Watchtower of the old city walls of Épernon (Rue de Belat)

The watchtower on Rue de Belat is one of the few visible remnants of the bastioned city walls built in the late 16th century around Angoulême under the authority of the Duke of Épernon. This wall, designed after the Wars of Religion to modernize the city’s defenses, included several bastions and watchtowers intended to monitor the surrounding area.

Today:

• It is located at 36 Rue de Belat, in the historic center of Angoulême.
• It is a small watchtower projecting from a former bastion, characteristic of Renaissance military architecture.
• It has been listed as a historic monument since April 21, 1972.
• It is one of the last three remaining watchtowers from the Épernon city walls still preserved in Angoulême, along with those on Rue du Sauvage and Impasse d’Austerlitz.

This watchtower is particularly interesting because it is now integrated into the urban fabric: the ramparts were absorbed by 18th- and 19th-century buildings, which explains why it appears in the middle of a row of houses rather than on an exposed fortification.

Entry from the Mérimée database (architectural heritage): PA00104229