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 vas ...

''Riam'') 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.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 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 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 considere ...

, 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 ran ...

. 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 during ...

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 Trial The Riom Trial (french: Procès de Riom; 19 February 1942 – 21 May 1943) was an attempt by the Vichy France regime, headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain, to prove that the leaders of the French Third Republic (1870–1940) had been responsible for ...

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 Ri ...

(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, wher ...

(1750–1795), politician * Joseph Projectus Machebeuf (1812–1889), Vicar Apostolic of Colorado and Utah; Bishop of Denver, USA * Henri Hébrard de Villeneuve (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 sin ...

(1889–1918), pioneer aviator, WW1 fighter pilot * Alan Stivell (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 Al ...

(1942-), actor * Anne Marie Dias Borges (1976-), franco-Cape-Verdean journalist and radio and television host * Sébastien Mazeyrat (1978-), footballer

International relations

Riom is twinned with: * Adur, 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 due ...

, 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 bui ...

, 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 Ż ...

, Poland

References

External links

Riom
- Official site for the city of Riom (in French).
Riom Tourism
- Official site from the Auvergne Office de Tourisme.

- Translation by Allen Williamson of a letter dictated by Joan of Arc to the people of Riom on November 9, 1429.
The Musée de Veygoux
is a museum in the Manoir de Veygoux dedicated to the French Revolution and Desaix.

{{Authority control Communes of Puy-de-Dôme Subprefectures in France Auvergne