Puy-de-Dôme
Puy-de-Dôme (; or ''lo Puèi Domat'') is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in the centre of France. In 2021, it had a population of 662,285.region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (; AURA) or ; or ; . is a Regions of France, region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes. The new region came into e ...
. It is part of the
urban area
An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...
of
Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand (, , ; or simply ; ) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population of 147,284 (2020). Its metropolitan area () had 504,157 inhabitants at the 2018 ...
Limagne
The Limagne (; ) is a large plain in the Auvergne, Auvergne region of France in the valley of the Allier (river), Allier river, on the edge of the Massif Central. It mainly lies within the ''departments of France, départements'' of Puy-de-Dôme, ...
and Pont-du-Château from its summit, where is situated the ''ancienne église'' ("the Ancient church") and the wall from the former castle (destroyed on the orders of
Cardinal de Richelieu
Armand Jean du Plessis, 1st Duke of Richelieu (9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), commonly known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French Catholic prelate and statesman who had an outsized influence in civil and religious affairs. He became kno ...
during the 17th century).
The commune stretches from the foot of the hill to the
lieu-dit
''Lieu-dit'' (; plural: ''lieux-dits'') (literally ''location-said'', "named place") is a French language, French toponymic term for a small geographical area bearing a traditional name. The name usually refers to some characteristic of the plac ...
Chignat.
History
The ''foire de Chignat'' ("fair of Chignat"), former "melons' fair", is one of the oldest fairs in France: its oldest occurrence in documents is from 1303. This event takes place every year at the beginning of September in the field near the Castle of Chignat.
In 1195, the lordship of Vertaizon belonged to the troubadour Pons de Chapteuil, who was eventually attacked by bishop Robert de Clermont, at war with his brother the count Guy II d'Auvergne, a close friend of the lord of the city.
Population
Economy
The town possess a commercial area and two Adapei (''Association Départementale des Amis et Parents de Personnes Handicapées Mentales'', "Departmental Association of Friends and Relatives of Mentally Disabled Persons").
Shops
Eight shops were identified in 2014 : one grocery store, three bakers, one library-newspaper seller, one watchmaker-jeweler and two florists.
Cultural aspects
Landmarks and monuments
* Ruins of the castle (on a private property)
* Old church "Notre-Dame" from the 13th century
Vertaison-Eglise du 13eme Siecle-1.jpg, Back view
Vertaison-Eglise du 13eme Siecle-2.jpg, Interior
Auvergne
Auvergne (; ; or ) is a cultural region in central France.
As of 2016 Auvergne is no longer an administrative division of France. It is generally regarded as conterminous with the land area of the historical Province of Auvergne, which was dis ...
Communes of the Puy-de-Dôme department
The following is a list of the 463 communes of the Puy-de-Dôme department of France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include Fr ...