Angoulême (;

Poitevin-Saintongeais Poitevin-Saintongeais (french: poitevin-saintongeais, link=no, ; autonym: ''poetevin-séntunjhaes''; also called ''Parlanjhe'', ''Aguiain'' or even ''Aguiainais'' in French) is a langue d'oïl language spoken in the regions of the Pays de la Loi ...

: ''Engoulaeme''; oc, Engoleime) is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

, the

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

of the

Charente Charente (; Saintongese: ''Chérente''; oc, Charanta ) is a department in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, south western France. It is named after the river Charente, the most important and longest river in the department, an ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

, in the

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine (; oc, Nòva Aquitània or ; eu, Akitania Berria; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Novéle-Aguiéne'') is the largest administrative region in France, spanning the west and southwest of the mainland. The region was created by t ...

region of southwestern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Angoumoisins'' or ''Angoumoisines''. Located on a plateau overlooking a

meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex bank ...

of the river

, the city is nicknamed the "balcony of the southwest". The city proper's population is a little less than 42,000 but it is the centre of an urban area of 110,000 people extending more than from east to west. Formerly the capital of

Angoumois Angoumois (), historically the County of Angoulême, was a county and province of France, originally inferior to the parent duchy of Aquitaine, similar to the Périgord to its east but lower and generally less forested, equally with occasional vin ...

in the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

, Angoulême was a fortified town for a long time, and was highly coveted due to its position at the centre of many roads important to communication, so therefore it suffered many sieges. From its tumultuous past, the city, perched on a rocky spur, inherited a large historical, religious, and urban heritage which attracts a lot of tourists. Nowadays, Angoulême is at the centre of an agglomeration, which is one of the most industrialised regions between

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

and

Garonne The Garonne (, also , ; Occitan, Catalan, Basque, and es, Garona, ; la, Garumna or ) is a river of southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux – a ...

(the

paper industry The pulp and paper industry comprises companies that use wood as raw material and produce pulp, paper, paperboard and other cellulose-based products. Manufacturing process The pulp is fed to a paper machine where it is formed as a paper web an ...

was established in the 16th century, a

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

and

electromechanical engineering In engineering, electromechanics combines processes and procedures drawn from electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. Electromechanics focuses on the interaction of electrical and mechanical systems as a whole and how the two systems ...

developed more recently). It is also a commercial and administrative city with its own university of technology, and a vibrant cultural life. This life is dominated by the

Angoulême International Comics Festival The Angoulême International Comics Festival (french: Festival international de la bande dessinée d'Angoulême) is the second largest comics festival in Europe after the Lucca Comics & Games in Italy, and the third biggest in the world after Lu ...

, the FFA

Angoulême Francophone Film Festival Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; oc, Engoleime) is a commune, the prefecture of the Charente department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Angoumoisins'' o ...

and the

Musiques Métisses Musiques Métisses is an annual French music festival held in early summer. The festival was created in 1976 by Christian Mousset in Angoulême, France. In 2015, the American author Eddy L.Harris took over as president of the festival. History ...

Festival that contribute substantially to the international renown of the city. Moreover, Angoulême hosts 40 animation and video game studios that produce half of France's animated production.

Wes Anderson Wesley Wales Anderson (born May 1, 1969) is an American filmmaker. His films are known for their eccentricity and unique visual and narrative styles. They often contain themes of grief, loss of innocence, and dysfunctional families. Cited by so ...

's ''

The French Dispatch ''The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun'', or simply ''The French Dispatch'', is a 2021 American anthology comedy drama film written, directed, and produced by Wes Anderson from a story he conceived with Roman Coppola, Hugo Guin ...

'' was filmed in this city. Angoulême is called "Ville de l'Image" which means literally "City of the Image". The commune has been awarded four flowers by the ''National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom'' in the ''Competition of cities and villages in Bloom''.

Geography

Angoulême is an

Acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, ...

city located on a hill overlooking a loop of the

limited in area upstream by the confluence of the

Touvre Touvre () is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Charente department The following is a list of the 364 communes of the Charente department of France. The communes cooperate in ...

and downstream by the Anguienne and

Eaux Claires Eaux Claires, also known as the Eaux Claires Music & Arts Festival, is a two-day music and arts festival that took place for four years in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The festival took a year-long hiatus in 2019 but was expected to return in 2020, be ...

Location and access

Angoulême is located at the intersection of a major north–south axis: the N10 Paris-Bayonne; and the east–west axis: the N14 ''route Central-Europe Atlantique'' Limoges-Saintes. Angoulême is also connected to

Périgueux Périgueux (, ; oc, Peireguers or ) is a communes of France, commune in the Dordogne departments of France, department, in the administrative regions of France, administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. Périgueux i ...

and Saint-Jean-d'Angely by the D939 and to

Libourne Libourne (; oc, label= Gascon, Liborna ) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. It is the wine-making capital of northern Gironde and lies near Saint-Émil ...

by the D674. *By train: the Paris-Bordeaux line, served mainly by

TGV The TGV (french: Train à Grande Vitesse, "high-speed train"; previously french: TurboTrain à Grande Vitesse, label=none) is France's intercity high-speed rail service, operated by SNCF. SNCF worked on a high-speed rail network from 1966 to 19 ...

, passes through Angoulême and the

TER Ter or TER may refer to: Places * River Ter, in Essex, England * Ter (river), in Catalonia * Ter (department), a region in France * Torre (river), (Slovene: ''Ter''), a river in Italy * Ter, Ljubno, a settlement in the Municipality of Ljubno ob ...

Limoges-Saintes provides connections. *By water: although the river Charente is currently only used for tourism, it was a communication channel, especially for freight, until the 19th century and the port of l'Houmeau was very busy. The Angoulême-Cognac International Airport is at Brie-Champniers.

Districts

Old Angoulême is the old part between the ramparts and the town centre with winding streets and small squares. The city centre is also located on the plateau and was portrayed by

Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly , ; born Honoré Balzac;Jean-Louis Dega, La vie prodigieuse de Bernard-François Balssa, père d'Honoré de Balzac : Aux sources historiques de La Comédie humaine, Rodez, Subervie, 1998, 665 p. 20 May 179 ...

in "The Lost Illusions" as "the height of grandeur and power". There is a Castle, a town hall, a prefecture, and a cathedral with grand houses everywhere. Unlike Old Angoulême, however, the entire city centre was greatly rebuilt in the 19th century. Surrounding the city were five old

faubourgs "Faubourg" () is an ancient French term historically equivalent to " fore-town" (now often termed suburb or ). The earliest form is , derived from Latin , 'out of', and Vulgar Latin (originally Germanic) , 'town' or 'fortress'. Traditionally, thi ...

l'Houmeau L'Houmeau () is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Charente-Maritime department The following is a list of the 463 communes of the Charente-Maritime department of Fra ...

, Saint-Cybard, Saint-Martin, Saint-Ausone, and la Bussatte. The district of l'Houmeau was described by Balzac as "based on trade and money" because this district lived on trade, boatmen, and their

scow A scow is a smaller type of barge. Some scows are rigged as sailing scows. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, scows carried cargo in coastal waters and inland waterways, having an advantage for navigating shallow water or small harbours. S ...

s. The port of l'Houmeau was created in 1280 on the river bank. It marked the beginning of the navigable part from Angoulême to the sea. Saint-Cybard, on the bank of the Charente, was created around the

Abbey of Saint-Cybard The Abbey of Saint-Cybard was a Benedictine monastery located just outside the northern city walls of Angoulême. According to Gregory of Tours in the ''Historia Francorum'' (VI, 8), the monastery was founded by Saint Eparchius in the sixth c ...

then became an industrial area with

papermill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt ...

s, especially ''Le Nil''. Saint-Martin - Saint-Ausone is a district composed of two former parishes outside the ramparts. At La Bussatte the Champ de Mars esplanade is now converted into a shopping mall, and adjoins Saint-Gelais. Today the city has fifteen districts: * Centre-ville * Old Angoulême * Saint-Ausone - Saint-Martin * Saint-Gelais * La Bussatte - Champ de Mars * L'Houmeau * Saint-Cybard * Victor-Hugo, Saint-Roch is notable for its military presence. * Basseau is a district which was created in the 19th century with the port of Basseau, the explosives factory in 1821, the Laroche-Joubert papermill in 1842, then the bridge in 1850. * Sillac - La Grande-Garenne was a private housing estate then was built up with

HLM An habitation à loyer modéré (HLM, , ), is a form of low-income housing in France, Algeria, Senegal, and Quebec. It may be public or private, with rent subsidies. HLMs constitute 16% of all housing in France.Puymoyen Puymoyen () is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Charente department The following is a list of the 364 communes of the Charente department of France. The communes cooperat ...

commune in 1945Pierre Dubourg-Noves (dir.), ''History of Angoulême and its surroundings'', Toulouse, Éditions Privat, coll. "Univers de la France et des pays francophones", 1990, 319 p. (, notice BnF no FRBNF350724243), p. 295-296 and built-up as a collective habitat from 1972. * Le Petit Fresquet was also detached from Puymoyen and is semi-rural. * Frégeneuil was also detached from Puymoyen and is semi-rural.

Panorama of the city

Angoulême 16 Le plateau vu de Saint-Martin 2014

Neighbouring communes and villages

Google Maps
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Hydrography

The ''Port-l'Houmeau'', the old port on the Charente located in the district of l'Houmeau is in a flood zone and during floods the Besson Bey Boulevard is usually cut.

Geology

Geologically the town belongs to the

Aquitaine Basin The Aquitaine Basin is the second largest Mesozoic and Cenozoic sedimentary basin in France after the Paris Basin, occupying a large part of the country's southwestern quadrant. Its surface area covers 66,000 km2 onshore. It formed on Varisca ...

as does three-quarters of the western department of

. The commune is located on the same

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

from the

Upper Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', the ...

period which occupies the southern half of the department of Charente, not far from

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...

formations beginning at

Gond-Pontouvre Gond-Pontouvre () is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France. It is about 3 km north of the centre of Angoulême. Population See also *Communes of the Charente department The following is a list of the 364 communes ...

. The earliest Cretaceous period - the

Cenomanian The Cenomanian is, in the ICS' geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or the lowest stage of the Upper Cretaceous Series. An age is a unit of geochronology; it is a unit of time; the stage is a unit in the s ...

- is in the relatively low areas (l'Houmeau, the heights of Saint-Cybard, Sillac), at an average altitude of 50m. The city was established on the

Plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...

(altitude 100m) that dominates the loop of the River Charente, a

Turonian The Turonian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the second age in the Late Cretaceous Epoch, or a stage in the Upper Cretaceous Series. It spans the time between 93.9 ± 0.8 Ma and 89.8 ± 1 Ma (million years ago). The Turonian is preceded by t ...

(also called ''Angoumien'') formation which forms a dissected plateau of parallel valleys and a

cuesta A cuesta (from Spanish ''cuesta'' "slope") is a hill or ridge with a gentle slope on one side, and a steep slope on the other. In geology the term is more specifically applied to a ridge where a harder sedimentary rock overlies a softer layer ...

facing north that extends towards La Couronne to the west and Garat to the east. This limestone plateau contains natural cavities which have been refurbished by man in the form of three or four floors of caves, some of which include antique grain silos. The valley of the Charente is made up of old and new alluvium which provides rich soil for farming and some sandpits. These alluvial deposits were deposited successively during the

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million years ...

period on the inside of two meanders of the river that are Basseau and Saint-Cybard. The oldest alluviums are on the plain of Basseau and reach a relative height of 25m.

