Aubière (;

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 rath ...

: ''Aubèira'') is a commune located in the department of

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.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 ...

region in southeast

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. As of 2017 its population was 10,061. The town is home to the Cézeaux campus of the

University of Clermont Auvergne Clermont Auvergne University () is a public research university with its main campus in Clermont-Ferrand, France. It was created with the merger of Blaise Pascal University and the University of Auvergne on 1 January 2017. Clermont Auvergne Un ...

, a substantial number of sports teams, and a large commercial area.

Geography

Location

Aubière is located south of Clermont-Ferrand in the heart of the Puy-de-Dôme department, 3.7 km south-east of the city of Clermont-Ferrand. It borders the villages of Beaumont,

Romagnat Romagnat (; Auvergnat: ''Romanhat'') is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. Population Twin towns * Licciana Nardi, Italy See also * Communes of the Puy-de-Dôme department The following is a list of ...

Pérignat-lès-Sarliève Pérignat-lès-Sarliève (; Auvergnat: ''Pairinhac de Sarlèiva'') is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. Population See also *Communes of the Puy-de-Dôme department The following is a list of the 463 ...

, and Cournon-d’Auvergne. The Artière river, a tributary of the

Allier Allier ( , , ; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region that borders Cher (department), Cher to the west, Nièvre to the north, Saône-et-Loire and Loire (department), Loire to the east, Pu ...

, flows through the village from west to east. The river, a large part of which is underground, can flood at any moment. The quality of its water deteriorates when it converges with the Gazelle river, one of its tributaries.

Transportation

Roads

A75 autoroute The A75 is an '' autoroute'' (motorway) in France. Known also as ''la Méridienne'', it is a developmental project aiming to speed up, and reduce the cost of car travel from Paris to the south of France. Apart from the Millau Viaduct, it is fre ...

with two exits * Metropolitan road 2009 (formerly

route nationale 9 The Route nationale 9, or ''RN 9'', is a Route Nationale (France), route nationale in France between Moulins, Allier, Moulins and the border with Spain across 591 kilometres. Reclassification Much of the N9 has now been upgraded or replaced by ...

) * Other metropolitan roads: 21 (towards Romagnat), 69, 212 (towards Cournon-d'Auvergne and

Billom Billom (; Auvergnat: ''Bilhom'') is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in central France. Population Notable natives Billom was the birthplace of the philosopher Georges Bataille. It was also the birt ...

), 777, 805

Railways

The nearest railway stations are located in the neighbouring commune of Clermont-Ferrand: the Gare de Clermont-Ferrand and the Gare de Clermont-La Pardieu.

Public transit

Since August 27, 2007, Aubière has contained three stops (Cézeaux Pellez, Campus, and Margeride) of the

Clermont-Ferrand tramway The Clermont-Ferrand tramway () is a transit system located in the city of Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes French region, region of France. It is a Translohr system, meaning it is guided by a Guide rail#Railway guide rail, single r ...

. There are four bus lines (3, 12, 13, and 21).

Town planning

A local urban master plan was approved by the municipal council on April 8, 2008.

Accommodation

As of 2017, the commune numbered 5,862 housing units, compared to 5,196 in 2007. Among these, 90.1% were primary residences, 1.9% secondary residences, and 8.0% vacant residences. 50.2% of the residences were houses and 45.9% apartments. The percentage of primary residences owned by their residents was 48.9%. The percentage of empty

HLM An habitation à loyer modéré (HLM, , ), is a form of low-income housing in France, Algeria, Senegal, and Quebec. It may be public or private, with rent subsidies. HLMs constitute 16% of all housing in France.

History

The earliest traces of the commune date back to the 13th century, when it was within the outer walls of a castle. Until the end of the 19th century, Aubière featured a sizeable winemaking industry, which ended after the

phylloxera Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belongs to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, bugs); orig ...

epidemic. Proof of that is the fact that most of the houses in the village contain a wine vat, and numerous wine cellars were built on the north and south edges of the Artière valley. Today there is only one wine producer in the village. The distinctive feature of these wine cellars is that they were constructed above ground because the water that runs under the houses creates a large amount of humidity in the basement. Thus, an urban legend has that people used to speak of going “up to the cellar” rather than “down to the cellar”. The Aubière Vine and Wine Museum preserves the traditional tools used in winemaking as well as most archival documents. The scope of this museum is not restricted to the village of Aubière, but covers wine produced elsewhere in Auvergne as well.

Politics and administration

List of mayors

The current mayor is Sylvain Casildas, elected in June 2020. List of previous mayors of Aubière: * 1800–1812: Guillaume Girard, notary * 1812–1827: Louis Voiret, doctor * 1827–1848: Jean Foulhouze, notary * 1848–1854: Michel Noëllet ''dit'' Lacourtière, farmer * 1854–1855: François Casière, farmer * 1855–1867: Pierre Henri Daumas-Foulhouze, notary * 1867–1870: Martin Gioux-Chatagnier, farmer * 1870–1874: Michel Roche-Chaduc, farmer * 1874–1876: François Cassière-Noëllet, farmer * 1876–1896: Michel Roche-Chaduc, farmer * 1896–1900: Michel Bourcheix, farmer * 1900–1912: Francisque Noellet-Roche, farmer * 1912–1929: Jean Noellet-Degironde * 1929–1935: Jean Carsac * 1935–unknown: Eugène Martin * 1947–1965: Ernest Cristal * September 1965–September 1982: Georges Digue, doctor * September 1982–March 1983: Jean Drouin, printer * March 1983–March 2008: Hubert Tarrérias, pharmacist * March 2008–July 2020: Christian Sinsard, French Social Security manager * July 2020–current: Sylvain Casildas

Population and society

Cultural events and festivities

In spring, the feast of the “Rosière” takes place, a tradition celebrated in numerous villages in France, in which the most beautiful and virtuous girl is crowned “the Rosière”. In September, the village organizes the Fair of Saint-Loup, in which everyone empties out their attics.

Education

Aubière is part of the Academy of Clermont-Ferrand, which runs its two public elementary schools, Beaudonnat and Vercingetorix.Annuaire des établissements scolaires de la commune d'Aubière
, website of Ministry of National Education (consulted 12 October 2013). The general council of the

Puy de Dôme Puy de Dôme (, ) 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 far from the edge of any tectonic plate. ...

runs the public middle school, Joliot-Curie. All students are educated here by default, with the exception of the residents of the Mirondet district who attend Beaumont Middle School. The school group of Saint-Joseph, consisting of an elementary school and a middle school, is private. High school students attend either the Lycée Jeanne-d’Arc or the Lycée Blaise-Pascal, both located in Clermont-Ferrand.. There is also the Cézeaux Campus shared by a variety of schools. View campus cezeaux

Social and sportive lifestyle

Aubière is home to a soccer team, whose colors, yellow and blue, are those of the village. The team plays in the Beaudonnat stadium. There are also various clubs (

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

, etc.) and dance associations, a gymnasium for practicing

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

and

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

, and a track-and-field club. Since 2002, the Jean-Pellez stadium has hosted track-and-field competitions.