussoire'') is a commune in the

Puy-de-Dôme Puy-de-Dôme (; oc, label= Auvergnat, lo Puèi de Doma or ''lo Puèi Domat'') is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in the centre of France. In 2019, it had a population of 662,152.department in

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label= Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Au ...

in central

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

.INSEE commune file
/ref>

Geography

Issoire is located on the river Couze, near its confluence with the

Allier Allier ( , , ; oc, Alèir) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region that borders Cher to the west, Nièvre to the north, Saône-et-Loire and Loire to the east, Puy-de-Dôme to the south, and Creuse to the south-west. Named after ...

, SSE of

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label= Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with a population of 146,734 (2018). Its metropolitan area (''aire d'attrac ...

on the Paris-Lyon-Méditerranée railway to

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; oc, Nimes ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and Cévennes, the commune of Nîmes has an estimated population of ...

. Issoire is situated in one of the fertile plains of the Petites Limagnes—basins that follow the Allier from its source in the Massif Central to the Grande Limagne north of Clermont-Ferrand and on to the Loire.

History

Issoire (''Iciodurum'') is said to have been founded by the

Arverni The Arverni (Gaulish: *''Aruernoi'') were a Gallic people dwelling in the modern Auvergne region during the Iron Age and the Roman period. They were one of the most powerful tribes of ancient Gaul, contesting primacy over the region with the n ...

, and in Roman times rose to some reputation for its schools. In the 5th century the Christian community established there by

Stremonius Stremonius or Saint Austremonius or Saint Stramonius or Austromoine, the "apostle of Auvergne," was the first Bishop of Clermont. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. Legend During the consulship (in 250 AD) of the Emperor Decius ...

in the same century was overthrown by the fury of the

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal Kingdom, Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The ...

. During the religious wars of the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, Issoire suffered very severely. Merle, the leader of the Protestants, captured the town in 1574, and treated the inhabitants with great cruelty. The Roman Catholics retook it in 1577, and the ferocity of their retaliation may be inferred from the inscription "''Ici fut Issoire''" ("Here was Issoire") carved on a pillar which was raised on the site of the town. In the contest between the Leaguers and Henry IV, Issoire sustained further sieges, and never wholly regained its early prosperity.

Population

Economy

Voxan motorcycles were manufactured at Issoire. Also, tourists often visit the village to see the church of Saint-Austremoine.

Sights

The church of Saint-Austremoine is built on the site of an older chapel raised over the tomb of St. Austremoine (Stremonius), and affords an excellent specimen of the

Romanesque architecture Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this lat ...

of Auvergne. There is also a clock tower and the museum of the philosopher's stone.

People born in Issoires

François Albert-Buisson François Albert-Buisson (; 3 May 1881, Issoire, Puy-de-Dôme – 21 May 1961, Aix-en-Provence) was a French entrepreneur, industrial, consular magistrate, economist, politician, historian. Background François Albert-Buisson was born in 1881 t ...

Agénor Altaroche Agénor Altaroche (18 April 1811 – 13 May 1884) was a French journalist, chansonnier and man of letters, Commissioner of the Provisional Government for the Puy-de-Dôme Puy-de-Dôme (; oc, label=Auvergnat, lo Puèi de Doma or ''lo Puèi Doma ...

Auguste Bravard (Pierre Joseph) Auguste Bravard (18 June 1803 – 28 March 1861) was a French mining engineer turned palaeontologist. He hunted fossils in the Vaucluse, Allier and his native Puy de Dôme. Biography Bravard emigrated to Argentina in the winter of ...

Antoine Duprat Antoine Duprat (17 January 1463 – 1535) was a French Cardinal and politician, who was chancellor of France. Life Duprat was born in Issoire in Auvergne. Educated for the law, he won a high position in his profession and in 1507 became first ...

François George-Hainl François George-Hainl (16 November 1807 – 2 June 1873) was a French cellist and conductor.Fétis F-J. ''Biographie universelle des musiciens.'' Paris, 1878. He was born in Issoire. His father, who worked as both cobbler and amateur fiddler, ga ...

Auguste Pomel Nicolas Auguste Pomel (20 September 1821 – 2 August 1898) was a French geologist, paleontologist and botanist. He worked as a mines engineer in Algeria and became a specialist in north African vertebrate fossils. He was Senator of Algeria for Ora ...

Florent Sauvadet Florent Sauvadet (born 31 January 1989) is a French footballer who plays as forward for FC Fleury 91. Honours ;Petrolul Ploieşti *Romanian Cup (1): 2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 i ...

Twin towns

* Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz, Germany, since 1971.