Châteldon is a commune

Communes of France

The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...

 in the Puy-de-Dôme

Puy-de-Dôme

Puy-de-Dôme is a department in the centre of France named after the famous dormant volcano, the Puy-de-Dôme.Inhabitants were called Puydedomois until December 2005...

 department in Auvergne

Auvergne (région)

Auvergne is one of the 27 administrative regions of France. It comprises the 4 departments of Allier, Puy de Dome, Cantal and Haute Loire.The current administrative region of Auvergne is larger than the historical province of Auvergne, and includes provinces and areas that historically were not...

 in central France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

About the town

Châteldon is a medieval village in the northern part of Auvergne. It dates from the early Middle Ages, with many of its buildings dating back to the 14th century. The town's fortifications are still in evidence.

The village lies on the western edge of the Montagne Bourbonnaise and the northern edge of the Livadois-Forez Park, the largest nature park in Europe. To the west lies the Limagne

Limagne

The Limagne is large plain in the Auvergne region of France in the valley of the Allier river, on the edge of the Massif Central. It lies entirely within the département of Puy de Dôme...

, where the Allier

Allier

Allier is a department in central France named after the river Allier.- History :Allier is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Auvergne and Bourbonnais.In 1940, the government of Marshal...

 and Dore

Dore

Dore is a village in South Yorkshire, England. The village lies on a hill above the River Sheaf, and until 1934 was part of Derbyshire, but it is now a suburb of Sheffield. It is served by Dore and Totley railway station on the Hope Valley Line...

 rivers converge. Nineteen kilometres to the north is the City of Vichy

Vichy

Vichy is a commune in the department of Allier in Auvergne in central France. It belongs to the historic province of Bourbonnais.It is known as a spa and resort town and was the de facto capital of Vichy France during the World War II Nazi German occupation from 1940 to 1944.The town's inhabitants...

.

Castle Châteldon was once owned by Prime Minister Pierre Laval

Pierre Laval

Pierre Laval was a French politician. He was four times President of the council of ministers of the Third Republic, twice consecutively. Following France's Armistice with Germany in 1940, he served twice in the Vichy Regime as head of government, signing orders permitting the deportation of...

. It remains the prime landmark of the village.

Nearby towns

• In the Region of Châteldon :
  Lachaux
  Lachaux
  Lachaux is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France.-References:*...
  
  , Puy-Guillaume
  Puy-Guillaume
  Puy-Guillaume is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France.-References:*...
  
   and Ris
  Ris, Puy-de-Dôme
  Ris is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France.-References:*...
  
   ;

Administration

style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 0.5em"| List of the Mayors of Châteldon

Election Date	Name
1790	Jean-Baptiste Couher
1792	Louis Chabrier
1793	Jean-Baptiste Quissac
1800	Michel Delaire
1810	Hugues Debrit
1926	Léon Seneque
1929	Victor Rivet
1940	Charles Cocurat
1964	Victor Ducher
1965	René Verdier
1971	René Verdier
1977	René Verdie
1978	Genès Fradin
1983	Genès Fradin
1989	Jean-Paul Dassaud
1995	Jean-Paul Dassaud
1997	Tony Bernard
2001	Tony Bernard
2008	Tony Bernard

Mineral water

Châteldon is known for its naturally carbonated mineral water

Mineral water

Mineral water is water containing minerals or other dissolved substances that alter its taste or give it therapeutic value, generally obtained from a naturally occurring mineral spring or source. Dissolved substances in the water may include various salts and sulfur compounds...

. It was the first mineral water exploited in France and transported by bottles to the Court of Louis XIV

Louis XIV of France

Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...

 in Versailles

Palace of Versailles

The Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles....

. This water is used for its diuretic and digestive properties. It is also rich in potassium, sodium and fluorine. In France, one finds the water of Châteldon in the large hotels and restaurants, and in delicatessens. In 1650, the first doctor of the king, Guy-Crescent Fagon

Guy-Crescent Fagon

Guy-Crescent Fagon was a physician and botanist. He came from nobility and his great uncle, Guy de La Brosse, had founded the Royal Gardens. Fagon was director of the gardens too. His significance in botany is reflected in the genus Fagonia being named after him. He also acted as the physician of...

, praised the virtues of Châteldon to Louis XIV.

External links

• Official site of Châteldon