Ambert
Ambert (French pronunciation: [ɑ̃bɛʁ] ⓘ; Auvergnat: Embèrt) is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France.
Ambert | |
|---|---|
Subprefecture and commune | |
Town hall (originally the grain market) | |
| Coordinates: 45°33′01″N 3°44′33″E | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes |
| Department | Puy-de-Dôme |
| Arrondissement | Ambert |
| Canton | Ambert |
| Intercommunality | Ambert Livradois Forez |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2020–2026) | Guy Gorbinet[1] |
| Area 1 | 60.48 km2 (23.35 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[2] | 6,616 |
| • Density | 110/km2 (280/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 63003 /63600 |
| Elevation | 514–1,365 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 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).
Ambert lies on the river Dore, a tributary of the Allier.
| Year | Pop. | ±% 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] | ||
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.
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–).
Ambert is twinned with:
Annweiler, Germany, since 1988
Higashichichibu, Saitama, Japan, since 1989
Gorgonzola, Italy, since 2002. Both cities, known for their blue cow's-milk cheeses (cheese and Fourme d'Ambert), have almost the same latitude: 45° 32' N for Gorgonzola, 45° 33' N for Ambert.
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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)
- "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
- "AGRIVAP English". Archived from the original on 2007-03-11.
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