Angoulême
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In place of its ancient fortificationFortification
Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...
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
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
and the hôtel de ville
Seat of local government
In local government, a city hall, town hall or a municipal building or civic centre, is the chief administrative building of a city...
, 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 Cathedral, dedicated to Saint Peter, is a church in the Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
style. Dating from the 11th and 12th centuries, it has undergone frequent restoration. It was partly rebuilt in the latter half of the nineteenth century by architect Paul Abadie
Paul Abadie
Paul Abadie was a French architect and building restorer.-Biography:Abadie worked on the restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris, Église Sainte-Croix of Bordeaux, Saint-Pierre of Angoulême and Saint-Front of Périgueux...
. The façade, flanked by two towers with cupola
Cupola
In architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like, 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....
s, is decorated with arcade
Arcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
s featuring statuary and sculpture, the whole representing the "Last Judgment
Last Judgment
The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, or The Day of the Lord in Christian theology, is the final and eternal judgment by God of every nation. The concept is found in all the Canonical gospels, particularly the Gospel of Matthew. It will purportedly take place after the...
". The crossing
Crossing (architecture)
A crossing, in ecclesiastical architecture, is the junction of the four arms of a cruciform church.In a typically oriented church , the crossing gives access to the nave on the west, the transept arms on the north and south, and the choir on the east.The crossing is sometimes surmounted by a tower...
is surmounted by a dome. The north transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
is topped by a fine square tower over 160 ft (48.8 m) high.
The hôtel de ville, also designed by Abadie, is a handsome 19th-century structure. It preserved and incorporated two towers of the château of the counts of Angoulême, on the site of which it was built. It contains museums of paintings and archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
.
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
Hergé
Georges Prosper Remi , better known by the pen name Hergé, was a Belgian comics writer and artist. His best known and most substantial work is the 23 completed comic books in The Adventures of Tintin series, which he wrote and illustrated from 1929 until his death in 1983, although he was also...
, creator of The Adventures of Tintin
The Adventures of Tintin
The Adventures of Tintin is a series of classic comic books created by Belgian artist , who wrote under the pen name of Hergé...
. 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.
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 Touvre River, which joins the CharenteCharente River
The Charente is a 381 km long river in southwestern France.Its source is in the Haute-Vienne département at Chéronnac, a small village near Rochechouart. It flows through the departments of Haute-Vienne, Charente, Vienne and Charente-Maritime...
at Angoulême. The Touvre is the second largest river with an underground source in France after the River Sorgue
Sorgue
The Sorgue is a river in southeastern France, lying between the foothills of the Alps and the river Rhone. Its source is at the town of Fontaine-de-Vaucluse and is the biggest spring in France and the fifth biggest in the world....
(La Fontaine de Vaucluse
Fontaine-de-Vaucluse
Fontaine-de-Vaucluse is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.-Heraldry:...
).
The Touvre emerges as a full-blown river from the head of the valley at Ruelle
Ruelle-sur-Touvre
Ruelle-sur-Touvre is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France.-Population:-External links:*...
. 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
Vellum is mammal skin prepared for writing or printing on, to produce single pages, scrolls, codices or books. It is generally smooth and durable, although there are great variations depending on preparation, the quality of the skin and the type of animal used...
for correspondence, have been produced in quantity.
The best known export is Rizla+ 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
Renault
Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
, 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
Juan Manuel Fangio , nicknamed El Chueco or El Maestro , was a racing car driver from Argentina, who dominated the first decade of Formula One racing...
, José Froilán González
José Froilán González
José Froilán González is an Argentine former 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 debut for Scuderia Achille Varzi in the 1950 Monaco Grand Prix...
, Jean-Pierre Wimille
Jean-Pierre Wimille
Jean-Pierre Wimille was a Grand Prix motor racing driver and a member of the French Resistance during World War II.-Biography:...
, Pierre Veyron
Pierre Veyron
Pierre Veyron was a Grand Prix motor racing driver active from 1933 through until 1953. He enrolled at university to study engineering but was convinced to take up racing by a friend; Henri Labataille, a mechanical engineer from Pau, was very active in motor car racing and flying and supported his...
and Maurice Trintignant
Maurice Trintignant
Maurice Bienvenu Jean Paul Trintignant 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 careers in the early years of F1...
, have been regular participants. The famous 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 Gare d'AngoulêmeGare d'Angoulême
Gare d'Angoulême is a railway station serving the town Angoulême, Charente department, western France. It is situated on the Paris–Bordeaux railway, it is a 2hrs 10min journey to Paris and a 55 min to Bordeaux by TGV...
railway station offers connections to Paris, Bordeaux, Tours, Limoges and several regional destinations. The main line of the Paris-Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
railway passes through a tunnel beneath the town and is due for large-scale refurbishment to improve journey times. The new high-speed link between Tours and Bordeaux
LGV Sud Europe Atlantique
The LGV Sud Europe Atlantique , also known as the LGV Sud-Ouest, is a high-speed railway line in the early stages of construction, running between Tours and Bordeaux, in France. When built, it will be used by TGV trains operated by SNCF, the French national railway company. The project has been...
has been approved and will by-pass the town centre to the West, but with a link to Angoulême station from both north and south. It is due to open in 2017.
