Riom

For the village in Switzerland, see Riom-Parsonz.

Not to be confused with Riyom.

Riom
Sainte chapelle
Riom
Location within Auvergne region Riom
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department	Puy-de-Dôme
Arrondissement	Riom
Intercommunality	Riom
Government
• Mayor (2014–2020)	Pierre Pécoul
Area1	31.97 km2 (12.34 sq mi)
Population (2006)2	18,828
• Density	590/km2 (1,500/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	63300 / 63200
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Riom (Occitan: Riam) is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.

History

Until the French Revolution, Riom was the capital of the province of Auvergne, and the seat of the dukes of Auvergne. The city was of Gaulish 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 the Jean, duc de Berry, who rebuilt the Ducal Palace and the Saint-Chapelle. In 1531, Riom and the Auvergne reverted to the Crown of France.

In 1942, Riom was the site of the Vichy government's abortive war-guilt trials, called Riom Trials.

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 Desaix.

The Renaissance Maison des Consuls

Public library

See Bibliothèque Municipale de Riom

Notable people

Riom was the birthplace of:

• Pierre Victor, baron Malouet (1740–1814), publicist and politician
• Gilbert Romme (1750–1795), politician
• Joseph Projectus Machebeuf (1812–1889), Vicar Apostolic of Colorado and Utah; Bishop of Denver, USA
• Henri Hébrard de Villeneuve (1848–1925), Olympic fencer
• Eugene Gilbert (1889–1918), pioneer aviator, WW1 fighter pilot
• Alan Stivell (1944-), Celtic musician and singer, recording artist and master of the Celtic harp

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in France

Twin towns – Sister cities

Riom is twinned with:

Algemesi, Spain Viana do Castelo, Portugal Nördlingen, Germany

Adur, England Żywiec, Poland Loubomo (Dolisie), Republic of the Congo

See also

• Communes of the Puy-de-Dôme department

References

• INSEE commune file

External links

• Riom - Official site for the city of Riom (in French).
• Riom Tourism - Official site from the Auvergne Office de Tourisme.
• Joan of Arc's letter to Riom - 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.
• The Riom trials of 1942, from a Marxist perspective