Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The column of the Duchess of Angoulême, located in Angoulême, is a monument erected in 1816, during the Second Restoration. She celebrated the passage of Marie-Thérèse, Duchess of Angoulême and eldest daughter of Louis XVI, in the city on August 18, 1815. This passage, originally scheduled for March 1815, had been delayed by Napoleon's return during the Hundred Days. The column thus marks a key moment in French royalist history, in a troubled political context.

The building is located on Wilson Avenue, formerly known as the Rotonde Road or the Folie Road, known as the Chemin de Madame in honour of the Duchess. This path had been opened in 1808, and its current name dates back to the early twentieth century. The column, located halfway between the rampart of Beaulieu and the Green Garden, also symbolizes urbanization and the transformations of the city under the Restoration.

The monument is linked to the royal family: Marie-Thérèse, wife of the Duke of Angoulême (future Charles X), embodies the continuity of the monarchy after the Revolution. Angoulême, a strategic city, had welcomed Napoleon in 1809, then the Duke of Angoulême in 1814, before this passage of the Duchess. The column, classified as a historic monument in 1948, bears witness to these political upheavals and the local royalist memory.

Its designation as historic monuments on November 29, 1948, underscores its heritage importance. It recalls a time when monuments were used to display political loyalties, in a France divided between royalists and Bonapartists. Today, it remains a symbol of the turbulent history of Angoulême and the Charente.

External links