Lusignan and Valois in Angoulême

We have here the city hall itself, raised between 1838 and 1861 based on plans by Paul Abadie, erected on the foundations of the old medieval fortress belonging to counts of Angoulême. We still can see two towers from that fortress, later integrated in the new city hall: Lusignan's tower and Valois' tower.

What about the castle itself? A first stronghold was raised by lord Audoin in the 9th century. Lusignan family, who owned it in the 13th century, transformed it in 1228 into the "New Castle".

The "Old Castle" was embellished: at that time they raised the polygonal tower of Lusignan.

In the second half of the 15th century, Valois family added other buildings, such as the big round tower. Duke of Epernon restored the castle, reinforcing the surrounding wall and adding a main building and the round tower of Valois.