the Porte Saint-Jacques reopens renovated

It does not create decor, it creates memory. The Saint-Jacques gate remains the last vestige of the ramparts which once surrounded Cognac, in Charente. It was erected in its current form in 1490, a few meters from the castle where François I was born four years later: same stones from Saint-Meme-les-Carrières, same dialogue with the river.

“The Porte Saint-Jacques is a familiar silhouette of the Cognacais, which had to be preserved from the ravages of time,” underlines Nicole Roy, vice-president in charge of cultural policy at Grand Cognac. “Especially since this building, listed in 1925 as a historic monument, has considerable tourist potential,” adds Catherine Wachs-Genest, director of the Cognac museums.

With the support of the Mission led by Stéphane Bern and the Heritage Foundation, the urban community carried out work for a budget of 2.4 million euros. Objective: restore the monument and create a space dedicated to local history.

The building, in turn defensive bastion, point of entry into the city, residence for the garrisons, then prison, presents four rooms retracing the evolution of Cognac: from Prehistory to the Middle Ages, when the city lived from river trade around salt from the Atlantic coast, then from the Renaissance to the cognac trade, which encouraged its growth. Projections on models, explanatory panels, educational films… the course is intended to be accessible and immersive.

Torch and graffiti atmosphere

Highlight of the visit: the summit terrace. From this belvedere, the view takes in a 360° view of the bell tower of the Saint-Léger church, the castle, the quays and the houses where the eau-de-vie for which the city is famous worldwide is produced. Visitors can enjoy two orientation tables before plunging, at the end of the tour, into a unique atmosphere: by the light of torches, they discover graffiti on the walls left by soldiers and prisoners who occupied the building. Fragile but tenacious traces of life.

In the background, the sound of shearing stone, like a sound escaped from another age, envelops the place in a suspended atmosphere. “The Porte Saint-Jacques has thus become the most beautiful gateway to discover Cognac,” confides Catherine Wachs-Genest. All that remains is to cross its threshold… knowing that the place only admits a measured passage: a spiral staircase for a capacity of nineteen visitors at a time, with reservation required.