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Le August 18, 2023
The city was protected by ramparts from the Lower Roman Empire which were rebuilt and enlarged in the Middle Ages.
The walk along the ramparts of Angoulême offers magnificent views of the surrounding landscapes and the valleys of the Charente and that of Anguienne.
Perched on a platter
about 80 meters, offering a naturally defensive geographical situation, the city is protected, from the lower Empire, behind a Gallo-Roman enclosure following the route of the rocky outcrop. Remains of this enclosure are still visible at the entrance to the green garden.
Constantly repaired
because regularly damaged this enclosure was completed from the XNUMXth century by two series of walls, encompassing the park of the castle and the Faubourg Saint-Martial. In the XNUMXth century, the fortifications were refurbished and a bastioned enclosure was built around the castle by the Duke of Epernon.
Obsolete
at the end of the XNUMXth century, the high walls, their towers and the city entrance gates were gradually leveled to the height of support and the city entrance gates demolished. This movement grew during the XNUMXth century to develop promenades and gently sloping access ramps.
The little story of the "Flying Madman"
It was in 1801 that Guillaume RESNIER made a series of attempts at Angoulême. He rushes in a large device (6 meters) moved by the arms and the legs, with wings representing a surface of 17 m2. The first attempt at "rowed flight" is not crowned with success. Leaping from the parapet of Beaulieu, it throws itself into the void, waving its wire wings covered in waxed taffeta. It just rolls down from rock to rock. The second attempt, half-successful, earned him a forced bath in the Charente. Starting from the bridge, 5 meters high, connecting the Saint-Cybard district to Angoulême, it falls into the water after 50 meters of flight. Finally, his third and last attempt, in the spring of 1801, was a real success. He travels 300 meters jumping from the top of the city walls and only breaks a leg on arrival. He died in Angoulême on February 2, 1811.