Relief

The old part of the city is built on the plateau - a rocky outcrop created by the valleys of the Anguienne and Charente at an altitude of - while on the river bank the area subject to flooding is high. Angoulême is characterized by the presence of ramparts on a cliff high. The plateau of ''Ma Campagne'', south of the old town, has almost the same features and peaks at 109 m in the woods of Saint-Martin. The plateau is elongated and separates the valleys of Eaux Claires, which is the southern boundary of the commune, from that of Anguienne, which is parallel. Both plateaux overlook the Charente valley and the outlying areas such as l'Houmeau, Basseau, and Sillac at their western ends. The plateau of Angoulême is the northwest extension of the Soyaux plateau. L'Houmeau, the station area, and that of Grand-Font are to the north of the plateau along the small Vimière valley, also a tributary of the Charente, but further north (towards Gond-Pontouvre and

L'Isle-d'Espagnac L'Isle-d'Espagnac () is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Charente department The following is a list of the 364 communes of the Charente department of France. The communes ...

) than Anguienne is to the south. The highest point of the city of Angoulême is at an altitude of 133m near Peusec located to the south-east near the border with Puymoyen. The lowest point is 27 m, located along the Charente at Basseau.IGN Map on

Géoportail Géoportail is a comprehensive web mapping service of the French government that publishes maps and geophysical aerial photographs from more than 90 sources for French territory, France and its territories. The service, first developed by two pub ...

The ramparts

Since Roman times ramparts have surrounded the Plateau of Angoulême. Repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt, their reconstruction was finally stopped in the 19th century. The Ramparts are classified as historical monumentsMinistry of Culture, Mérimée and the ''Ramparts Tour'' is one of the main attractions of the city. ;The Ramparts of Angoulême File:Angoulême1.4.JPG, North Rampart File:Ang remp1.JPG, Near the covered market File:Ang remp4.JPG, The Léchelle Tower File:Angouleme20050314Blorg.JPG, The Rampart du midi

Climate

Angoulême is under an

oceanic Oceanic may refer to: *Of or relating to the ocean *Of or relating to Oceania **Oceanic climate **Oceanic languages **Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)" Places * Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...

influence and similar to that of the city of Cognac where the departmental weather station is located. Precipitations are modest all year long, with a slight drying tendency during summer.

Toponymy

Since Antiquity and through the Middle Ages, the name of the town has been attested in many forms in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...

: *''Iculisma''Letter of Ausone, Louis Maurin in: Jean Combes (dir.) and Michel Luc (dir.), ''Charente from prehistory to modern times (collective work)'', St-Jean-d'Y, Imprimerie Bordessoules, coll. "History by documentrs", 1986, 429 p. (, notice BnF no FRBNF34901024q), p. 56,69,70 and ''Eculisna''Ernest Nègre, ''Toponymy General of France'', Librairie Droz, Genève, volume 1: Pre-Celtic, Celtic, and Roman formations, 1990, 704 pages, p. 53
Read online
consulted on 31 December 2012 from the 4th century *''civitas Engolismensium'' around 400AD *''Ecolisima'' (

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

currency)''Etymological Dictionary of place names in France'', Librairie Guénégaud,

Albert Dauzat Albert Dauzat (; 4 July 1877 – 31 October 1955) was a French linguist specializing in toponymy and onomastics. Dauzat, a student of Jules Gilliéron, was a director of studies at the École des hautes études. Works * ''L'argot des poilus; di ...

and

Charles Rostaing Charles Rostaing (9 October 1904 – 24 April 1999) was a French linguist who specialised in toponymy.Obituar ...

, 1979, Paris, , p. 19a *''Ecolisina'' and ''Aquilisima'' in 511 *''Ecolisna'' in the 6th century *''Egolisma'' *''Egolisina'' in the 10th century *''Equalisma'', ''Engolma'', ''Egolesma'', and ''Engolisma'' *''Engolesme'' at the end of the 12th century. The absence of any convincing explanation of the origin of the name of the city has led to several attempts to fit etymological explanations unrelated to the well documented old forms and phonetically unlikely: *It came from ''incolumissima'' meaning "very safe and healthy," but there is no trace of an in the most ancient forms and no trace of a ieither. *It was an alteration of ''in collisnā'' meaning "on the hill" but a toponym is never formed from the Latin preposition ''in''. As for the French word ''colline'' (hill), it was borrowed from the Italian ''collina'' at the time of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

(attested for the first time in 1555). In addition the suffix ''-isnā'' was not used to produce derivations from Latin words and it is doubtful that it even exists. Finally, independent alterations of regular phonetic changes occur as a result of analogy or more precisely of

popular etymology A false etymology (fake etymology, popular etymology, etymythology, pseudo-etymology, or par(a)etymology) is a popular but false belief about the origin or derivation of a specific word. It is sometimes called a folk etymology, but this is also a ...

: that is to say analogy with other similar and frequent used names in the region or an attempt to connect the toponym to a term that makes sense. It is clear that the old forms of Angoulême are mostly obscure. Some hypotheses have been advanced with a stronger basis: *It is possible to recognize the suffix ''-isma'' in some of the oldest forms which represents an evolution of the Gallic suffix ''-isama'' (usually a superlative mark) which is found in the name of the Gallic divinity '' Belisama'' and very common in toponymy in toponymic types such as Blesme,

Bellême Bellême () is a commune in the Orne department in northwestern France. The musicologist Guillaume André Villoteau (1759–1839) was born in Bellême, as was Aristide Boucicaut (1810-1877), owner of ''Le'' ''Bon Marché'', the world's first depa ...

, etc. including changes in the final ''-esme, -ême'' which is similar to Angoulême.Xavier Delamarre also cited ''Uxisama'' "very high" giving

Exmes Exmes is a former commune in the Orne department in north-western France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune Gouffern en Auge.Huismes, etc. and ''*Lētisamā'' "very grey" giving Louesme (

Côte-d'Or Côte-d'Or (; literally, "Golden Slope") is a département in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 534,124.Lesme (Saône-et-loire)Xavier Delamarre, ''Dictionary of the Gallic language'', éditions Errance, Paris, 2001, p. 199,329, . Article uxellos and -leto In this context the first element would be ''Icul- / Ecol-'' an unknown pre-Latin element. *The identification of the primitive form ''Eculisna'' then alternating the old forms ''-isna'' and ''-isma'' led Ernest Nègre to prefer the first with ''-isna''. The first element would be ''Ecul-''. According to him, we can neither affirm the Celticity of these two elements nor their meaning. The alteration in ''*Angulisma'' was caused by the attraction of the Germanic personal name ''Angelisma'' whose existence was confirmed by

Marie-Thérèse Morlet Marie-Thérèse Morlet (Guise, Aisne, November 18, 1913 - July 9, 2005) was a French scholar (specialist in onomastics) and honorary director of research at CNRS. Her publications include ''Dictionnaire étymologique des noms de famille'' (''Et ...

. *''Iculisma / Ecolisma'' would consist of a Gallic radical ''eco'' meaning "water", followed by the suffix ''-lisima'' meaning "relates to". ''Iculisma'' would be "well-watered".Jean-Marie Cassagne and Stéphane Seguin, ''Origin of names of towns and villages of Charente'', Jean-Michel Bordessoules, 1998, 311 pages, p. 15 and 16, Xavier Delamarre analysed the element ''Eco-'' to come from ''Equoranda'' (or ''Egoranda'') as the origin of many names in France and considers that the element ''ico / equo-'' was not Celtic. At the time of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

the city was known by the transient name of ''Montagne-Charente''. *The district of Bussatte takes its name from the Low Latin ''buxetta / buxettum'' which means "place planted with boxwood" equivalent to '' Boissay'' in the

langue d'oïl Langue is a municipality in the Valle Department, Honduras. The town is located near the border of El Salvador and is a regional Hammock making center. Most of the town is made up of sharecroppers and day laborers. There are usually Mormon mis ...

. *The district of l'Houmeau meaning "small elm" or "abalone". The term is probably derived from Low Latin ''ulmellum''. *Sillac probably comes from Low Latin ''Sīliācum'' meaning that the village was built around the property (suffix ''-ācum'') of a Gallo-Roman named ''Sīlius''.

History

Antiquity

The history of the city is not very well known before the Roman period: it is simply known that the plateau was occupied by an

oppidum An ''oppidum'' (plural ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread across Europe, stretchi ...

, traces of which were found during excavations in the Saint-Martial cemetery under the name ''Iculisma''. Its currency was Lemovice. Ang musarcheo7b

The town was not located on major roads and was considered by the poet

Ausonius Decimius Magnus Ausonius (; – c. 395) was a Roman poet and teacher of rhetoric from Burdigala in Aquitaine, modern Bordeaux, France. For a time he was tutor to the future emperor Gratian, who afterwards bestowed the consulship on him. H ...

as a small town. No Roman monuments have been found but it benefited from the ''

Pax Romana The Pax Romana (Latin for 'Roman peace') is a roughly 200-year-long timespan of Roman history which is periodization, identified as a period and as a golden age (metaphor), golden age of increased as well as sustained Imperial cult of ancient Rome ...

'' and from trade on the river. The town had a prosperous period at the end of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

. The rocky promontory overlooking the Charente high and over the Anguienne high formed a strategic position. It was raised to the rank of capital of ''civitas'' (at the end of the 3rd or 4th centuries) and the first fortress dates from the end of the Roman Empire. The rampart called Bas-Empire which surrounds 27 hectares of land was maintained until the 13th century. The network of

Roman roads Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

were then reorganized to link the town with the surrounding cities of

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

, Saintes,

Poitiers Poitiers (, , , ; Poitevin: ''Poetàe'') is a city on the River Clain in west-central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and the historical centre of Poitou. In 2017 it had a population of 88,291. Its agglomerat ...

Limoges Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region ...

, and Périgueux. The city of ''Haut-Empire'' remained unknown for a long time. Recent excavations have provided details on the power of the Roman city. A well dug in an early era shows that the water table was very high. A large thermal spa complex was found under the courthouse which is usually related to water supply through an aqueduct. The first

bishop of Angoulême A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

was Saint Ausone of Angoulême in the 3rd century. The administrative importance of the city was strengthened by the implementation of a County in the 6th century with Turpion (or Turpin) (839–863), adviser to

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a ser ...

. However, the town was always attached to the various kingdoms of Aquitaine and the end of antiquity for the city was in 768, when

Pepin the Short the Short (french: Pépin le Bref; – 24 September 768), also called the Younger (german: Pippin der Jüngere), was King of the Franks from 751 until his death in 768. He was the first Carolingian to become king. The younger was the son of ...

defeated

Hunald II Hunald II, also spelled Hunold, Hunoald, Hunuald or Chunoald (French: ''Hunaud''), was the Duke of Aquitaine from 768 until 769. He was probably the son of Duke Waiofar, who was assassinated on the orders of King Pippin the Short in 768. He laid cla ...

and linked it to the Frankish kingdom. In June 2019, archeologists discovered a prehistoric stone with an engraving of a horse and other animals near Angoulême station. The

Palaeolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...

stone plate is estimated to be about 12,000 years old.

Middle Ages

When held by the

Visigoths The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is ...

, the city followed the

Arian Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God t ...

version of Christianity and was besieged for the first time by Clovis in 507 after Vouillé then taken in 508; "miraculously" according to

Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (30 November 538 – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of the area that had been previously referred to as Gaul by the Romans. He was born Georgius Florenti ...

and

Ademar of Chabannes Ademar is a masculine Germanic name, ultimately derived from ''Audamar'', as is the German form Otmar. It was in use in medieval France, Latinized as ''Adamarus'', and in modern times has been popular in French, Spanish and Portuguese-speaking cou ...

