Ambert

Coordinates: 45°33′01″N 3°44′33″E / 45.5503°N 3.7425°E / 45.5503; 3.7425
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ambert
Town hall (originally the grain market)
Town hall (originally the grain market)
Coat of arms of Ambert
Location of Ambert
Map
Ambert is located in France
Ambert
Ambert
Ambert is located in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Ambert
Ambert
Coordinates: 45°33′01″N 3°44′33″E / 45.5503°N 3.7425°E / 45.5503; 3.7425
CountryFrance
RegionAuvergne-Rhône-Alpes
DepartmentPuy-de-Dôme
ArrondissementAmbert
CantonAmbert
IntercommunalityAmbert Livradois Forez
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Guy Gorbinet[1]
Area
1
60.48 km2 (23.35 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
6,616
 • Density110/km2 (280/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
63003 /63600
Elevation514–1,365 m (1,686–4,478 ft)
(avg. 527 m or 1,729 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Ambert (French pronunciation: [ɑ̃bɛʁ] ; Auvergnat: Embèrt) is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France.

Administration[edit]

Ambert is the seat of the canton of Ambert and the arrondissement of Ambert. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. The arrondissement consists of eight cantons (before March 2015).

Geography[edit]

Ambert lies on the river Dore, a tributary of the Allier.

General view

Population[edit]

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1968 7,328—    
1975 7,603+0.53%
1982 7,722+0.22%
1990 7,420−0.50%
1999 7,309−0.17%
2007 7,016−0.51%
2012 6,852−0.47%
2017 6,671−0.53%
Source: INSEE[3]

Sights[edit]

Ambert is famous for its fourme d'Ambert cheese - "Fourme d'Ambert", its paper mills - "Le moulin Richard de Bas" - (the first edition of Diderot's Encyclopédie was printed on paper made in Ambert) and its circular town market hall - "La Mairie" - (popularized by Jules Romains in his novel Les copains).

The Agrivap Chemin de Fer Touristique operates out of Ambert.[4] There is a steam engine that makes a local run, but to see the line in full a ride on the Panoramique Autorail is not to be missed.

There is an industrial museum with an interesting collection of tractors and small steam engines.

In the town the Museum of Cheese is worth a visit, as is the old paper mill a few kilometres outside the main town.

Personalities[edit]

Ambert was the birthplace of the mathematician Michel Rolle (1652–1719), composer Emmanuel Chabrier (1841–1894), and anthropologist Henri Pourrat (1887-1959), who collected the oral traditions of the Auvergne. It is also the birthplace of actor and director Pierre-Loup Rajot (1958–).

International relations[edit]

Ambert is twinned with:

Touristic places near Ambert[edit]

Some semi-famous places to go when visiting Ambert, France are:

  • La Mairie (a round town hall, fun when the farmer's market is there)
  • Le Moulin Richard-de-Bas (a paper mill, with a great tour for all ages, workshops, activities and a nice little garden)

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Populations légales 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
  4. ^ "AGRIVAP English". Archived from the original on 2007-03-11.