Angoulême - Brie - Champniers Airport
Angoulême - Brie - Champniers Airport
Angoulême - Brie - Champniers Airport or Aéroport d'Angoulême - Brie - Champniers is an airport located 15 km northeast of Angoulême, between Brie and Champniers, all communes of the Charente département in the Poitou-Charentes région of France....
, newly named Angoulême-Cognac airport, is situated 9.5 km (5.9 mi) NE of the city centre in Champniers, just off the N10. The runway can accommodate the Boeing 737, 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 by STGA.
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 Angoulême International Comics FestivalAngoulême International Comics Festival
The Angoulême International Comics Festival is the largest comics festival in Europe. It has occurred every year since 1974 in Angoulême, France, in the month of January.The four-day festival is notable for awarding several prestigious prizes in cartooning...
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 – 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
Circuit des Remparts
Circuit des Remparts was a circuit race for Grand Prix cars and Formula Two voiturettes held in Angoulême, France. The circuit had a length of , which was driven 80 laps.-History:...
motor racing event, with its street circuit around the ramparts and past the Cathedral, is held the Sunday of the mid weekend in September. It is also the occasion of the world's largest gathering of pre-war Bugatti
Bugatti
Automobiles E. Bugatti was a French car manufacturer founded in 1909 in Molsheim, Alsace, as a manufacturer of high-performance automobiles by Italian-born Ettore Bugatti....
race cars, usually around 30 cars, many being examples of the legendary T35, the Ferrari
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...
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
2007 Tour de France
The 2007 Tour de France, the 94th running of the race, took place from 7 July to 29 July 2007. 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...
.
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
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
, a prefect
Prefecture
A prefecture is an administrative jurisdiction or subdivision in any of various countries and within some international church structures, and in antiquity a Roman district governed by an appointed prefect.-Antiquity:...
, and an Assize court. 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.
Military presence
Two regiments of the French armed forces are currently garrisoned in the City:- 1st Marine Infantry Regiment1st Marine Infantry RegimentThe 1st Marine Infantry Regiment is a French regiment, that inherits from Colonial Infantry. It is one of the oldest regiments of the Troupes de Marine with 2e RIMa, 3e RIMa, 4e RIMa and 1er RAMa, forming the Blue Division during Franco-Prussian war....
- The 515th régiment du trainTrain (military)In military contexts a train can refer to logistic elements of a force or organisation. In this context the term train usually does not mean a railway train.Historically and for land forces, this usually referred to troops that are endowed with horses...
.
Several other military formations have been previously garrisoned in the city, including:
- The 107th Infantry Regiment107th Infantry Regiment (France)The 107th Infantry Regiment was a French Army infantry regiment. The 107th Infantry Regiment dates back to 1469 where it was created as the Francs Archers Angoumois. In 1755, the Augoumois battalion was stationed in Louisiana on a harbor defense mission. There was another similar mission in 1772...
, 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.
Births
- Jean-Louis Guez de BalzacJean-Louis Guez de BalzacJean-Louis Guez de Balzac was a French author, best known for his epistolary essays, which were widely circulated and read in his day. He was one of the founding members of Académie française.-Biography:...
(1594–1654), author - Curt John DucasseCurt John DucasseCurt John Ducasse was a philosopher who taught at the University of Washington and Brown University.Ducasse was born in Angoulême, France. He is most notable for his work in philosophy of mind and aesthetics, and his influence can be seen in the work of Roderick Chisholm and Wilfrid Sellars...
- (1881–1969) philosopher - Maurice DuvergerMaurice DuvergerMaurice Duverger is a French jurist, sociologist and politician. He was born in Angoulême, Charente.Starting his career as a jurist at the University of Bordeaux, Duverger became more and more involved in political science and in 1948 founded one of the first faculties for political science in...
(born 1917), juristJuristA jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage... - Charles-Augustin de CoulombCharles-Augustin de CoulombCharles-Augustin de Coulomb was a French physicist. He is best known for developing Coulomb's law, the definition of the electrostatic force of attraction and repulsion. The [SI unit] of charge, the coulomb, was named after him....
