Riom (;

Auvergnat or (endonym: ) is a northern dialect of Occitan spoken in central and southern France, in particular in the former administrative region of Auvergne. Currently, research shows that there is not really a true Auvergnat dialect but rather a v ...

''Riam'') 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 Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

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 Auve ...

in central

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.

History

Riom d'après Guillaume Revel (vers 1450)

Until the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

, Riom was the capital of the province of

, and the seat of the

dukes of Auvergne Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are r ...

. The city was of

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only durin ...

ish origin, the Roman ''Ricomagus''. In the intensely feudalized Auvergne of the 10th century, the town grew up around the collegiate Church of Saint Amabilis (Saint Amable), the local saint, who was the object of pilgrimages. Riom was the capital of the dukes of Auvergne. In the 14th century the city benefitted from the patronage of Jean, duc de Berry, who rebuilt the Ducal Palace and the Saint-Chapelle. In 1531, Riom and Auvergne reverted to the Crown of France. In 1942, Riom was the site of the

Vichy government Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...

's abortive war-guilt trials, called Riom Trials.

Population

Sights

In 1985 Riom received the French classification of ''Ville d'Art et d'Histoire'' recognizing its sixteen classified historical monuments as well as another 57 on the supplementary listings. Several 17th- and 18th-century private houses (''hôtels particuliers'') are open to the public with collections of costumes and works of decorative art. Riom's two major public squares are ''Place Jean-Baptiste Laurent'' and ''Place du pré-Madame'' in which stand two large fountains in homage to

Louis Desaix Louis Charles Antoine Desaix () (17 August 176814 June 1800) was a French general and military leader during the French Revolutionary Wars. According to the usage of the time, he took the name ''Louis Charles Antoine Desaix de Veygoux''. He was co ...

. File:France Auvergne Rhone Alpes 63 Riom 03.jpg, The Renaissance ''Maison des Consuls'' File:FRANCE_-_Auvergne_-_RIOM_-_La_basilique_Saint_Amable.JPG, Saint Amable basilica, exterior File:FRANCE_-_Auvergne_-_RIOM_-_La_basilique_Saint_Amable_Intérieur.JPG, Saint Amable basilica, interior File:FRANCE_-_Auvergne_-_RIOM_-_L%27église_du_Marthuret.JPG, The church of Marthuret File:FRANCE_-_Auvergne_-_RIOM_-_La_tour_de_l%27horloge.JPG, The clock tower File:FRANCE_-_Auvergne_-_RIOM_-_La_Sainte_chapelle.JPG, The holy chapel File:Les toits de Riom.jpg, The roofs of Riom

Public library

The ''Bibliothèque Municipale de Riom'' ( en, Riom Library), is a

public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants. There are ...

in Riom. Since 1968 it has been located on Avenue Mgr Martrou. The library was established after the

.Chronique des bibliothèques françaises
at the ''

Bulletin des Bibliothèques de France Bulletin or The Bulletin may refer to: Periodicals (newspapers, magazines, journals) * Bulletin (online newspaper), a Swedish online newspaper * ''The Bulletin'' (Australian periodical), an Australian magazine (1880–2008) ** Bulletin Debate, ...

'' The library collection began after the

and it has been housed in a number of buildings including a college and at Riom city hall. In 1905 the library was moved to a Carmelite convent building and in 1941 it was housed in a museum. The present home of the collection was opened in 1968. It contains approximately 90,000 items (books, journals, audio cassette tapes and video). The special part of the collection consists of 15 medieval manuscripts, which came from revolutionary confiscations made in religious communities. The Ministry of Culture and Communication digitized three illuminated manuscripts. Of the illuminated works five volumes are from the 15th - 16th centuries.

Notable people

Riom was the birthplace of: *

Pierre Victor, baron Malouet Pierre Victor, baron Malouet (11 February 1740 – 7 September 1814), was a French colonial administrator, planter, conservative publicist and monarchist politician, who signed as an émigré the Whitehall Accord. Life Malouet was born in Rio ...

(1740–1814), publicist and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

Gilbert Romme Charles-Gilbert Romme (26 March 1750 – 17 June 1795) was a French politician and mathematician who developed the French Republican Calendar. Biography Charles Gilbert Romme was born in Riom, Puy-de-Dôme, in the Auvergne region of France, wh ...

(1750–1795), politician *

Joseph Projectus Machebeuf Joseph Projectus Machebeuf (August 11, 1812 – July 10, 1889) was a French Roman Catholic missionary and the first Bishop of Denver. Biography The oldest of five children, Machebeuf was born in Riom to Michael and Gilberte (née Plauc) Mach ...

(1812–1889), Vicar Apostolic of Colorado and Utah; Bishop of Denver, USA *

Henri Hébrard de Villeneuve Henri Hébrard de Villeneuve (10 September 1848 – 22 March 1925) was a French fencer. He competed in the individual épée The ( or , ), sometimes spelled epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the ...

(1848–1925), Olympic fencer *

Eugene Gilbert Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Eugene (actress) (born 1981), Kim Yoo-jin, South Korean actress and former member of the si ...

(1889–1918), pioneer aviator, WW1 fighter pilot *

Alan Stivell Alan Stivell (; born Alan Cochevelou on 6 January 1944) is a French, Breton and Celtic musician and singer, songwriter, recording artist, and master of the Celtic harp. From the early 1970s, he revived global interest in the Celtic (specificall ...

(1944-), Celtic musician and singer, recording artist and master of the Celtic harp *

Rufus Rufus is a masculine given name, a surname, an Ancient Roman cognomen and a nickname (from Latin '' rufus'', "red"). Notable people with the name include: Given name Politicians * Rufus Ada George (born 1940), Nigerian politician * Rufus ...

(1942-), actor *

Anne Marie Dias Borges Anne-Marie Dias Borges, born on 18 December 1976, in Riom, is a Franco-Cape-Verdean journalist and radio and television host. She currently works as a Senior Broadcast Journalist and Presenter for BBC Business TV, position she has held since 2 ...

(1976-), franco-Cape-Verdean journalist and radio and television host *

Sébastien Mazeyrat Sébastien Mazeyrat (born October 10, 1978 in Riom, Puy-de-Dôme) is a French professional football player. He played in the Ligue 2 for Clermont Foot. See also *Football in France *List of football clubs in France This is a list of notable me ...

(1978-), footballer

International relations

Riom is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: *

Adur Adur may refer to: Places * Adur, Anekal, a village in the southern state of Karnataka, India * Adur, Azerbaijan, a village in the Quba Rayon * Adur, Bangalore South, a village in the southern state of Karnataka, India * Adur, Haveri, a village in ...

, England, United Kingdom *

Algemesí Algemesí () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Ribera Alta in the Valencian Community, Spain. The town of Algemesí is one of the major centres for the production of citruses in Spain, and several cooperatives are based there. This is d ...

, Spain *

Nördlingen Nördlingen (; Swabian: ''Nearle'' or ''Nearleng'') is a town in the Donau-Ries district, in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, with a population of approximately 20,674. It is located approximately east of Stuttgart, and northwest of Munich. It was bu ...

, Germany *

Viana do Castelo Viana do Castelo () is a municipality and seat of the district of Viana do Castelo in the Norte Region of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 88,725, in an area of 319.02 km². The urbanized area of the municipality, comprising the city, ...

, Portugal *

Żywiec Żywiec () (german: Saybusch) is a town in southern Poland with 31,194 inhabitants (2019). Between 1975 and 1998, it was located within the Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship, but has since become part of the Silesian Voivodeship.It is the capital of � ...

, Poland