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)
Coat of arms
Location of Ambert
Ambert Show map of France Ambert Show map of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
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  (2022)[2]	6,556
• 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.

Administration

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

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

General view

Population

Historical population

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]

Sights

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

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

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.

Touristic places near Ambert

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)

Climate

Climate data for Ambert, elevation 555 m (1,821 ft), (1993–2020 normals, extremes 1993–present)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	20.3 (68.5)	23.1 (73.6)	27.2 (81.0)	28.6 (83.5)	32.6 (90.7)	39.6 (103.3)	38.5 (101.3)	39.9 (103.8)	35.9 (96.6)	32.2 (90.0)	25.0 (77.0)	17.7 (63.9)	39.9 (103.8)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	6.5 (43.7)	8.1 (46.6)	12.3 (54.1)	15.4 (59.7)	19.4 (66.9)	23.7 (74.7)	26.0 (78.8)	25.8 (78.4)	21.2 (70.2)	16.8 (62.2)	10.5 (50.9)	7.1 (44.8)	16.1 (61.0)
Daily mean °C (°F)	2.3 (36.1)	3.1 (37.6)	6.1 (43.0)	8.9 (48.0)	12.8 (55.0)	16.6 (61.9)	18.6 (65.5)	18.2 (64.8)	14.3 (57.7)	11.1 (52.0)	6.0 (42.8)	3.0 (37.4)	10.1 (50.2)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−1.9 (28.6)	−1.9 (28.6)	−0.1 (31.8)	2.5 (36.5)	6.3 (43.3)	9.6 (49.3)	11.2 (52.2)	10.7 (51.3)	7.4 (45.3)	5.3 (41.5)	1.4 (34.5)	−1.2 (29.8)	4.1 (39.4)
Record low °C (°F)	−17.4 (0.7)	−21.0 (−5.8)	−22.1 (−7.8)	−9.0 (15.8)	−3.8 (25.2)	−0.7 (30.7)	1.5 (34.7)	−0.2 (31.6)	−2.5 (27.5)	−10.0 (14.0)	−13.2 (8.2)	−19.8 (−3.6)	−22.1 (−7.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	58.7 (2.31)	47.5 (1.87)	47.2 (1.86)	65.1 (2.56)	90.3 (3.56)	78.6 (3.09)	89.7 (3.53)	86.9 (3.42)	80.6 (3.17)	76.8 (3.02)	80.5 (3.17)	58.3 (2.30)	860.2 (33.87)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm)	10.7	10.0	8.9	10.3	11.2	8.6	9.4	9.2	8.9	10.0	10.8	11.3	119.1
Source: Meteociel[5]

See also

• Communes of the Puy-de-Dôme department