. During the battle, however, Clovis was seriously wounded in the leg - probably a fracture. The fact is reported by tradition and on a wall of a tower from the 2nd century a leg is carved called the "leg of Clovis". Tour clovis detail

During his stay in Angoulême, after putting the garrison to the sword, Clovis pulled down the old Visigothic cathedral dedicated to Saint-Saturnin to build a new one bearing the name of Saint-Pierre. All that remains of the original building are two carved marble capitals that frame the bay of the axis in the

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

of the present cathedral. In the 7th century Saint Cybard stayed secluded in a cave beneath the extension to the north wall of Angoulême called Green Garden which caused the creation of the first abbey: the Abbey of Saint-Cybard, then created the first abbey for women: the Abbey of Saint-Ausone where the tomb of the first bishop of the city is located. In 848 Angoulême was sacked by the

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

chief

Hastein Hastein (Old Norse: ''Hásteinn'', also recorded as ''Hastingus'', ''Anstign'', ''Haesten'', ''Hæsten'', ''Hæstenn'' or ''Hæsting'' and alias ''Alsting''Jones, Aled (2003). ''Transactions of the Royal Historical Society: Sixth Series'' Cambridge ...

. In 896 or 930 the city suffered another attack from invading Vikings but this time the Vikings faced an effective resistance.

Guillaume I William Longsword (french: Guillaume Longue-Épée, nrf, Willâome de lon Espee, la, Willermus Longa Spata, on, Vilhjálmr Langaspjót; c. 893 – 17 December 942) was the second ruler of Normandy, from 927 until his assassination in 942.Det ...

, third Count of Angoulême, at the head of his troops made them surrender in a decisive battle. During this engagement, he split open to the waist Stonius, the Norman chief, with a massive blow together with his helmet and breastplate. It was this feat that earned him the name ''Taillefer'', which was borne by all his descendants until

Isabella of Angoulême Isabella (french: Isabelle, ; c. 1186/ 1188 – 4 June 1246) was Queen of England from 1200 to 1216 as the second wife of King John, Countess of Angoulême in her own right from 1202 until her death in 1246, and Countess of La Marche from 122 ...

who was also known as Isabelle Taillefer, the wife of King

John of England John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Emp ...

. The title was withdrawn from the descendants on more than one occasion by Richard Coeur-de-Lion then the title passed to King John of England at the time of his marriage to Isabella of Angoulême, daughter of Count Aymer of Angoulême. After becoming a widow, Isabella subsequently married

Hugh X of Lusignan Hugh X de Lusignan, Hugh V of La Marche or Hugh I of Angoulême (c. 1183 – c. 5 June 1249, Angoulême) was Seigneur de Lusignan and Count of La Marche in November 1219 and was Count of Angoulême by marriage. He was the son of Hugh IX an ...

in 1220, and the title was passed to the Lusignan family, counts of Marche. On the death of

Hugh XIII Hugh XIII of Lusignan, Hugh VIII of La Marche or Hugh IV of Angoulême (25 June 1259 – 1 November 1303 in Angoulême) succeeded his father Hugh XII as Seigneur de Lusignan, Count of La Marche and Count of Angoulême in 1270. He married at ...

in 1302 without issue, the County of Angoulême passed his possessions to the crown of France. In 1236

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

communities in

Anjou Anjou may refer to: Geography and titles France * County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou **Count of Anjou, title of nobility *Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France **Duk ...

and

Poitou Poitou (, , ; ; Poitevin: ''Poetou'') was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Both Poitou and Poitiers are named after the Pictones Gallic tribe. Geography The main historical cities are Poitiers (historical c ...

, particularly Bordeaux and Angoulême were attacked by

crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

. 500

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

chose conversion and over 3000 were massacred. Pope

Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX ( la, Gregorius IX; born Ugolino di Conti; c. 1145 or before 1170 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decre ...

, who originally had called the crusade, was outraged about this brutality and criticized the clergy for not preventing it. From the 10th to the 13th centuries the counts of Angoulême, the Taillefer, then the Lusignan strengthened the defences of the city and widened it to encompass the district of Saint-Martial. In 1110, Bishop Girard II ordered the construction of the present cathedral.

The commune charter

On 18 May 1204 a charter was signed by King John of England to make official the creation of the commune of Angoulême. The King "grants to residents of Angoulême to keep the freedoms and customs of their fair city and defend their possessions and rights". The city celebrated their 800th anniversary throughout 2004.

The Hundred Years War

In 1360 the city, like all of Angoumois, passed into the hands of the

Plantagenet The House of Plantagenet () was a royal house which originated from the lands of Anjou in France. The family held the English throne from 1154 (with the accession of Henry II at the end of the Anarchy) to 1485, when Richard III died in batt ...

English with the

Treaty of Brétigny The Treaty of Brétigny was a treaty, drafted on 8 May 1360 and ratified on 24 October 1360, between Kings Edward III of England and John II of France. In retrospect, it is seen as having marked the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years' ...

. From 16 to 22 October 1361,

John Chandos Sir John Chandos, Viscount of Saint-Sauveur in the Cotentin, Constable of Aquitaine, Seneschal of Poitou, (c. 1320 – 31 December 1369) was a medieval English knight who hailed from Radbourne Hall, Derbyshire. Chandos was a close friend of ...

, Lieutenant of

King Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ro ...

of England and the Constable of Aquitaine responsible for implementing the Treaty particularly in Angoumois, took possession of the city, its castles, and the "mostier" (monastery) of Saint-Pierre. He received oaths of allegiance to the King of England from the main personalities of the city. The English were, however, expelled in 1373 by the troops of

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infan ...

who granted the town numerous privileges. The County of Angoulême was given to Louis d'Orléans who was the brother of King Charles VI in 1394 and it then passed to his son Jean d'Orléans (1400–1467), the grandfather of

Marguerite de Navarre Marguerite de Navarre (french: Marguerite d'Angoulême, ''Marguerite d'Alençon''; 11 April 149221 December 1549), also known as Marguerite of Angoulême and Margaret of Navarre, was a princess of France, Duchess of Alençon and Berry, and Queen ...

and

François I Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once ...

. The ''Good Count'' Jean of Angoulême greatly expanded the County castle after his return from English captivity in the middle of the 15th century.

The modern era

Angoulême, the seat of the County of Angoumois, came into the possession of a branch of the family of Valois from which came François I, King of France from 1515 to 1547 who was born in

Cognac Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the Communes of France, commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the Departments of France, departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. Cog ...

in 1494. In 1524 the Italian navigator

Giovanni da Verrazzano Giovanni da Verrazzano ( , , often misspelled Verrazano in English; 1485–1528) was an Italian ( Florentine) explorer of North America, in the service of King Francis I of France. He is renowned as the first European to explore the Atlantic ...

returned from the Indies. He told François I he had discovered a new territory that he named

New Angoulême The written history of New York City began with the first European explorer, the Italian Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524. European settlement began with the Dutch in 1608. The "Sons of Liberty" campaigned against British authority in New York Ci ...

in his honour. This area later became

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam ( nl, Nieuw Amsterdam, or ) was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''factory'' gave rise ...

then

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. The duchy, now crown land, thereafter was passed on within the ruling house of France. One of its holders was

Charles of Valois Charles of Valois (12 March 1270 – 16 December 1325), the fourth son of King Philip III of France and Isabella of Aragon, was a member of the House of Capet and founder of the House of Valois, whose rule over France would start in 1328 ...

, the "natural" (or illegitimate) son of Charles IX. The last duke of Angoulême was Louis-Antoine (died 1844), eldest son of

Charles X of France Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Lou ...

John Calvin John Calvin (; frm, Jehan Cauvin; french: link=no, Jean Calvin ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system ...

, the promoter of

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

and friend of Jean du Tillet the archdeacon of Angoulême, was forced to flee Paris in 1533 and took refuge in Angoulême in the caves of Rochecorail at Trois-Palis. He wrote some of his ''

Institutes of the Christian Religion ''Institutes of the Christian Religion'' ( la, Institutio Christianae Religionis) is John Calvin's seminal work of systematic theology. Regarded as one of the most influential works of Protestant theology, it was published in Latin in 1536 (at th ...

'' there which first edition was published in Latin in

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

in 1536. Angoulême was affected by the

Revolt of the Pitauds The revolt of the pitauds (French: ''jacquerie des Pitauds'', ''révolte des Pitauds'') was a French peasants' revolt in the mid-16th century. The revolt was sparked by the 1541 decree of Châtellerault, which extended a salt tax to Angoumois ...

peasant revolt: in 1541, the

gabelle The ''gabelle'' () was a very unpopular tax on salt in France that was established during the mid-14th century and lasted, with brief lapses and revisions, until 1946. The term ''gabelle'' is derived from the Italian ''gabella'' (a duty), itself ...

(salt tax) was imposed on Saintonge and Angoumois. These provinces did not pay the tax on salt. The revolt broke out around Angoulême and farmers from the surrounding countryside took the city in July 1548 During the first

wars of religion A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to wh ...

the city took up arms: it was reconquered in 1563 by

Montpensier The French lordship of Montpensier (named after the village of Montpensier, département of Puy-de-Dôme), located in historical Auvergne, became a countship in the 14th century. It changed hands from the House of Thiern, to the House of Beauj ...

. In 1565 Charles IX passed through the city during his royal tour of France (1564–1566) accompanied by the court. In October 1568 the city was taken by the Protestants under Coligny. Henry III was, in his infancy, the Duke of Angoulême. He left an unflattering description: "The streets of Engolesme are twisted, houses are disordered, the walls built out of various kinds of masonry which show that it was built several times and often taken and ruined" In 1588 the mayor of Angoulême, François Normand Lord of Puygrelier, was ordered by

Henri III Henry III (french: Henri III, né Alexandre Édouard; pl, Henryk Walezy; lt, Henrikas Valua; 19 September 1551 – 2 August 1589) was King of France from 1574 until his assassination in 1589, as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of ...

to arrest the

Duke of Épernon Duke of Épernon (french: Duc d'Épernon) was a noble title in the peerage of France granted to Jean Louis de Nogaret de La Valette by Henry III of France in 1581. It is named after Épernon. List of Dukes of Épernon, 1581—1736 Louis de Pa ...

, governor of Angoumois. He led the assault, was repelled, and died on 10 August 1588. In 1619

Marie de Médicis Marie de' Medici (french: link=no, Marie de Médicis, it, link=no, Maria de' Medici; 26 April 1575 – 3 July 1642) was Queen of France and Navarre as the second wife of King Henry IV of France of the House of Bourbon, and Regent of the Kingdom ...

escaped and was received by the Duke of Épernon, governor of Angoumois. At that time the castle was the residence of the governors.

French Revolution

During the French Revolution the city was called ''Mountagne-Charente''. The first tree of liberty was planted on 5 July 1792.

World War II

DUPUY PILS 55 - ANGOULEME - La Place des Halles centrales

SJS 81 - ANGOULEME - Eglise et Faubourg Saint-Ausonne

On 24 June 1940, the 2nd Verfügungstruppe division (special intervention troops) Das Reich supported by other units of the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

arrived in Angoulême. These troops took prisoners and neutralized the many refugee French soldiers in the city. Their number is estimated between 10 and 20 thousand. They were released in the following days. The Das Reich division, which became tragically famous in 1944 during the

Battle of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norma ...

