Sub-prefecture of Puy-de-Dôme (63)
Population: 6,550 (27,570 in the Ambert Livradois Forez community of communes)
Specialities: Fourme d'Ambert, Auvergne specialities
Personalities: Alexandre Vialatte, Henri Pourrat (writers), Jules Romains (set the plot for Les Copains), Emmanuel Chabrier (composer), Titi Camara (football), Simon Dufour (swimming)
Economy: timber, paper, cheese (Fourme d'Ambert), tourism, braid and cable manufacturing (Groupe Omerin)
Sport: Cyclosportive les Copains
Festivals: World Festival Ambert (world music), Fourmofolies
Websites: www.ville-ambert.fr, www.auvergne-livarois-forez.com
AMBERT AND CYCLING
Label: Ambert received the « Ville à Vélo du Tour de France » with 3 out of 4 possible stars
Description: The label, awarded by Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) underlines efforts made by local authorities to promote bike riding. The town owes the recognition to the races created by local Grand Fondo club Les Copains Cyfac, such as the Ultraverne, a Gran Fondo race around all the major sites of Auvergne finishing in Ambert. The town also hosts the Tour d’Ambert-Livradois-Forez, junior race organised since 2015 par Union cycliste Ambert-Auvergne and notably won by Alex Baudin (2019) or Paula Seixas (2023)
SIGHTS
The round town hall
Built: 1816
History: the round town hall, originally a grain market, was built in 1816 to free up the nave of the church, where cereals had been traded since the Revolution. In 1823, it was decided to extend the building vertically to house certain departments (Council Chamber, Indirect Taxation). In 1827, it became the town hall, round in shape like the fourme d'Ambert cheese for which the town is famous. The building was featured in the novel Les Copains by Jules Romains (1913)
Trivia: in the film of the same name, the Copains meet in the middle of the façade of the town hall, which has no façade of its own, giving rise to a few gags
Listed as: historic monument in 1975
Richard-de-Bas Mill
Construction: 14th century. 18th and 19th centuries
History: the Richard-de-Bas mill is the last building of its type to have retained its traditional activity and equipment (a paper mill site was known in the 15th century). It bears precious witness to industry in the Ambert region in the 18th century. This group of buildings dating from the 18th (1720 on the key to the gate) and 19th centuries replaced older structures, probably dating from the medieval period
Characteristics: it comprises: a main building housing the workshops on the first floor and the dwelling on the second floor; a return building comprising a storeroom and the cowshed on the first floor and the drying shed on the second floor; a barn. The timber-framed top wheel has troughs and drives five stacks of three mallets for beating rags and a wooden capstan press for wringing out paper sheets. All these buildings are very simple, very rural, representative of vernacular architecture. It was in 1793 that the paper-making machine was perfected, an invention that marked the beginning of the disappearance of small mills. Only the Richard-de-Bas mill has preserved its mechanism intact, which essentially comprises the paddle wheel, the vat and the press
Current use: a paper museum housed in the buildings allows visitors to see how paper was made in the olden days
Listed as: Historic Monument in 1983
Saint-Jean Church
Construction: 15th century
Characteristics: late 15th-century church, comprising a four-bay nave with aisles, a one-bay choir and a five-sided apse with ambulatory. Side chapels. The church is entirely rib-vaulted. The tower, built on the first bay of the south aisle, dates from the early Renaissance period
Listed as: Historic Monument in 1909
Timber-framed house
Construction: 15th century
Characteristics: Ambert is home to several timber-framed houses in its historic centre. The most spectacular of these is a 15th-century house with two storeys above the ground floor and facades built of roughcast timber-framed walls. The corbelled second storey is supported by a series of curved ties that support the eaves. They form brackets and are joined at the front by openwork arches. The roof overhang features an eave supported by curved brackets
Listed as: Historic Monument in 1928
Mus'énergie
Description: This museum features a large collection of stationary and mobile steam engines. The second hall features a tour highlighting the different types of energy used by man. Finally, the weavers' workshop and the area devoted to the rosary illustrate local know-how. A micro-electric power station driven by an impressive steam engine brings the visit to a close. Covering almost 1,600 m², the collections on display, some of which are animated, form a remarkable whole
House of fourme d'Ambert
Description: The House of Fourme d'Ambert and Auvergne cheeses is located in Ambert town centre, in a 14th century house. It shows how Fourme d'Ambert cheese is made, a collection of dairy utensils and equipment, and items linked to life in the mountain pastures (jasserie, milking cows, rosaries, etc.). The maturing cellar showcases the five Auvergne PDO cheeses, and there is a tasting session and a shop selling local and regional products. In summer, workshops and events: cheese-making, butter-making, Fourme d'Ambert hamburgers, etc.
TO EAT
Fourme d'Ambert
A member of the blue-veined cheese family, Fourme d'Ambert is produced in Auvergne, between 600 and 1,600 m altitude, in the mountainous Puy-de-Dôme region, five cantons in the Cantal and eight communes in the Loire. The richness and biodiversity of this terroir give it its subtle, delicate flavour. Recognised as an AOC (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée) since 1972, Fourme d'Ambert is now a PDO (Protected Designation of Origin). It is made from the milk of grass-fed cows sourced exclusively from the AOC area.
Fourme d'Ambert stands upright in its light, bluish-grey, stone-like exterior. This protective garment is supple to the touch and gives off the subtle scent of undergrowth. A Fourme d'Ambert cheese weighs 2 kg and measures 19 cm in height and 13 cm in diameter.
