Pontgibaud () is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

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.départment 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 Auverg ...

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 ...

. It is located in the

Massif Central The (; oc, Massís Central, ; literally ''"Central Massif"'') is a highland region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaus. It covers about 15% of mainland France. Subject to volcanism that has subsided in the last 10,00 ...

region of

on the banks of the river

Sioule The Sioule (; oc, Siula) is a long river in central France, a left tributary of the river Allier. Its source is near the village of Orcival, north of Mont-Dore, in the Massif Central. The Sioule has cut a deep gorge, especially in its upper cou ...

. The area around the town was historically known for silver and lead

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

. The

Société des mines et fonderies de Pontgibaud The Société des mines et fonderies de Pontgibaud (Pontgibaud Mine & Foundry Company) was a French silver and lead mining and smelting company based in Pontgibaud, Puy-de-Dôme. It mined lead-silver ore deposits that had been exploited since Roman ...

exploited the lead-silver mines between 1852 and 1897. The remnants of

Château-Dauphin Château-Dauphin is a medieval castle in the ''commune'' of Pontgibaud in the Puy-de-Dôme ''département'' of France. History The castle owes its name to the coat of arms of the person who built it in the 12th century: Robert I, Count of Auv ...

, a 12th-century castle, are located in Pontgibaud.

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and politi ...

spent October 7, 1840 exploring Pontgibaud. He reckoned it "Altogether the happiest day, as far as employment or scenery can go, I have had for these long five years".The Dairies of John Ruskin. Selected and edited by Joan Evans and John Howard Whitehouse. Vol 1. (1835 to 1847). Oxford at The Clarendon Press. 1956.

Notable people

Anna Garcin-Mayade Anna Garcin-Mayade (17 January 1897 – 3 May 1981) was a French painter and a member of the French Resistance during the Second World War. Early life She was born at Pontgibaud, the daughter of Elie Mayade, a blacksmith, and his wife Félici ...

, painter and member of the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

References

Communes of Puy-de-Dôme {{PuyDôme-geo-stub

Notable people

See also

References