, continued their "lightning war" by quickly moving to the Spanish border to quickly set the

line of demarkation The Treaty of Tordesillas, ; pt, Tratado de Tordesilhas . signed in Tordesillas, Spain on 7 June 1494, and authenticated in Setúbal, Portugal, divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between the Portuguese Empire and the Spanish Emp ...

to cut France in two. Angoulême was located in the

occupied zone Military occupation, also known as belligerent occupation or simply occupation, is the effective military control by a ruling power over a territory that is outside of that power's sovereign territory.Eyāl Benveniśtî. The international law ...

under German authority and was the seat of the ''Feld Kommandatur''. The border with the free zone, colloquially called the ''zone nono'' (non-occupied) passed about east of Angoulême through the Forest of Braconne and split the department in two. On 20 August 1940 a convoy of Spanish Republicans were sent from Angoulême: convoy 927. This was the first convoy of the history of

Deportation Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...

in Europe. Men over the age of 13 were sent to the

Mauthausen Mauthausen was a Nazi concentration camp on a hill above the market town of Mauthausen (roughly east of Linz), Upper Austria. It was the main camp of a group with nearly 100 further subcamps located throughout Austria and southern German ...

camp where very few survived; women and children were sent to

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ref ...

. These refugees were gathered in camps of "Combe aux Loups" at

Ruelle-sur-Touvre Ruelle-sur-Touvre is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France. Population International relations The commune has been twinned with Amstetten, Lower Austria since 1972 and Banbridge Banbridge ( , ) is a town in Coun ...

and "Alliers" in Angoulême. It also served as a concentration camp for

Gypsies The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

until June 1946. On 21 October 1941 the young Gontran Labrégère, who tried with his friend Jean Pierre Rivière to set fire to a train carrying straw and munitions in Angoulême railway station, was shot by the occupiers. This was the first of a long list of 98 resistance fighters or hostages from Charente. In 1942 Mayor Guillon was dismissed and accused of belonging to an organisation outlawed by the

Vichy regime Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...

. He was replaced by a notable industrialist, Pallas. On 8 October 1942, 387 people of Jewish origin were arrested and deported to

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

. Only eight of them ever returned. On 19 March 1944 allied bombing caused widespread damage and one casualty at the National Explosives factory. On 15 June and 14 August 1944, the railway station was the target of American Flying Fortresses that dumped a carpet of bombs with little damage to the Germans but killing 242 civilians, destroying 400 houses, and caused 5,000 disaster victims in l'Éperon, l'Houmeau, Madeleine, and Grand-Font districts. At the end of August 1944 the Elster column, which was composed of the remains of various German units and the

Indische Legion The Indian Legion (german: Indische Legion), officially the Free India Legion (german: Legion Freies Indien) or 950th (Indian) Infantry Regiment (german: Infanterie-Regiment 950 (indisches)), was a military unit raised during the Second World War ...

, passed through the city without incident and withdrew. Various units of FFI from the department and reinforcements from

Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; oc, Dordonha ) is a large rural department in Southwestern France, with its prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and the Pyrenees, it is named af ...

then began the encirclement of the city. On the evening of 31 August an attack was launched, putting to flight the remnants of the German garrison. They fortunately did not have an opportunity to reorganize the defence of the city using the numerous and formidable fortifications erected for this purpose. On the night of 31 August to 1 September the city was liberated and a Liberation Committee with a new prefect was installed. This attack, however, resulted in 51 casualties among the different units involved: Maquis de Bir Hacheim, Groupe Soleil, SSS (Special Section for Sabotage), etc. A museum in the commune is devoted to the Resistance and the deportations of Jewish and political prisoners. A statue near the station commemorates the deportations to the concentration camps. The survivors of

Operation Frankton Operation Frankton was a commando raid on ships in the German occupied French port of Bordeaux in southwest France during the Second World War. The raid was carried out by a small unit of Royal Marines known as the Royal Marines Boom Patrol D ...

, notable for their daring raid by canoe on the German

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

base at Bordeaux, made their escape across country to a safe house at Ruffec just north of Angoulême. This is now the site of a shop featuring British goods. The Monument to the Resistance is in

Chasseneuil Chasseneuil () is a commune in the Indre department in central France.Commune de Ch ...

to the east.

Postwar history

After the war, the city underwent a major expansion of its suburbs. First Grand Font and Bel-Air, following the MRU reconstruction program for war damage of the area around the station which was bombed in 1944. Then in the 1960s the districts of Basseau (ZAC) and the Grande-Garenne were built and then there was the creation of Priority Urban Zones (ZUPs) at Ma Campagne in the 1970s. Gradually industries moved into more spacious industrial zones created in the peripheral communes between 1959 and 1975: *Sillac-Rabion (1959) *les Agriers (1964) *ZI No. 3:

and

(1967) *

Nersac Nersac () is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Charente department The following is a list of the 364 communes of the Charente department of France. The communes cooperate i ...

(early 1970s) *Combe at Saint-Yrieix (1980) Urbanisation also affected the peripheral communes with housing estates at

Soyaux Soyaux ( or ) is a commune in the Charente department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwestern France. Population Notable people * Bruno Périer (born 1966), former professional footballer Sights * Sentier botanique de Soyaux See ...

and Ruelle-sur-Touvre and the agglomeration became one of the largest cities in the south-west. In 1972, the city signed a "pilot city" contract with the State (

DATAR DATAR, short for ''Digital Automated Tracking and Resolving'', was a pioneering computerized battlefield information system. DATAR combined the data from all of the sensors in a naval task force into a single "overall view" that was then transmi ...

, represented by

Albin Chalandon Albin Chalandon (; 11 June 1920 – 29 July 2020) was a French politician and minister. Between 1968 and 1972, he was Minister of Public Works. And from 1986 until 1988, he was Minister of Justice. Between 1967 and 1968, he was a member of the ...

), which allowed the city to make large scale public works - e.g. the small ring road (bridge and Rue Saint-Antoine, Boulevard Bretagne, Tunnel of Gâtine) penetrating Ma Campagne and called the way to Europe, the ZUPs at Ma Campagne, the Saint-Martial town centre, underground parking at Bouillaud and Saint-Martial, Montauzier indoor swimming pools at Ma Campagne, a pedestrianized street, a one-way traffic plan with computerized management of traffic lights (Angoulême is one of the first cities in France with Bordeaux which has the Gertrude computerized system called ''Philibert'' in Angoulême), STGA urban transport (ten routes with flexible buses), development of Bouillaud square, Conservatory of Music. In 1989 after defeat in the municipal elections, the PS deputy mayor, Jean-Michel Boucheron left a hole of 164 million francs in the finances of the city and a debt of 1.2 billion francs. This deficit has burdened the finances of the city and long served as justification for the non-involvement in the completion of public works. The small ring road (the southwest quarter - i.e. the Aquitaine Boulevard, a second bridge over the Charente, and the connection to the ''way of Europe'') was completed in 1995. Following the construction of the Nautilis swimming complex at Saint-Yrieix by the urban community, the town of Angoulême closed three swimming pools in 2001 (Montauzier, Ma Campagne and the Bourgines summer pool).

Heraldry

;Development of the coat of arms *The first known blazon was: ''Azure Semé-de-lis of Or, a city gate with two towers of argent debruised by the whole''. *Under Philip V in 1317: The Two Towers became three. *Under Charles VI in 1381 are: ''Azure Semé-de-lis of Or, a bend compony of Argent and Or debruised by the whole for brisure''. The door at tower three encloses an outdoor ornament. *Under Charles VII in 1452 the brisure changes for: ''a label of three points, with the middle pointed''. *In the 16th century, the door with two towers reappears surmounted by a fleur de lys of gold. *In 1850 a star replaced the fleur de lys which reappeared in 1855. *At an unknown date the crown was added.

Administration

Municipality

List of Successive

Mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities ...

since 1944

Cantons

Angoulême is divided over three cantons: * Angoulême-1, which comprises the commune of

Fléac Fléac () is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Charente department The following is a list of the 364 communes of the Charente department of France. The communes cooperate i ...

and part of Angoulême * Angoulême-2, which comprises the commune of

and part of Angoulême * Angoulême-3, which comprises the commune of

and part of Angoulême

Intercommunality

The ''Urban Community of Greater Angoulême'' or ''Grand Angoulême'' includes 16 communes: Angoulême, Fleac,

, La Couronne,

Linars Linars () is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Charente department The following is a list of the 364 communes of the Charente department of France. The communes cooperate ...

, L'Isle-d'Espagnac,

Magnac-sur-Touvre Magnac-sur-Touvre () is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Charente department The following is a list of the 364 communes of the Charente department of France. The communes coo ...

Mornac Mornac () is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Charente department The following is a list of the 364 communes of the Charente department of France. The communes cooperate in t ...

Puymoyen Puymoyen () is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Charente department The following is a list of the 364 communes of the Charente department of France. The communes cooperat ...

, Saint-Michel, Saint-Saturnin,

Saint-Yrieix-sur-Charente Saint-Yrieix-sur-Charente (; oc, Sent Iriès de Charanta) is a commune in the Charente department, southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Charente department The following is a list of the 364 communes of the Charente ...

, Soyaux, and

. The population of the conurbation was 103,501 inhabitants in 2006 (102,368 in 1999).

Budget and taxation

Taxation is at a rate of 40.20% on buildings, 71.94% on undeveloped land, and 18.43% for the housing tax (2007 figures). The urban community levies 19.20% business tax.

Urban development

The Champ de Mars is the central square of the city and has had an underground shopping arcade since September 2007. The eastern ring road was opened in 2004 (2010 for the final section) which opened up several districts. The deviation of the N10 which has bypassed the city since 1973 has formed a western ring road since 2004 when the initial Fléac-Linars project was abandoned. Rehabilitation operations for collective housing are underway as part of the government Operation for Urban Renewal. The districts of Grande Garenne, Basseau and Ma Campagne were combined in a program of urban regeneration. File:Angouleme hv marche.JPG, The historic centre with the city hall and the market File:Angouleme hv rue pietonne.JPG, Pedestrian shopping area in the centre File:Houmeau Angoulême.JPG, The port of l'Houmeau and, in the background, the town centre of Angoulême. File:Angouleme grande garenne.jpg, District of Grande-Garenne File:Ang grandfont.JPG, District of Grand-Font File:Angoulême - Halles.JPG, Les Halles File:Angoulême Hôtel de Bardines 2012.jpg, The Bardines Hotel

Movies and TV series shot in Angoulême

*''Blanche and Marie'' by Jacques Renard with

Miou-Miou Sylvette Herry (born 22 February 1950), known professionally as Miou-Miou (), is a French actress. A ten-time César Award nominee, she won the César Award for Best Actress for the 1979 film ''Memoirs of a French Whore''. Her other films inclu ...

and

Sandrine Bonnaire Sandrine Bonnaire (; born 31 May 1967) is a French actress, film director and screenwriter who has appeared in more than 40 films. She won the César Award for Most Promising Actress for '' À Nos Amours'' (1983), the César Award for Best Actre ...

, shot in Angoulême and Rouillac, released in 1985 *''The Child of the Dawn'' with

Thierry Lhermitte Thierry Lhermitte (; born 24 November 1952) is a French actor, director, writer and producer, best known for his comedic roles. He was a founder of the comedy troupe ''Le Splendid'' in the 1970s, along with, among others, Christian Clavier, Gérar ...

filmed at Angoulême and

*''SOS 18'' shot in and around Angoulême *''Father and Mayor'' filmed in the communes of Angoulême and

(in the series, Angoulême is called Ville-Grand) *''My son anyway'' by Williams Crépin with

Clémentine Célarié Clémentine Célarié (born 12 October 1957) is a French actress, writer, director and singer.

in 2004. *''And you About Love?'' by Lola Doillon, 2007 *''

Mammuth ''Mammuth'' is a 2010 French drama film directed by Benoît Delépine and Gustave de Kervern. It was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival. For her role, Yolande Moreau was nominated for Best Actress at t ...

