|
There are four departments within Auvergne, which are the
Haute-Loire, Allier, Puy-de-Dome and Cantal.
Today, the Auvergne region is larger than the historical province of Auvergne, and
includes provinces and areas that originally were not part of Auvergne.
The traditional capital of the province of Auvergne was Riom,
although today it is Clermont-Ferrand.
Auvergne was the name of an historically independent county in the centre of France, as
well as a later province of France. It is the name of the geographical and cultural
area that corresponds to the former province.
The volcanic Massif Central mountain range covers a large part of the Auvergne region,
which stretches nearly a sixth of France's total area.
The region is famous for its cheeses and the export of mineral waters, one in particular
that you are sure to have heard of - Volvic.
An Occitan dialect known as Auvergnat, was historically spoken in Auvergne and is still
spoken by a few people in this region, even today.
|
|
