Clermont-Ferrand, the old capital of Auvergne and its largest town by a considerable margin, is also the chief town of the département of Puy-de-Dôme, a university town and the see of a bishop. It lies on rising ground in the fertile Limagne basin, bounded on the west by the
Monts Dômes. It is a considerable industrial town (Michelin, etc.)
The name of the town, originally Nemessos, was changed in Roman times to Augustonemetum, and later still became Castrum Claremunte or Clair-Mont. It was Christianized in the third century, and after suffering devastation at the hands of various invaders was the meeting-place of the council in 1095 at which Pôe Urban II proclaimed the First Crusade.
The philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) was born in Clermont. In 1731 it was amalgamated with its neighbor and rival Montferrand to form the present town with its double-barrelled name.
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