Angoulême

Angoulême [än go͞o lem′]

city in SW France: pop. 46,000

* * *

An·gou·lême (äɴ-go͞o-lāmʹ, -lĕmʹ)

A city of western France north-northeast of Bordeaux. It was ceded to England in 1360 but was retaken by France in 1373. Population: 46,197.

* * *

City (pop., 1999: 43,171), southwestern France, on the Charente River.

Clovis captured the town from the Visigoths in 507, and from the 9th century it was the centre of a countship. Fought over by the French and English in the Hundred Years' War, it was ceded to England in 1360 but restored to France in 1373. It passed to the house of Orléans in 1394. The city is noted for papermaking and is the site of the 12th-century cathedral of Saint-Pierre.

* * *

▪ France

      city, capital of Charente département, Poitou-Charentes région, former capital of Angoumois, southwestern France. It lies on a high plateau above the junction of the Charente (Charente River) and Anguienne rivers, southwest of Limoges. Taken from the Visigoths by Clovis in 507, it was the seat of the counts of Angoulême from the 9th century. Fought over by the French and English in the Hundred Years' War, it also suffered in the religious wars of the late 16th century. The Land of Angoulême was the name given to the site of present-day New York City in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazzano (Verrazzano, Giovanni da), who discovered the harbour while serving King Francis I, who was also count of Angoulême. Angoulême's 19th-century town hall occupies the site of the counts' château (birthplace of Margaret Of Angoulême), of which two towers, the Valois (15th century) and the Lusignan (13th century), remain. The Cathedral of Saint-Pierre (1105–28; restored 19th century) is a domed Romanesque-Byzantine structure whose elaborate facade, enriched with Romanesque sculpture, contrasts sharply with the stark, aisleless interior. Angoulême's old city ramparts have been razed to make way for boulevards with extensive views.The city's diversified industries, mostly located in the surrounding suburbs, include papermaking and the manufacture of felt, iron, jewelry, bricks, and refrigerators. Pop. (1999) 43,171; (2005 est.) 41,700.

* * *