This building, in the heart of Angoulême, once a castle and county residence, was transformed into a town hall from 1858 to 1869 by the architect Paul Abadie fils, the architect of the Sacré-Coeur de Paris, in a Gothic-Renaissance style.
The latter has retained only two towers of the old castle, the polygonal keep built by the Lusignans in the 13th and 14th centuries, and the round tower also known as the tower of the Valois of the 15th century where Marguerite d'Angoulême, sister of Francis I, was born in 1492.
The other parts of the building were built in an eclectic style, in keeping with 19th century tastes and drawing on medieval, Renaissance and classical forms.
According to Pierre Cazenave, Regional Curator of Historic Monuments
"Angoulême's town hall, with its curious belfry, is inspired by buildings in the north of France but also borrows from the English Gothic style. It is a total work, exceptional and unique in France. Abadie designed everything, even the door handles [...]. This town hall, with its lounges, grand staircase and ballroom, is the place for political debate, cultural life and service to citizens. Long before the reconstruction of the Paris City Hall, it was imagined as a staging of republican power in the advent of bourgeois France in the Third Republic. »
Angoulême's Town Hall has been classified as a Historic Monument since 2013.
City Hall
Place de l'Hôtel de Ville
16007 Angoulême
Tel: 05 45 95 16 84
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