Riom (; Auvergnat ''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 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 A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several districts, sometimes translated as subprefecture ...

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 John of Berry or John the Magnificent ( French: ''Jean de Berry'', ; 30 November 1340 – 15 June 1416) was Duke of Berry and Auvergne and Count of Poitiers and Montpensier. He was Regent of France during the minority of his nephew 1380-138 ...

, 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'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. 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'' 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 (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) Mac ...

(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 (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 (specifically ...

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

(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 men ...

(1978-), footballer

International relations

Riom is twinned with: * Adur, England, United Kingdom *

Algemesí Algemesí () is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Comarques of the Valencian Community, ''comarca'' of Ribera Alta (comarca), Ribera Alta in the Valencia (autonomous community), Valencian Community, Spain. The town of Algemesí is on ...

, 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, 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