Château d'Angoulême 2.7

The Château d'Angoulême was a castle in the town of Angoulême, in the Charente département of France. The only remaining parts are the keep of Lusignan and the tower of Valois, which are part of the Town Hall of Angoulême, together with a construction of the 19th century.HistoryThe rocky outcrop which dominates the Charente River and the Anguienne had been a strategical position for a long time. The first fortress on this site was built at the end of the Roman Empire. A rampart protecting a 27 ha area has been maintained until the 13th century. The medieval castle was founded in around 886 by Count Alduin.From the 10th to the 13th century, the Counts of Angoulême, the Taillifer then the Lusignan, strengthened the fortifications of the town, and enlarged them to include the Saint-Martial quarter.Important additions to the castle were undertaken by Hugh X of Lusignan in 1226. In 1308, after the death of Guy de Lusignan, the county of Angoulême returned to the French Crown. It was then given to Louis d'Orléans in 1394, and then fell by inheritance to his son Jean de Valois, grandfather of Marguerite d'Angoulême and Francis I.