Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of Angoulême, located in the upper town, was built between the 12th and 15th centuries by the Counts of Angoulême, especially the families Taillefer and Lusignan. In the 13th century, the dungeon of Lusignan was built, followed in the 15th century by the Valois tower under the impulse of Jean d'Orléans, grandfather of François I. These fortifications were strengthened to protect the city and integrate the Saint-Martial district. The county, passed to the crown of France in 1308, became a place of residence for governors, such as the Duke of Épernon who received Marie de Médicis there in 1619.

In 1838, Mayor Paul Joseph Normand de La Tranchade obtained the transfer of the castle by the department to the town hall, on condition to preserve its monumental character. The architect Paul Abadie, in charge of the works from 1853, demolished much of the medieval remains in 1859, retaining only the dungeon and the Valois tower under pressure from archaeologists. The construction site, marked by budget overruns and polemics, was completed in 1868 with an almost tenfold cost, illustrating the tensions between urban modernization and heritage preservation in the 19th century.

The donjon (13th century) and the Valois tower (15th century), the only remains of the Comtal castle, were listed as historical monuments in 1929. They are now integrated into the city hall, built in an eclectic style combining medieval references, Renaissance and Classicism. The belfry, added in the 19th century, dominates the whole, while the surrounding French terraces and gardens recall its aristocratic heritage. The "stone of the telegraph", vestige of a Chappe telegraph installed in 1825, also bears witness to its functional evolution.

The star fortifications, built at the end of the 16th century under the Duke of Epernon, almost entirely disappeared. Only three skunks and one tower remain, scattered throughout the city centre. These elements, combined with the two preserved towers, recall the strategic importance of the castle, transformed into a symbol of municipal power after its reconstruction by Abadie. The interior decorations, made by artisans like the painter Hugot or the sculptor Léon Baleyre, complete to make this place a hybrid testimony of Angoumoisine history.

Future

The town hall of Angoulême stands at the site of the former Comtal castle, of which only the dungeon of the Lusignan (thirteenth century) and the Valois tower (thirteenth century) remain.

External links