'' by Benoit Delépine and

Gustave Kervern Gustave Kervern (born 27 August 1962), also known as Gustave de Kervern and Gustave K/Vern, is a French actor, director and screenwriter. He is best known for his collaboration with Benoît Delépine. Life and career In 2004 he wrote, directed, ...

*''To the four winds'' by Jacques Doillon *''Dying of love'' by Josée Dayan, with Muriel Robin *''At the bottom of the ladder'' by Arnaud Mercadier with

Vincent Elbaz Vincent Elbaz (born 3 February 1971) is a French actor. He has appeared in many French television shows and films. His first major role was in the 1994 film '' Le péril jeune''. Elbaz received the 1998 Jean Gabin Prize. Elbaz was born in Pari ...

Claude Brasseur Claude Brasseur (15 June 1936 – 22 December 2020) was a French actor. Life and career Claude Brasseur was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine as Claude Pierre Espinasse, the son of actor Pierre Brasseur and actress Odette Joyeux. He was the godson of E ...

Bernadette Lafont Bernadette Lafont (28 October 1938 – 25 July 2013) was a French actress who appeared in more than 120 feature films. She has been considered "the face of French New Wave". In 1999 she told ''The New York Times'' her work was "the motor of my e ...

, and

Helena Noguerra Helena Noguerra (18 May 1969) is a Belgian actress, singer and writer. Career Noguerra was born in Brussels, Belgium. Her songs have been used in commercials and television programmes such as ''Lunettes noires pour nuits blanches'' by Thier ...

*''Victoire Bonnot'' with

Valerie Damidot Valerie may refer to: People *Saint Valerie (disambiguation), a number of saints went by the name Valerie *Valerie (given name), a feminine given name Songs *"Valerie", a 1981 song by Quarterflash, from ''Quarterflash'' *"Valerie", a 1982 son ...

and Shirley Bousquet filmed at the Saint-Paul Secondary School *''The Lies'' by Fabrice Cazeneuve with

Hippolyte Girardot Hippolyte Girardot (born Frédéric Girardot; 10 October 1955) is a French actor, film director and screenwriter. He is the father of actress Ana Girardot. Selected filmography * 1973: '' La Femme de Jean'', directed by Yannick Bellon, Rémi ...

and Marilyne Canto, filmed in Angoulême and

, released in 2010 *''

Code Lyoko Evolution ''Code Lyoko: Evolution'' is a French teen drama science fiction television series created by Thomas Romain and Tania Palumbo and produced by the MoonScoop Group for France Télévisions, Lagardere Thematiques and Canal J, in association with ...

'', filmed mid-2012 at the Lycée Guez de Balzac *'' Le Grand Soir'' filmed at Angoulême and the ZAC at Montagnes by Benoit Delépine and

with

Albert Dupontel Albert Dupontel (; born 11 January 1964) is a French actor, film director and screenwriter. Following his father's path, he studied medicine but eventually switched to theater, disillusioned by hospital life. He started his career as a stand-up c ...

and

Benoît Poelvoorde Benoît Poelvoorde (, ; born 22 September 1964) is a Belgian actor and comedian. Early life His mother was a grocer and his father a driver, who died when Poelvoorde was still a minor. He attended the Jesuit Boarding School of Godinne before ...

2012. *''Indiscretions'' by Josée Dayan with Muriel Robin, filmed during the summer of 2013 in Angoulême, Saint-Même-les-Carrières and Bassac, released in November 2013. *''

'' - ''

s 10th film was shot in the area between 2018 and 2019.

Twin towns – sister cities

Angoulême is twinned with: *

Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...

, England, United Kingdom (1959) *

Hildesheim Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the Lei ...

, Germany (1965) *

Vitoria Gasteiz es, vitoriano, vitoriana, , population_density_km2 = auto , blank_name_sec1 = Official language(s) , blank_info_sec1 = Spanish, Basque , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Spain (1967) * Saguenay, Canada (1969) *

Gelendzhik Gelendzhik (russian: Геленджи́к) is a resort town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located on the Gelendzhik Bay of the Black Sea, between Novorossiysk ( to the northwest) and Tuapse ( to the southeast). Greater Gelendzhik sprawls for along t ...

, Russia (1977) *

Ségou Ségou (; bm, ߛߋߓߎ, italic=no, ) is a town and an urban commune in south-central Mali that lies northeast of Bamako on the right bank of the River Niger. The town is the capital of the Ségou Cercle and the Ségou Region. With 130,690 i ...

, Mali (1984) *

Turda Turda (; hu, Torda, ; german: link=no, Thorenburg; la, Potaissa) is a city in Cluj County, Transylvania, Romania. It is located in the southeastern part of the county, from the county seat, Cluj-Napoca, to which it is connected by the Europe ...

, Romania (1994) *

Hoffman Estates Hoffman Estates is a village (Illinois), village in Illinois, United States. The village is located primarily in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, with a small section in Kane County, Illinois, Kane County. It is a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2 ...

, United States (1996) * Chaves, Portugal (2017)

Demography

Demographic classification

By population Angoulême is by far the largest city in Charente with 41,711 inhabitants on 1 January 2018. With a communal area of 2,185 hectares, the population density is 1,909 inhabitants per km², making it the most densely populated city in Charente. In 2018, the

urban unit In France, an urban unit (''fr: "unité urbaine"'') is a statistical area defined by INSEE, the French national statistics office, for the measurement of contiguously built-up areas. According to the INSEE definition , an "unité urbaine" is a ...

of Angoulême, which includes eighteen communes, totaled 109,395 inhabitants. It is the seventh most populous urban unit of

, and extends over from north to south. Its functional area has 179,758 inhabitants (2018), and is composed of 94 communes in the impact zone of the city.

Demographic changes

In 2017 Angoulême had 41,740 inhabitants, down 13% from its largest population in 1962, and down 2.2% compared to 2007. The commune was 172nd in size at the national level, while it was at 145th in 1999, and 1st at the departmental level out of 366 communes.

Distribution of age groups

Percentage Distribution of Age Groups in Angoulême and Charente Department in 2017 Source: INSEEÉvolution et structure de la population en 2017: Commune d'Angoulême (16015)
/ref>

Economy

Angoulême is a centre of the paper-making and printing industry, with which the town has been connected since the 14th century. Papermaking is favoured because of the uniform temperature and volume of the water year-round, partly due to the river Touvre, which joins the

at Angoulême. The Touvre is the second largest river with an underground source in France after the

Sorgue The Sorgue is a river in Southeastern France lying between the foothills of the Alps and the Rhône. It is long. Its source is near the town of Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, Vaucluse department. It is the biggest spring in France and the fifth biggest ...

(

Fontaine-de-Vaucluse Fontaine-de-Vaucluse (; oc, La Fònt de Vauclusa or simply ) is a commune in the southeastern French department of Vaucluse. In 2018, it had a population of 585. Its name comes from the spring of the same name; the name Vaucluse itself comes fr ...

The Touvre emerges as a full-blown river from the head of the valley at Ruelle. A trout fishery is located at the source and a pumping station supplies the drinking water needs of Angoulême. Most of the paper mills are situated on the banks of watercourses in the neighbourhood of the town. Cardboard for packaging, as well as fine

vellum Vellum is prepared animal skin or membrane, typically used as writing material. Parchment is another term for this material, from which vellum is sometimes distinguished, when it is made from calfskin, as opposed to that made from other anima ...

for correspondence, have been produced in quantity. The best known export is

Rizla Rizla (), commercially styled Rizla+., is a French brand of rolling papers and other related paraphernalia in which tobacco, or marijuana, or a mixture, is rolled to make handmade joints and cigarettes. The company was sold in 1997 to Imperial ...

cigarette roll-up paper, a combination of ''riz'' (rice paper) and LaCroix, after Monsieur LaCroix the founder. ''Le Nil'' is another local brand of roll-up paper, named not after the Nile in Egypt but after a small tributary of the Charente. The Le Nil paper-mill is now the Paper Museum. Paper-making in the town has been in decline. The economy of the modern town also is supplemented by annual tourist events and festivals. For example, the printers and paper-makers, whose industry relied on intricate machinery, became skilled mechanics and among the first to become fascinated with the motor car in the late 19th century. Motor trials were held regularly, starting on the long straight road through Puymoyen, now a suburb. Monsieur LaCroix (of RIZLA+) was a celebrated motorcycle racer. The Paris-Madrid road race of 1903, notorious for its cancellation due to numerous deaths, passed through Angoulême. Marcel, one of the brothers

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...

, was one of the victims. The place of his death is marked by a memorial on road RN10 to Poitiers. The town has been closely associated with motor trials and racing. The Circuit des Remparts (see below) is held annually, one of the last such street-racing course in France, together with Pau (and Monaco). In addition to local heroes, internationally known racing drivers, such as

Juan Manuel Fangio Juan Manuel Fangio (American Spanish: , ; 24 June 1911 – 17 July 1995), nicknamed ''El Chueco'' ("the bowlegged" or "bandy legged one") or ''El Maestro'' ("The Master" or "The Teacher"), was an Argentine racing car driver. He dominated t ...

José Froilán González José Froilán González (October 5, 1922 – June 15, 2013) was an Argentine racing driver, particularly notable for scoring Ferrari's first win in a Formula One World Championship race at the 1951 British Grand Prix. He made his Formula One ...

Jean-Pierre Wimille Jean-Pierre Wimille (26 February 1908 – 28 January 1949) was a Grand Prix motor racing driver and a member of the French Resistance during World War II. Biography Born in Paris, France to a father who loved motor sports and was employed as th ...

Pierre Veyron Pierre Veyron (1 October 1903 – 2 November 1970) was a French Grand Prix motor racing driver active from 1933 through 1953. Career Pierre Veyron enrolled at university to study engineering. Veyron's friend, Albert Divo, convinced Veyron to take ...

and

Maurice Trintignant Maurice Bienvenu Jean Paul Trintignant (30 October 1917 – 13 February 2005) was a motor racing driver and vintner from France. He competed in the Formula One World Championship for fourteen years, between 1950 and 1964, one of the longest caree ...

, have been regular participants. The cars which they drove frequently are presented at the modern event. The hotel and restaurant trade receives a considerable boost from the races. Subsidiary industries, such as the manufacture of machinery, electric motors and wire fabric, are of considerable importance. Angoulême is the most inland navigable port on the Charente River. The traditional river boat is the Gabare. Iron and copper founding, brewing and tanning also continue. The manufacture of gunpowder, confectionery, heavy iron goods, gloves, boots and shoes (including the traditional ''pantoufle'' carpet slippers) and cotton goods are also important. There is wholesale and retail trade in wine, cognac and building-stone.

