the Porte Saint-Jacques reopens and reveals its heritage

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

“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 monument, registered in 1925 in the inventory of historic monuments, 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, place of passage, residence for the garrisons, then prison, today 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 both accessible and immersive.

“The most beautiful gateway to discover Cognac”

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

Fragile but tenacious traces of life. A shearing background sound, like a breath 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 19 visitors at a time, with reservation required.