ABADIE, Paul

The town hall in the heart of Angoulême was built on the site of the former castle of the counts of Angoulême. This castle was erected partly in the 13th century by the decision of Isabelle Taillefer and Hugues de Lusignan, Count of Angoulême. They built a polygon donjon protected by a curtain with towers. In the 15th century, the Valois dynasty enlarged the castle by building a round tower and a new main building. From the 17th century, the castle became dilapidated, then in the 19th century, it was transformed into a town hall by the architect Paul Abadie.

Abadie retained only the polygon donjon and the round tower (known as the Marguerite tower), the other parts of the building were built in an eclectic style, in keeping with the tastes of the 19th century and drawing from medieval, Renaissance and classical forms. The construction began in 1858 and was completed in 1868.

In 1874 Abadie won the competition to build the Eglise du Voeu National au Sacr�-Coeur, the celebrated basilica in Montmartre, Paris. This was to be erected to fulfil a vow that had been made at the time of France’s defeat in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71. Abadie’s project, which has been rather hurriedly described as Romanesque Byzantine, represents, in the reworking of the Romanesque style of south-west France, the outcome of formal research by the restorer and the builder.

Work began in 1875, the year in which Abadie was elected to the Institut de France. The basilica was not completed until around 1919, long after the architect’s death, with modifications to the original plan that varied in significance according to the personalities of his successors.

With this monument, Abadie gave the Romanesque Revival its most notable expression and gave a decisive victory to the ‘dioc�sains’, a group composed mostly of rationalists that grew up under the influence of Viollet-le-Duc.

The church of medieval origin in the centre of Angoulême was closed in 1848 when the building threatened to collapse. The architect Paul Abadie proceeded with its reconstruction, and the foundation stone was laid in 1852. The new church was consecrated in 1853, the construction was completed in 1856.

The building is in the Neo-Romanesque style. It has an elongated plan with a bell tower porch in front of the building. Inside, the first floor of the bell tower opens onto the nave thanks to a platform arranged above the entrance.

Paul Abadie was also involved in the realization of the furniture, which dates mainly from the 19th century, and which is remarkable for its homogeneity of style.

In 1874 Abadie won the competition to build the Eglise du Voeu National au Sacr�-Coeur, the celebrated basilica in Montmartre, Paris. This was to be erected to fulfil a vow that had been made at the time of France’s defeat in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71. Abadie’s project, which has been rather hurriedly described as Romanesque Byzantine, represents, in the reworking of the Romanesque style of south-west France, the outcome of formal research by the restorer and the builder.

Work began in 1875, the year in which Abadie was elected to the Institut de France. The basilica was not completed until around 1919, long after the architect’s death, with modifications to the original plan that varied in significance according to the personalities of his successors.

With this monument, Abadie gave the Romanesque Revival its most notable expression and gave a decisive victory to the ‘dioc�sains’, a group composed mostly of rationalists that grew up under the influence of Viollet-le-Duc.

The photo shows the cupola from inside.

In 1840, the town of Angoulême bought the medieval castle to house the Town Hall. The mayor, Paul Joseph Normand de la Tranchade, commissioned the architect Paul Abadie to develop the project, who dismantled a portion of the medieval buildings. The polygonal keep, called Tour de Lusignan (built 1282-1302), and the round Valois Tower (late 15th century) were preserved thanks to the pressure of the Archaeological and Historical Society of Charente.

The photo shows the Tour de Lusignan, remnant of the original castle.