Transportation

The new high-speed rail link between Tours and Bordeaux bypasses the town centre to the west, but with a link to

Angoulême station Angoulême is a railway station located in Angoulême, Charente, south-western France. The station was opened in 1852 and is located on the Paris–Bordeaux railway, Saintes-Angoulême railway and Limoges-Angoulême railway. The train service ...

from both the north and south. It opened in July 2017. Direct

journeys from Paris

Gare Montparnasse Gare Montparnasse (; Montparnasse station), officially Paris-Montparnasse, one of the six large Paris railway termini, is located in the 14th and 15th arrondissements. The station opened in 1840, was rebuilt in 1852 and relocated in 1969 to ...

take just over two hours. The Paris Bordeaux railway passes through a tunnel beneath the town and is due for large-scale refurbishment to improve travel time. Angoulême - Cognac International Airport is situated NE of the city centre in Champniers, just off the N10. The runway can accommodate Boeing 737s, and a new restaurant and shops were added in 2008. However Ryanair stopped its Angoulême-Stansted service in 2010. Air France used to operate a service to Lyon. There are currently no regular flights to/from Angoulême airport. Local Buses – The city bus system is run b
STGA

Culture and heritage

Angoulême and Angoumois country together are classified as a City of Art and History. In place of its ancient

fortification A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

s, Angoulême is encircled by boulevards above the old city walls, known as the ''Remparts'', from which fine views may be obtained in all directions. Within the town the streets are often narrow. Apart from the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

and the ''

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

'', the architecture is of little interest to purists. However, the "old town" has been preserved, maintained and largely reserved for pedestrians. It has a cobbled restaurant quarter, with several galleries and boutiques. Angoulême contains a very large number of buildings and structures which are registered as historical monuments. Below are listed some of the most interesting sites.

Civil heritage

*The Town Hall (13th century) was designed by

Paul Abadie Paul Abadie (9 November 1812 – 3 August 1884) was a French architect and building restorer. He is considered a central representative of French historicism. He was the son of architect Paul Abadie Sr. Abadie worked on the restoration of Not ...

and is a handsome 19th-century structure. It has preserved and incorporated two 13th-century towers, Lusignan and Valois, from the Castle of the

Counts of Angoulême Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

on the site on which it was built. It contains museums of paintings and

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

. *The Ramparts (4th century).Ministry of Culture, Mérimée The ramparts form a balcony overlooking the Charente. *The Market building (1886) is made of architectural glass and iron of Baltard type. *The Palace of Justice was built on an old convent at the end of the 19th century by Paul Abadie's father. *The Municipal Theatre has a superb façade. *The College Jules Verne, a former deanery, it has preserved the old chapel with stained glass and carved woodwork in the music room and a vaulted chapel with stone keystones and stained glass - visible from the Rue de Beaulieu - which has become the CDI. *The Guez de Balzac School built by Paul Abadie father and son. There are very many old houses: *The Maison Saint-Simon in Rue de la Cloche-Verte (16th century) built in the

Renaissance style Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and ...

. *The Hotel de Bardines at 79 Rue de Beaulieu (18th century) is attributed to the Angoulême architect

Jean-Baptiste Michel Vallin de la Mothe Jean-Baptiste Michel Vallin de la Mothe (1729 – 7 May 1800) was a French architect whose major career was spent in St. Petersburg, where he became court architect to Catherine II. His students were Ivan Starov and Vasily Bazhenov. Biograp ...

. The building is impressive in size. *The Hotel Montalembert *The House called Archers *The Hôtel Mousnier-Longpré at 24 Rue Friedland (12th century) was rebuilt in the 15th century. It has remarkable façades on the Rue de l'Évêché, Rue de Friedland, and the courtyard. *A Hotel Particular described in ''

Illusions perdues ''Illusions perdues'' — in English, ''Lost Illusions'' — is a serial novel written by the French writer Honoré de Balzac between 1837 and 1843. It consists of three parts, starting in provincial France, thereafter moving to Paris, and final ...

'' (Lost Illusions) by

as that of Madame de Bargeton. *An Ancient Portal at 59 Rue du Minage (17th century) *An Ancient Portal at 61 Rue du Minage (16th century) ;Places (Squares) in Old Angoulême Angouleme place du Palet

*The Place du Minage with its fountain from the

Second Empire Second Empire may refer to: * Second British Empire, used by some historians to describe the British Empire after 1783 * Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396) * Second French Empire (1852–1870) ** Second Empire architecture, an architectural styl ...

and its benches has a Mediterranean flair in the heart of the old town. In the 14th and the 19th centuries there was intense commercial activity. *The Place Henri Dunant. Named after the founder of the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

, it now borders the Gabriel Fauré conservatory, formerly the Saint-Louis College then a police station. *The Place New-York. This square, formerly called ''the Park'', was installed in the 18th century in the first real town planning project. It has remained a promenade and a venue for various events. In 1956 the square changed its name again. The City Council decided to call it the ''Place New York'', in memory of the journey by

in the service of

who, in 1524, named the site of the present

. *The Place Beaulieu''. Located at the western end of the plateau and the old city, it offers a vast panorama to passers-by and has long been a pleasant place to walk. It borders the imposing Guez de Balzac School on the site of an ancient abbey. *The Place Bouillaud and the Place de l'Hotel de Ville. In addition to the City Hall there is also (in front of the entrance to the City Hall) an

art nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

façade. *The Place Francis Louvel. Formerly called ''du mûrier'', it was and remains one of the busiest places in the old town. Formerly the garden of a convent until the 16th century, it was embellished in the 18th and 19th centuries with new buildings and a fountain. The Palace of Justice is there. The place changed its name in 1946 to take the name of ''Francis Louvel'' - a resistance fighter shot by the Germans in 1944. *The Place du Palet. This site occupies a vast space which, in the past, was in front of the main gate of the old city and for three centuries housed an imposing hall. The site was redeveloped in the 1980s. *The Place du Général Resnier. Tours of the town include the ''murs peints'', various walls painted in street-art cartoon style, a feature of Angoulême and related to its association with the ''bande dessinée'', the comic strip. A statue has been erected to

Hergé Georges Prosper Remi (; 22 May 1907 – 3 March 1983), known by the pen name Hergé (; ), from the French pronunciation of his reversed initials ''RG'', was a Belgian cartoonist. He is best known for creating ''The Adventures of Tintin'', ...

, creator of ''

The Adventures of Tintin ''The Adventures of Tintin'' (french: Les Aventures de Tintin ) is a series of 24 bande dessinée#Formats, ''bande dessinée'' albums created by Belgians, Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, who wrote under the pen name Hergé. The series was one ...

''. The attractive covered market ''Les Halles'', on the site of the old jail, was restored and refurbished in 2004 and is a central part of city life. In 2009 the National Council of Cities and Villages in Bloom of France awarded four flowers to the commune in the competition for cities and villages in bloom. Angoulême1.5.JPG, Watchtower in the old Épernon wall Ang hv6.JPG, City Hall France - Charente - Angoulême - Rue piétonne - 92.jpg, The Pedestrian shopping area in 1992 Angoulême Hôt Montalembert Portail 2012.jpg, The 19th-century gate on the Hotel Montalembert Angoulême Palais de justice 2012.jpg, The Palace of Justice Angoulême Théâtre façade 2012.jpg, The Municipal Theatre Angoulême Lycée Guez de Balzac entrée 2012.jpg, Entrance to the Guez de Balzac school

Religious heritage

Angoulême Cathedral Angoulême Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Saint-Pierre d'Angoulême) is a Roman Catholic church in Angoulême, Charente, France. The cathedral is in the Romanesque architectural and sculptural tradition, and is the seat of the Bishop of Angoul ...

(12th century)Ministry of Culture, Mérimée is dedicated to

Saint Peter Saint Peter; he, שמעון בר יונה, Šimʿōn bar Yōnāh; ar, سِمعَان بُطرُس, translit=Simʿa̅n Buṭrus; grc-gre, Πέτρος, Petros; cop, Ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ, Petros; lat, Petrus; ar, شمعون الصفـا, Sham'un ...

and is a church in the Romanesque style. It has undergone frequent restoration since the 12th century. It was partly rebuilt in the latter half of the 19th century by architect

. The façade, flanked by two towers with

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, from ...

s, is decorated with

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

s featuring statuary and sculpture with the whole representing the "

Last Judgment The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...

". The crossing is surmounted by a dome. The north

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

is topped by a fine square tower over high. The Cathedral contains a very large number of items that are registered as historical objects. *The remains of the

(13th century) at the International City of Cartoons and Images (CNBDI) *The Church of Saint-André at Rue Taillefer (12th century)Ministry of Culture, Mérimée has been rebuilt several times. The church contains a large number of items that are registered as historical objects. *A Lantern of the Dead in the cemetery of the Church of Saint André (12th century) is actually a hearth - a remnant of the old Taillefer Palace. *The old Bishop's Palace at Rue Friedland (15th century) is today the Museum of Fine Arts of Angoulême. The bishop's house contains a number of items that are registered as historical objects: **A

Sarcophagus A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...

(6th century) **A

Crozier A crosier or crozier (also known as a paterissa, pastoral staff, or bishop's staff) is a stylized staff that is a symbol of the governing office of a bishop or abbot and is carried by high-ranking prelates of Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholi ...

: The Annunciation (13th century) **2

s: The Virgin (13th century) **A

: Tau (12th century) *The Hospital Chapel was the old Chapel of the

Cordeliers The Society of the Friends of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (french: Société des Amis des droits de l'homme et du citoyen), mainly known as Cordeliers Club (french: Club des Cordeliers), was a populist political club during the French R ...

Convent where Guez de Balzac is buried. The chapel contains several items that are registered as historical objects: **A Tapestry: Pagan Sacrifice to an Idol (18th century) **A Tapestry: Rest after the Harvest (17th century) **A Chest of Drawers (18th century) **A Painting: The Virgin and Saint Antoine of Padua (18th century) **A Painting: The Dead Christ (18th century) **A Painting: The Descent from the Cross (18th century) **A Painting: Virgin and child (17th century) **A Commemorative Plaque (1654) **A Bronze Bowl (16th century) *The Church of Saint-Jacques de Lhoumeau (1840) The church contains a Gallery Organ (18th century) which is registered as an historical object. *The Church of Saint-Martial (1849)Ministry of Culture, Mérimée in Neo-Romanesque style by

. The church contains a large number of items that are registered as historical objects. *The Church of Saint Ausone from the same period and architect. The church contains a Statue of Saint Ausone (17th century) which is registered as an historical object. *The Chapel Notre-Dame d'Obézine (or Bézines)(1895) *The Hôtel-Dieu *The old

Carmelite , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

convent Angoulême 16 Façade cathédrale 2014.JPG,

Angoulême - Cathédrale Mandorle.JPG, An

Aureola An aureola or aureole (diminutive of Latin ''aurea'', "golden") is the radiance of luminous cloud which, in paintings of sacred personages, surrounds the whole figure. In Romance languages, the noun Aureola is usually more related to the d ...

on the Cathedral Ang obez4.JPG, Church of Obézine Ang stroc1.JPG, Chapel Saint-Roch Angou sacre2.JPG, Church of the Sacred Heart Ang stjac2.JPG, Church of Saint-Jacques de l'Houmeau Ang staus4.JPG, Church Saint-Ausone Ang stcyb3.JPG, Chapel Saint-Cybard Angoulême - Chapelle des Cordeliers.JPG, Chapel of Cordeliers Angoulême Cheminée Taillefer 2012.jpg, "Lantern of the dead" near the Church of Saint-André

Environmental heritage

The valley of the

upstream from Angoulême is a

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectively ...

zone with remarkable species: 64 species of birds. Among them are species for marshland and wetland; and at Angoulême it is common to see

wildfowl The Anatidae are the biological family of water birds that includes ducks, geese, and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica. These birds are adapted for swimming, floating on ...

including

mute swan The mute swan (''Cygnus olor'') is a species of swan and a member of the waterfowl family Anatidae. It is native to much of Eurosiberia, and (as a rare winter visitor) the far north of Africa. It is an introduced species in North America, home ...

black-necked grebe The black-necked grebe or eared grebe (''Podiceps nigricollis'') is a member of the grebe family of water birds. It was described in 1831 by Christian Ludwig Brehm. There are currently three accepted subspecies, including the nominate subspecie ...

little grebe The little grebe (''Tachybaptus ruficollis''), also known as dabchick, is a member of the grebe family of water birds. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''takhus'' "fast" and ''bapto'' "to sink under". The specific ''ruficollis'' is from Latin ...

horned grebe The horned grebe or Slavonian grebe (''Podiceps auritus'') is a relatively small waterbird in the family Podicipedidae. There are two known subspecies: ''P. a. auritus'', which breeds in the Palearctic, and ''P. a. cornutus'', which breeds i ...

great crested grebe The great crested grebe (''Podiceps cristatus'') is a member of the grebe family of water birds noted for its elaborate mating display. Taxonomy The great crested grebe was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in t ...

greylag goose The greylag goose or graylag goose (''Anser anser'') is a species of large goose in the waterfowl family Anatidae and the type species of the genus ''Anser''. It has mottled and barred grey and white plumage and an orange beak and pink legs. A ...

gadwall The gadwall (''Mareca strepera'') is a common and widespread dabbling duck in the family Anatidae. Taxonomy The gadwall was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. DNA studies have shown that ...

