Angouleme is an old, beautiful and convenient city in all respects . It is located one hundred kilometers east of the coastal Royan and at the same distance from Limoges to the west . It's not at all a bearish corner (its own population is about 50 nsc . person), but lovers of natural beauties can be sure: here they are preserved with all the attractiveness . In particular, it is a beautiful river valley Charentes . But tourists are interested in Angouleme not so much natural as man-made beauty . After all, this is not least the city of comics and " azrisovannyh walls "As a city .
How to get to Angouleme
On the railway line " Paris-Bordeaux "by train TGV without interchanges. By car - on the highway N10 Paris - Bayonne. There is also the option to swim to the city of Charente from nearby towns. The nearest airport is the international Angouleme-Cognac
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A little bit of history
Charente Angoulême was an episcopal city since the 4th century. The cathedral was built here in the 6th century, when the city was taken over by the Frankish king Clovis. Already at this time, Angouleme was an important religious and military hub. In the 9th century, the city was ravaged by the Normans, and later the title of the Dukes of the Angoulemeks, named after the Crown of the city, was worn by many of the country's rulers - including Charles IX.
The city's economy was built on the production of paper, and later - and printing. Nearby there was a powder factory, and a foundry. Trade flourished in Angoulême. In the 20th century, an important race track passed through Angouleme, which was laid over the old ramparts surrounding the medieval city. It has survived and continues to this day, one of only three in the country (except for trails in Po and Monaco)
Entertainment, sightseeing and sightseeing Angouleme
Angoulême belongs to the cities of art and history. The historical center of Angouleme and its Old Town was described by Balzac in his "Lost Illusions" as "the peak of splendor and power". Here are the castle, the Town Hall, the prefecture and the cathedral, as well as many old buildings. The old center remained intact, while the rest of the city center was completely rebuilt in the 19th century.
The most important sight of Angouleme is the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. Peter . Originally built in the 6th century on the site of an even more ancient one, a couple of centuries later it was burnt by the Norman conquerors . The next cathedral was consecrated in the beginning of the 11th century, but soon it had to be expanded, which happened in the 12th century . It was delivered by the Angouleme assembly and during the religious wars in the 16th century it has lost the bell tower .After all these vicissitudes, the cathedral demanded a serious restoration, which was carried out in the second half of the 19th century under the guidance of the well-known P . Abadi Jr. (author of the Sacr-Coeur Cathedral in Montmartre, Paris) . This he added on either side of the facade symmetrical turrets with domes-cones . Nowadays on the façade of the cathedral with arcades you can see about 70 sculptural sculptures, and the northern transept is crowned by a square tower almost 50 meters high .
The second remarkable building in its magnificence An ghuleme - the city's Town Hall, the author of which was all the same Paul Abadi. This beautiful 19th-century building, built on the site of the former city castle, and during the construction of the Town Hall, some of its surviving parts were built into the structure - for example, two medieval towers. Today the building houses museums of painting and archeology
Thanks to the location of Angouleme on the plateau above Charente it is sometimes called the "balcony of the southwest". Meanwhile, the plateau occupies only the Old Town. It is surrounded by shafts of fairly decent height, partly rocky, which form the specific landscape of Angouleme. The shafts were constantly destroyed and rebuilt, leaving them in peace only in 19, and today they are classified as historical monuments. For tourists on urban ramparts, excursion tours are held.
In the part of city fortifications and ramparts one can see, for example, the tower of Chlodvig (it is already a millennium and a half with it, and considering this, the tower looks just fine). And the center of urban life can be called the high-dome covered Le-Galle market, which is located on the site of an old prison and has been recognized as a historical monument since 1993.
- Find out your dozens of murals favorite and photographed on its background for memory
- Buy a bottle of "Perrier" or a snack in a comic-style street car.
- Roll through Charente on the boat, looking on the way to the old pumping station.
Also worth visiting are the ruins of the Benedictine monastery of St. Sibar, which is north of the city walls. The abbey was founded, presumably, in the 6th century; was severely damaged by the Normans and was finally destroyed during the religious wars when Angouleme was captured by Protestants in 1568. Today, one can see here the relatively well preserved northern side of the monastery church.
If we talk about other historical religious buildings, then the Church of Obezena is especially beautiful , the chapel of Saint-Roche, the church of Saint-Ozon at the ruins of the eponymous abbey, the chapel of Cordelier (it is also the "hospital chapel"), the neoclassical church of Saint-Jacques built in the late 19th century. In the building of the bishopric on Friedland Street today is the city's Museum of Fine Arts. And near the cemetery near the church of Saint-André one can see the "lantern of the dead" of the 12th century
Among the secular buildings of Angouleme there are not so many that differ in any particular significance. Among them is the observation tower on the old wall of Epernon, the Palace of Justice built by Abadi the eldest in the late 19th century, the Jules Verne College in the building of the former deanery with an ancient chapel with stained glass windows, vaulted ceiling and carved wooden elements, the school of Geza de Balzac, both Abadi - the father and son, as well as the building of the municipal theater with a beautiful facade.
Nevertheless, the city has enough old mansions and pretty small squares that are worth the attention . This and the Renaissance hotel "Saint-Simon" is built the first in the 16th century on the street Cloche Green, and a great hotel "Barden" whose authorship is attributed Vallenu de la Mothe, and hotel "Musne-Longpre" of the 12th century, to which were added in the 15th century, remarkable facades .And the building of the Particular Hotel was described by Onore Balzac in the "Lost Illusions" as belonging to Madame Burgeton . As for the areas, tourists can look at the Place Menage with the fountain of the Second Empire, which is in the heart of the Old Town . From the 14th century and until the 19th century it was the center of Angouleme's commercial life . Another beautiful square - Henri Dunant, the founder of the Red Cross . Francis Louvel Square with the Palace of Justice was and remains one of the busiest in the Old Town . And one of the most The spacious Plais du Pallet, which it was located in front of the main gate .
The city has several museums: in particular, the Resistance Museum, Paper Museum, museum of comics. The latter is associated with an interesting story: in 1983, a local school of fine arts was established with the first faculty of comics in France. Now it is in Angoulême that the head office of the international organization is located, which registers all the comics that are published in the country.
Events Angouleme
Angoulême is called the "city of festivals" - however, so are many other European cities. For 40 years in Angouleme, the European comics festival has been held every year. In addition, there is a festival of animated films, and by the New Year, in spring and autumn are music and gastronomic festivals. This is the Christmas fest "Gastronomads", a music festival in May and a piano music festival in October.
Another traditional event of Angouleme is the September retro-goggles on the same ring road along the ramparts in which pre-war models of cars participate. There is also a large gathering of owners of pre-war "Bugatti" (usually about 30 cars, including the legendary T35, which can be considered the "Ferrari" of those times.)
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