Puy-de-Dôme (; oc, label= Auvergnat, lo Puèi de Doma or ''lo Puèi Domat'') is a

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, ...

in the

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (ARA; ; frp, Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Ârpes; oc, Auvèrnhe Ròse Aups; it, Alvernia-Rodano-Alpi) is a region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Au ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

in the centre of France. In 2019, it had a population of 662,152.Populations légales 2019: 63 Puy-de-Dôme
INSEE Its

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label=Auvergnat (dialect), Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population ...

and subprefectures are

Ambert Ambert (; 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. ...

Issoire Issoire (; Auvergnat: ''Issoire'', ''Ussoire'') is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. Geography Issoire is located on the river Couze, near its confluence with the Allier, SSE of Clermont-Ferrand on the P ...

Riom Riom (; Auvergnat ''Riam'') is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. History Until the French Revolution, Riom was the capital of the province of Auvergne, and the se ...

and Thiers. Named after the

Puy de Dôme Puy de Dôme (, ; oc, label=Auvergnat, Puèi Domat or ) is a lava dome and one of the youngest volcanoes in the region of Massif Central in central France. This chain of volcanoes including numerous cinder cones, lava domes and maars is f ...

dormant volcano, its inhabitants were called ''Puydedomois'' in French until 2005. With effect from 2006, in response to a letter writing campaign, the name used for the inhabitants was changed by the

Puy-de-Dôme General Council 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.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 considere ...

on 4 March 1790. It was created from part of the former province of

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 ...

. Originally, the department was to be called ''Mont-d'Or'' ("Golden Mountain"), but this was changed to Puy-de-Dôme following the intervention of

Jean-François Gaultier de Biauzat Jean-François Gaultier de Biauzat (1739-1815) was a French politician. He served as a member of the National Constituent Assembly from 1789 to 1791, and as the mayor of Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label=Auvergnat (dialect), ...

, a local

deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spai ...

, because of a concern that the name originally chosen risked attracting excessive unwelcome attention from the national taxation authorities.

Geography

Puy-de-Dôme is part of the current

and is bordered by the departments of

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

, Haute-Loire, Cantal,

Corrèze Corrèze (; oc, Corresa) is a department in France, named after the river Corrèze which runs through it. Although its prefecture is Tulle, its most populated city is Brive-la-Gaillarde. Corrèze is located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, ...

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 afte ...

, and Creuse. Parts of the department belong to the

Parc naturel régional Livradois-Forez Livradois-Forez Regional Natural Park (French: Parc naturel régional Livradois-Forez) is a regional natural park located on three French department : Puy-de-Dôme, Haute-Loire and Loire. The two biggest urban areas are Thiers (19,000 inhabitants ...

. The department is 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 ...

and boasts more than 80 volcanic craters. It is three hours from Paris and an hour from

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

highways A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...

A71 and A89. The A75 links it to the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

Principal towns

The most populous commune is

, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 10 communes with more than 10,000 inhabitants:

Demographics

Population development since 1801:

Economy

The departmental seat,

, is home to one of the country's best known manufacturing businesses and brands,

Michelin Michelin (; ; full name: ) is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ''région'' of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world behind Bridgestone and la ...

. Thiers is the oldest industry place in Auvergne with its cutlery tradition from the 14th century. The countryside lends itself to tourism and Puy-de-Dôme is a weekend destination for city dwellers. As of 2019, 10.1% of the usable homes in the department were being kept as second homes.Logement en 2019
INSEE

Politics

The department was the electoral constituency of

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing (, , ; 2 February 19262 December 2020), also known as Giscard or VGE, was a French politician who served as President of France from 1974 to 1981. After serving as Minister of Finance under prime ...

, who served as President of the Republic from 1974 to 1981. The president of the Departmental Council is Lionel Chauvin, elected in July 2021.

Current National Assembly Representatives

National Assembly Representatives to the 15th Legislature

Tourism

File:Clermont vu de Montjuzet.JPG, The black

Cathedral of Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand Cathedral, or the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption of Clermont-Ferrand (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption de Clermont-Ferrand), is a Gothic cathedral and French national monument located in the town of ...

File:Saint-Floret1.JPG, Saint-Floret, one of the most beautiful villages of France File:Puy de dome 2001-12-15.jpg, The

volcano File:Lac de Guéry5.JPG, The Lac de Guéry in the

References

External links

Prefecture website

Departmental Council website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Puy-De-Dome Massif Central 1790 establishments in France Departments of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes States and territories established in 1790