, pintail,

Eurasian wigeon The Eurasian wigeon or European wigeon (''Mareca penelope''), also known as the widgeon or the wigeon, is one of three species of wigeon in the dabbling duck genus ''Mareca''. It is common and widespread within its Palearctic range. Taxonomy Th ...

shoveler The shovelers or shovellers are four species of dabbling ducks with long, broad spatula-shaped beaks: * Red shoveler, ''Anas platalea'' * Cape shoveler, ''Anas smithii'' * Australasian shoveler, ''Anas rhynchotis'' * Northern shoveler, ''Anas cl ...

garganey The garganey (''Spatula querquedula'') is a small dabbling duck. It breeds in much of Europe and across the Palearctic, but is strictly migratory, with the entire population moving to southern Africa, India (in particular Santragachi), Banglades ...

teal alt=American teal duck (male), Green-winged teal (male) Teal is a greenish-blue colour. Its name comes from that of a bird — the Eurasian teal (''Anas crecca'') — which presents a similarly coloured stripe on its head. The word is ofte ...

and

common pochard The common pochard (; ''Aythya ferina'') is a medium-sized diving duck. The scientific name is derived from Greek '' aithuia'', an unidentified seabird mentioned by authors including Hesychius and Aristotle, and Latin ''ferina'', "wild game", f ...

tufted duck The tufted duck or tufted pochard (''Aythya fuligula'') is a small diving duck with a population of close to one million birds, found in northern Eurasia. The scientific name is derived from Ancient Greek '' aithuia'', an unidentified seabird ment ...

on the Charente. It is more rare to see waders.

Tern Terns are seabirds in the family Laridae that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands. Terns are treated as a subgroup of the family Laridae which includes gulls and skimmers and consists of e ...

s and

great cormorant The great cormorant (''Phalacrocorax carbo''), known as the black shag in New Zealand and formerly also known as the great black cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the black cormorant in Australia, and the large cormorant in India, is a w ...

s return during periods of storms from far upstream on the river. Marquet island and the Forest of la Pudrerie have been finally cleared and will be provided to the population. Hiking trails and an old haulage road have become part of the green corridor which allows walks along the river.

Museums

Museum of Angoulême A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

*Museum of Paper *Museum of the Archaeological and Historical Society of Charente *Museum of Resistance and Deportation *Museum of

Cartoons A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...

(CIBDI) *Decentralized branch of the Regional Contemporary Art Fund of

Poitou-Charentes Poitou-Charentes (; oc, Peitau-Charantas; Poitevin-Saintongese: ) is a former administrative region on the southwest coast of France. It is part of the new region Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprises four departments: Charente, Charente-Maritime, D ...

Cartoons

In 1983 the Regional School of Fine Arts in Angoulême (EESI) was created with the first cartoon section in France. Angoulême is home to the ''International City of Cartoons and Images'' which registers all the comics published in France. There is also at ''la Cité'' the ''ENJMIN'' which is the first state-funded school in Europe for the key subjects of video games and interactive media. *Angoulême, known as the "City of the Image" or "Capital of Cartoons", is known for its "Painted walls" of cartoons "that punctuate the city centre.

Other cultural places

*The National Theatre *The ''Espace Carat (Exhibition and Convention Centre of Grand Angoulême - events, concerts) *La Nef (Concert Hall) *Gabriel Faure conservatory which has an auditorium and a library *The Alpha, a library currently under construction (opening scheduled for March 2014)

Schedule of festivals

End of January:

, Late May: ''Musiques Métisses'' (Mixed Music), Late August: Festival of Francophone Films, September: Circuit des Remparts (Car Race), Late October: Piano en Valois, Late November: Gastronomades, Early November: The Grand Dance Festival

City of festivals

Angoulême, along with paper and printing, has long been associated with animation, illustration and the graphic arts. The Cité internationale de la Bande Dessinée et de l'Image includes an exhibition space and cinema in a converted brewery down by the river. A new museum dedicated to the motion picture opened in 2007 at the newly restored '' chais'' on opposite side of the river at Saint Cybard. The architect was Jean-François Bodin. The

takes place for a week every year in January and attracts nearly a quarter of a million international visitors. Another festival, small yet influential, is FITA, held each December. FITA stands for ''Forum International des Technologies de l'Animation'', International Forum for Animation Technologies. The event was started in 1998. Some 250 to 300 French professionals from animation, effects, post-production and game development studios: SFX supervisors, head of studios, animators, technical directors, meet to share information and hear internationally renowned speakers on the latest advances and new ideas in entertainment technology. The Circuit des Remparts motor racing event, with its street circuit around the ramparts and past the Cathedral, is held the Sunday of the middle weekend in September. It is also the occasion of the world's largest gathering of pre-war

Bugatti Automobiles Ettore Bugatti was a German then French manufacturer of high-performance automobiles. The company was founded in 1909 in the then-German city of Molsheim, Alsace, by the Italian-born industrial designer Ettore Bugatti. The cars w ...

race cars, usually around 30 cars, many being examples of the legendary T35, the

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

s of their day. British vintage and classic cars are also in attendance, most having been driven to the event. The Saturday of the "Remparts" weekend includes a tourist rally (as opposed to a speed event) for classic and sporting cars, around the Cognac area. In another international sports event, Angoulême was the site of the finish of Stages 18 and 19 (ITT) in the

2007 Tour de France The 2007 Tour de France the 94th running of the race, took place from 7 to 29 July. The Tour began with a prologue in London, and ended with the traditional finish in Paris. Along the way, the route also passed through Belgium and Spain. It was ...

. Angoulême also hosts the ''Gastronomades'' festival at Christmas, Music ''Metisse'' in May and ''Piano en Valois'' in October. A new exhibition centre (Le Parc Des Expos) and a new shopping mall at the Champ de Mars in the town centre (opening Sept/Oct 2007) are the latest additions to the town. Angoulême is the seat of a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, a

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

, and an

assize court The courts of assize, or assizes (), were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes e ...

. Its public institutions include tribunals of first instance and of commerce, a council of trade-arbitrators, a chamber of commerce and a branch of the Bank of France. It has several lycées (including the Lycee de l'Image et du Son d'Angoulême (LISA – High School of Image and Sound)), training colleges, a school of artillery, a library and several learned societies.

Facilities and services

Education

Colleges

Marguerite de Valois Margaret of Valois (french: Marguerite, 14 May 1553 – 27 March 1615), popularly known as La Reine Margot, was a French princess of the Valois dynasty who became Queen of Navarre by marriage to Henry III of Navarre and then also Queen of France ...

College *

Anatole France (; born , ; 16 April 1844 – 12 October 1924) was a French poet, journalist, and novelist with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters. He was a member of the Académie França ...

College *Pierre Bodet College *

Jules Michelet Jules Michelet (; 21 August 1798 – 9 February 1874) was a French historian and an author on other topics whose major work was a history of France and its culture. His aphoristic style emphasized his anti-clerical republicanism. In Michelet's ...

College *

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

College *Michèle Pallet College

Schools

* Lycée Guez-de-Balzac : general education school hosting literary CPGEs *School of Image and Sound of Angoulême (LISA): a general education high school (options cinema, theatre), BTS audiovisual and visual communication *Marguerite de Valois High School : general and technological lycée, *Charles de Coulomb High School: a general and technological education and vocational high school (industrial education) *Sillac High School: building trades vocational school *Jean Rostand School: vocational school for the fashion industry and services, *Jean-Albert Grégoire School: vocational school for careers in transport and logistics (

commune) *Oisellerie High School: agricultural college ( La Couronne commune) *Saint Paul High School: A private school grouping (elementary school, middle school, and general and technological high school) *Sainte-Marthe-Chavagnes School: a private school grouping (from kindergarten to BTS, general education, technological and professional)

University

The University Centre of Charente is administratively attached to the

University of Poitiers The University of Poitiers (UP; french: Université de Poitiers) is a public university located in Poitiers, France. It is a member of the Coimbra Group. It is multidisciplinary and contributes to making Poitiers the city with the highest studen ...

. It includes: *a Faculty of Law and Social Sciences *a Faculty of Sport Sciences *CEPE (European Centre for children's products) *

University Institutes of Technology The University Institutes of Technology or IUT (french: Instituts Universitaires de Technologie) are parts of the university system in France. The IUT were created in 1966. There are 108 IUTs which are attached to 80 universities including the on ...

(IUT) *a departmental site of the ''Graduate School of Teaching and Education'' from the University of Poitiers

Other institutions

*Gabriel Fauré Conservatory directed by Jacques Pesi. 56 teachers, 40 disciplines, and 1,015 students in 2010 *Isfac: a training centre offering 8

BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010 and debuting in 2013 under Big Hit Entertainment. The septet—consisting of members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook—co-writes and co-produ ...

courses alternately as well as training for business *CNAM: a branch of the National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts *EMCA: School for film animation *EGC: School of Management and Business *CIFOP: Vocational Training Centre for the ''Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Angoulême'' (

commune) *EIA: Engineering school by apprenticeship - CESI *ENJMIN: National School game and interactive digital media *EESI: Higher European School of Imaging *CREADOC: documentary of design

Sports

*Local

rock climbing Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...

crags in such as Les Eaux-Claires, site of France's first route, by

Fred Rouhling Fred Rouhling (born 24 January 1970) is a French rock climber and boulderer, noted for creating and repeating some of the earliest grade sport climbing routes in the world, including ''Hugh'' in 1993, the first-ever French sport route. Rouhlin ...

*Sailing school, based by

Éric Tabarly Éric Marcel Guy Tabarly was a French Navy officer and yachtsman, born 24 July 1931 in Nantes and died 13 June 1998 of drowning in the Irish Sea. He developed a passion for offshore racing very early on and won several ocean races such as the Osta ...

at the lake of Saint-Yrieix *The women's handball team was in division 1 for the 2008–2009 season. *The

Angoulême CFC Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; oc, Engoleime) is a commune, the prefecture of the Charente department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Angoumoisins' ...