(1736–1806), physicistPhysicistA physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole... - Charles Gaudichaud-BeaupréCharles Gaudichaud-BeaupréCharles Gaudichaud-Beaupré was a French botanist.He was born in Angoulême, the son of J-J. Gaudichaud and Rose Gaudichaud. He studied pharmacology at Cognac and Angoulême. He also studied chemistry and herbology.His greatest claim to fame was serving as botanist on a circumglobal expedition from...
(1789–1854), botanist - Jean-Cedric Maspimby, footballer
- Marguerite de NavarreMarguerite de NavarreMarguerite de Navarre , also known as Marguerite of Angoulême and Margaret of Navarre, was the queen consort of Henry II of Navarre...
(1492–1549), wife of Henry II of NavarreHenry II of NavarreHenry II was the eldest son of John III of Navarre and Catherine I of Navarre, sister and heiress of Francis Phoebus, King of Navarre; he was born at Sangüesa.-King of Navarre:... - Mellin de Saint-GelaisMellin de Saint-GelaisMellin de Saint-Gelais was a French poet of the Renaissance and Poet Laureate of Francis I of France.- Life :...
(ca. 1491–1558), poet - Marc René, marquis de MontalembertMarc René, marquis de MontalembertMarc René, marquis de Montalembert was a French military engineer and writer, known for his work on fortifications.-Life:...
(1714–1800), military engineer and writer - Pierre-Jean RémyPierre-Jean RémyPierre-Jean Rémy is the pen-name of Jean-Pierre Angremy 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'Académie française for his novel Une ville immortelle.-Early life:Rémy was born in...
(born Jean-Pierre Angremy 1937), writer, member of the Académie françaiseAcadémie françaiseL'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
. - Claude ArpiClaude ArpiClaude Arpi is French-born author, journalist, historian and tibetologist born in 1949 in Angoulême who lives in Auroville, India. He is the author of The Fate of Tibet: When Big Insects Eat Small Insects , and several articles on Tibet, China, India and Indo-French relations.Claude Arpi is the...
(born in 1949), writer, journalist, historian and Tibetologist.
Twin towns – sister cities
Angoulême is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with: Bury
Bury
Bury is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Irwell, east of Bolton, west-southwest of Rochdale, and north-northwest of the city of Manchester...
, United Kingdom Chicoutimi
Chicoutimi, Quebec
Chicoutimi is one of the three boroughs of Saguenay, Quebec, Canada, and was a separate city in its own right until 2002. Chicoutimi had a population of 59,764 in the Canada 2001 Census, the last census in which Chicoutimi was counted as a separate city....
, Canada Gelendzhik
Gelendzhik
Gelendzhik is a resort town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated on the Gelendzhik Bay of the Black Sea, between Novorossiysk and Tuapse . Greater Gelendzhik sprawls for along the coastline and covers an area of 122,754 ha...
, Russia Hildesheim
Hildesheim
Hildesheim is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located in the district of Hildesheim, about 30 km southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste river, which is a small tributary of the Leine river...
, Germany Hoffman Estates
Hoffman Estates, Illinois
Hoffman Estates is a northwestern suburb of Chicago in Illinois. The village is located primarily in Cook County with a small section in Kane County, Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 49,495 and estimated to be 52,520 in 2003...
, United States Ségou
Ségou
Ségou is a city in south-central Mali, lying northeast of Bamako on the River Niger, in the region of Ségou. It was founded by the Bozo people, on a site about from the present town...
, Mali Turda
Turda
Turda is a city and Municipality in Cluj County, Romania, situated on the Arieş River.- Ancient times :The city was founded by Dacians under the name Patavissa or Potaissa...
, Romania Vitoria-Gasteiz
Vitoria-Gasteiz
Vitoria-Gasteiz is the capital city of the province of Álava and of the autonomous community of the Basque Country in northern Spain with a population of 235,661 people. It is the second largest Basque city...
, Spain
See also
- Angoulême International Comics FestivalAngoulême International Comics FestivalThe Angoulême International Comics Festival is the largest comics festival in Europe. It has occurred every year since 1974 in Angoulême, France, in the month of January.The four-day festival is notable for awarding several prestigious prizes in cartooning...
- Counts and dukes of AngoulêmeCounts and dukes of AngoulêmeAngoulême in western France was part of the Carolingian Empire as the kingdom of Aquitaine. Under Charlemagne's successors, the local Count of Angoulême was independent and was not united with the French crown until 1307. By the terms of the Treaty of Brétigny the Angoumois, then ruled by the...
- AngoumoisAngoumoisAngoumois was a county and province of France, nearly corresponding today to the Charente département. Its capital was Angoulême....
- Bishopric of Angoulême
- Poitou-CharentesPoitou-CharentesPoitou-Charentes is an administrative region in central western France comprising four departments: Charente, Charente-Maritime, Deux-Sèvres and Vienne. The regional capital is Poitiers.-Politics:The regional council is composed of 56 members...
- Communes of the Charente department
