Ramparts of Angoulême

En un regard

Le château en bref

The ramparts of Angoulême form a succession of enclosure walls built on the rocky spur that carries the town. The first, attributed to the 4th century, was constructed in ashlar masonry with sharp joints, with a rubble core of reused material (sculpted fragments, column shafts, statues) between two facings. At the end of the 12th century, the wall was extended to take in the new castle and to protect the east of the town; three semicircular towers from this campaign survive. At the end of the 13th century, the Saint-Martial suburb was in turn given an enclosure encompassing the present-day Champ de Mars, of which only remains survive (curtain walls and towers with gun loops). The ramparts have been protected as historic monuments by order of 18 December 1958 and belong to the town.