(ACFC) is the football club that played in the National (3rd division) in the 2003–2004 season. *TTGF is the Table Tennis Club that played in National 1 (3rd division championship of France) for the 2009–2010 season. *The SC Angoulême Rugby Club *The ACA (Angoulême Rowing Club)

Health

All medical and paramedical specialties are present. *The ''Centre hospitalier d'Angoulême'', also called the Hospital of Girac, is in the commune of Saint-Michel. *The Saint-Joseph clinic is the only remaining clinic in the commune of Angoulême. Other clinics (Victor Hugo, Sainte-Marie, Saint-Cybard, etc.) are combined on one site: the clinical centre of

Local life

Worship

Catholic worship

* Saint-Pierre Cathedral *Saint-André Church *Church of Our Lady of Obézine *Church of St. Ausone *Saint-Jacques Church of l'Houmeau *Church Saint-Martial *Church of Saint-Bernadette *Parish church of Saint-John the Baptist: the church is located on the Rue Pierre Aumaître *Church of Saint-Cybard *Church of the Sacred Heart

Markets

*The market of Halles, or ''Covered Market''. With its large roof and its late 19th-century architecture, it has been registered as an historical monument since 1993. *The Victor Hugo market *The market of Saint-Cybard *The districts of Basseau and Ma Campagne also have their markets.

Military presence

Two regiments of the French armed forces are currently garrisoned in the City: * INSIGN~1

1st Marine Infantry Regiment The 1st Marine Infantry Regiment (french: 1er Régiment d'Infanterie de Marine, 1er RIMa) is a French regiment heir of the colonial infantry. The regiment is one of the « quatre vieux » regiments of the Troupes de Marine, with the 2nd Marine ...

* The 515th '' régiment du train''. Several other military formations have been previously garrisoned in the city, including: * Insigne régimentaire du 107e régiment d'infanterie (1939)

Insigne régimentaire du 107e régiment d'infanterie (1939)

The 107th Infantry Regiment, from before 1906 for an unknown period of time and then from in 1939 to 1940 * The 21st Artillery Regiment, 1906 * The 34th Artillery Regiment, 1906 * The 41st Divisional Artillery Regiment, 1939–1940 * The 502nd Tank Regiment, 1939–1940.

Notable people

(1186–1246), Queen of England as the second wife of King John *

John, Count of Angoulême John of Orléans, Count of Angoulême and of Périgord (, 26 June 1399 – 30 April 1467), was a younger son of Louis I, Duke of Orléans, and Valentina Visconti, and a grandson of Charles V of France. He was the younger brother of the noted ...

(1399–1467), grandson of King

Charles V of France Charles V (21 January 1338 – 16 September 1380), called the Wise (french: le Sage; la, Sapiens), was King of France from 1364 to his death in 1380. His reign marked an early high point for France during the Hundred Years' War, with his armi ...

and grandfather of King

, buried in Saint-Pierre d'Angoulême Cathedral *

Mellin de Saint-Gelais Mellin de Saint-Gelais (or ''Melin de Saint-Gelays'' or ''Sainct-Gelais''; c. 1491 – October, 1558) was a French poet of the Renaissance and Poet Laureate of Francis I of France. Life He was born at Angoulême, most likely the natural ...

(c. 1491–1558) poet of the

, favoured by

Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: * Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407) * Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450 * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...

Margaret of Valois-Angoulême Marguerite de Navarre (french: Marguerite d'Angoulême, ''Marguerite d'Alençon''; 11 April 149221 December 1549), also known as Marguerite of Angoulême and Margaret of Navarre, was a princess of France, Duchess of Alençon and Berry, and Queen ...

(1492–1548), princess of France *

André Thevet André Thevet (; ; 1516 – 23 November 1590) was a French Franciscan priest, explorer, cosmographer and writer who travelled to the Near East and to South America in the 16th century. His most significant book was ''The New Found World, or A ...

(1516–1592), explorer, cosmographer and writer *

François Ravaillac François Ravaillac (; 1578 – 27 May 1610) was a French Catholic zealot who assassinated King Henry IV of France in 1610. Biography Early life and education Ravaillac was born in 1578 at Angoulême of an educated family: his grandfather Fr ...

(1578–1610), assassin of King Henry IV *

François Garasse Francis Garasse (French: ''François Garasse''; 1585-1631) was a French people, French Jesuit, preacher, polemicist and writer. He was the Jesuitism, Jesuitical writer, notable, for his wit and buffoonery, but more distinguished himself by his writi ...

(1585–1631), Jesuit polemicist * Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac (1597–1654), writer *

Marc René, marquis de Montalembert Marc René, marquis de Montalembert (16 July 1714 – 29 March 1800) was a French military engineer and writer, known for his work on fortifications. Life He was born at Angoulême, and entered the French Army in 1732. He fought in the War of ...

(1714–1800), military engineer and writer *

Jean-Baptiste Vallin de la Mothe Jean-Baptiste Michel Vallin de la Mothe (1729 – 7 May 1800) was a French architect whose major career was spent in St. Petersburg, where he became court architect to Catherine II. His students were Ivan Starov and Vasily Bazhenov. Biography ...

(1728–1799), court architect to

Catherine II , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anha ...

in Russia *

Charles-Augustin de Coulomb Charles-Augustin de Coulomb (; ; 14 June 1736 – 23 August 1806) was a French officer, engineer, and physicist. He is best known as the eponymous discoverer of what is now called Coulomb's law, the description of the electrostatic force of attrac ...

(1736–1806), military engineer and physicist *

Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré (September 4, 1789 – January 16, 1854) was a French botanist. Biography Gaudichaud was born in Angoulême, to J-J. Gaudichaud and Rose (Mallat) Gaudichaud. He studied pharmacology informally at Cognac and Angoulême, ...

(1789–1854), botanist *

Curt John Ducasse Curt John Ducasse (; 7 July 1881 – 3 September 1969) was a France, French-born American people, American philosopher who taught at the University of Washington and Brown University.Chisholm, R. M. (1970). ''C. J. Ducasse (1881-1969)''. ''Philo ...

(1881–1969), philosopher *

Paul Iribe Paul Iribe (8 June 1883 – 21 September 1935) was a French illustrator and designer in the decorative arts. He worked in Hollywood during the 1920s and was Coco Chanel's lover from 1931 to his death. Early life and career Joseph Paul Iribe was b ...

(1883–1935), illustrator and designer in the decorative arts * Maurice Dumesnil (1884–1974), classical pianist * Robert Couturier (1905–2008), sculptor *

Maurice Duverger Maurice Duverger (5 June 1917 – 16 December 2014) was a French jurist, sociologist, political scientist and politician born in Angoulême, Charente. Starting his career as a jurist at the University of Bordeaux, Duverger became more and ...

(1917–2014), jurist, sociologist, political scientist and politician *

Pierre-Jean Rémy Pierre-Jean Rémy is the pen-name of Jean-Pierre Angremy (21 March 1937 – 28 April 2010) who was a French diplomat, novelist, and essayist. He was elected to the Académie française on 16 June 1988, and won the 1986 Grand Prix du roman de l'Ac ...

(1937–2010), writer, member of the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

Claude Arpi Claude Arpi is French-born author, journalist, historian and tibetologist born in 1949 in Angoulême who lives in Auroville, India. He is the author of several books including ''The Fate of Tibet: When Big Insects Eat Small Insects'', and severa ...

(born 1949), writer, journalist, historian and French

tibetologist Tibetology () refers to the study of things related to Tibet, including its history, religion, language, culture, politics and the collection of Tibetan articles of historical, cultural and religious significance. The last may mean a collection of ...

Dominique Bagouet Dominique Bagouet (9 July 1951 - 9 December 1992) was a French choreographer and dancer. He was a great figure in contemporary dance and new French dance. Biography Dominique Bagouet began training in classical dance in Cannes, in the school of ...

(1951–1992), dancer and choreographer of

contemporary dance Contemporary dance is a genre of dance performance that developed during the mid-twentieth century and has since grown to become one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world, with particularly strong popularity in ...

Claire Désert Claire Désert (born 1967) is a French classical pianist. Biography Born in Angoulême, Désert began learning the piano at the age of five. At fourteen, she joined the Conservatoire de Paris (CNSMDP). A student of French composer Jean Hubeau ...

(born 1967), classical pianist * Jean-Cédric Maspimby (born 1977), footballer *

Amandine Bourgeois Amandine Bourgeois (; born 12 June 1979, in Angoulême, Charente) is a French singer. She was the winner of the sixth edition of the French version of the ''Pop Idol'' series ''Nouvelle Star'' in 2008. On 26 July 2014, Bourgeois participated i ...

(born 1979), singer

Linked to the city

Marie Thérèse of France column, Angoulême, Charente

Saint Cybard Saint Cybard (or Eparchius, Eparque, Ybar, Ybard, Separchius, Cybar; 504 – 1 July 581) was a monk and a hermit who inhabited a cave beneath the walls of Angoulême for forty-four years. The Latin form of his name is ''Eparchius'', and it also ap ...

(504–581), monk and hermit, lived and died here *

Francis I of France Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once ...

(1494–1547),

Count of Angoulême Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

before his accession to the throne *

Jean Louis de Nogaret de La Valette Jean Louis de Nogaret de La Valette (1554–1642), created Duke of Épernon, was a powerful member of the French nobility at the turn of the 17th century. He was deeply involved in plots and politics throughout his life. Life He was born at Ch ...

(1554–1642), Duke of Épernon, Governor of Angoumois, pet of King

Henry III of France Henry III (french: Henri III, né Alexandre Édouard; pl, Henryk Walezy; lt, Henrikas Valua; 19 September 1551 – 2 August 1589) was King of France from 1574 until his assassination in 1589, as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of ...

Zulma Carraud Zulma Carraud (24 March 1796 – 24 April 1889) was a French author. She is best known for her children's books and textbooks particularly ''La Petite Jeanne ou le devoir'' and ''Maurice ou le travail''. Early and family life Carraud was born o ...

(1796–1889), writer, lived here in 1830–1834 and frequently hosted

who wrote ''La Grenadière'' here in one night *

(1812–1884), architect, built the churches of Saint-Martial, St. Ausone, the school chapel, restored the old castle and turned it into the city hall, and

Paul Valéry Ambroise Paul Toussaint Jules Valéry (; 30 October 1871 – 20 July 1945) was a French poet, essayist, and philosopher. In addition to his poetry and fiction (drama and dialogues), his interests included aphorisms on art, history, letters, mus ...

(1871–1945), writer and scholar, visited the ramparts where there is a plaque: "Paul VALERY stopped here on 9 December 1931 AAC ''O reward after a thought, a long look at the calm of the gods''Paul VALERY s'est arrêté ici le 9 décembre 1931 AAC "O récompense après une pensée, qu'un long regard sur le calme des dieux" * Lucien Loizeau (1879–1978), general and writer, died here *

René Olry René-Henri Olry CLH (28 June 1880 – 3 January 1944) was a French general and commander of the Army of the Alps (french: l'Armée des Alpes) during the Battle of France of World War II. Biography Early life Olry was born on 28 June 1880 in ...

(1880–1944), general and commander of the Army of the Alps, died here *

François Mitterrand François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...

(1916–1996), French President (1981–1995), completed his secondary education at Saint-Paul's College of Angoulême *

Lindsay Anderson Lindsay Gordon Anderson (17 April 1923 – 30 August 1994) was a British feature-film, theatre and documentary director, film critic, and leading-light of the Free Cinema movement and of the British New Wave. He is most widely remembered for h ...

(1923–1994), British film director, died here *

Prince Eudes, Duke of Angoulême A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

(born 1968)

Notes

References

External links

Official Web site

Picture of the Cathedral

Circuit des remparts

Angoulême Cricket club

Angoulême on Géoportail
National Geographic Institute (IGN) website
''Angoulesme'' on the 1750 Cassini Map
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Angouleme Communes of Charente Prefectures in France Papermaking in France Angoumois Cities in Nouvelle-Aquitaine