Carcassonne, Iconic Citadel

Occupied as early as the 6th century BC, Carcassonne came under Roman rule around the turn of the era. The city then passed into the hands of the Visigoths and, more briefly, the Muslims, before Franks took over. As we have seen, the Chanson de Geste recounts several episodes of the struggle between the Franks and the Saracens.

In the 11th century, the city fell under the influence of the powerful Counts of Barcelona before being controlled by the Trencavel family who established Carcassonne as the centre of their power in the Lower Languedoc. The Basilica of Saint Nazaire and the palatium – the future Count’s Castle – were built within the Cité, while the Roman ramparts were restored.

At the beginning of the 13th century, the palace itself was fortified, defensive openings were added to the battlements, and the Tour Pinte was raised to provide even better surveillance of the surrounding countryside. However, the Albigensian Crusade brought an end to the Trencavel family’s rise to power in Carcassonne.

Carcassonne, where the Cathars had taken refuge, fell on August 15, 1209. Years later, in 1226, the city was annexed to the French royal domain.

When another Trencavel heir unsuccessfully attempted to retake the city in 1240 with the help of some of the inhabitants, royal retaliation was harsh: Louis IX ordered the insurgents’ homes razed. It was only a few years later that the people of Carcassonne were able to return and settle on the left bank of the River Aude, in the newly built Bastide Saint Louis.

Thus, the twists and turns of Carcassonne’s history offer a fascinating glimpse into what life was like in southern France during the Middle Ages: rivalries between lords ruling over territories whose borders shifted according to alliances and warfare; bonds of vassalage and allegiances sworn by the weak to the strong— all the way up to the King of France — as well as the impact of religious choices… Together, these forces shaped the history of France and still leave their mark on the French cultural landscape today.

First, Louis IX – better known as Saint Louis, whom we encountered earlier in Aigues-Mortes – having driven the insurgents from the city, it became necessary to find new homes for the inhabitants of Carcassonne. To this end, the royal authorities commissioned the construction of the Bastide Saint-Louis in 1248.

Alongside the creation of the Bastide, the ramparts of the Cité were reinforced. With the void created by the expulsion of the insurgents at the foot of the fortress, a double ring of walls was built. Between the two rings of ramparts, an open area known as the “lices” made assaults on the Cité even more difficult.

Under Philip III the Bold and Philip IV the Fair, the fortifications were modernized and reinforced—for example, with the addition of loopholes to allow crossbow fire—and new gates were created, notably the monumental Narbonne Gate, which you will pass through if – or rather, when – you visit Carcassonne.

These defenses were necessary because—in addition to the Cathar threat of the first half of the 13th century —the Crown of Aragon, deeply connected to southern France, particularly through the network of feudal allegiances between the counties, continued to covet the lands of Languedoc. It would take the Treaty of Corbeil in 1258 to establish the division of lands between the Crown of Aragon and the King of France, placing the border between France and what would become Spain about fifty kilometers south of Carcassonne.

A spectacular example of a city with double walls still standing, Carcassonne is a city where history is brought to life.

The site was likely occupied as early as Antiquity, as shown by the discovery of Roman mosaics in the early 19th century. However, the Count’s Castle truly developed from the 11th century onwards, with the arrival of the Trencavel family in Carcassonne – from whom the name “Count’s Castle” is derived.

After the Albigensian Crusade in the early 13th century, royal authority transformed the castle into an important administrative and military center, while Carcassonne gradually became one of the main centers of the dreadful Inquisition against the Cathars in southern France. The final renunciation by the last Trencavel heir to his rights to Carcassonne in 1247 confirmed this evolution.

Saint Louis had a second wall built, strengthening the castle’s defenses. His successors, Philip III the Bold and Philip IV the Fair, further expanded and reinforced the defensive system of the fortifications. The Count’s Castle then acquired much of its current appearance.

Only part of the original castle remains, as the restorations of the late 19th and early 20th centuries—carried out by Viollet-le-Duc and his successors—added features whose historical accuracy is now debated. Still, the restored fortifications now offer some of the most beautiful views over the surrounding landscape.

Inside, the Count’s Castle feels more like a military garrison than a princely palace. One room, however, features wall paintings depicting battles between the Franks and the Saracens, likely inspired by 12th-century epic poetry.

If climbing and descending time-worn steps doesn’t deter you, don’t leave the Cité de Carcassonne without visiting the Count’s Castle. A fortress within a fortress, the Count’s Castle embodies much of the history of the Cité, and its development is closely tied to the role it played over the centuries.

And above all, access to the ramparts, currently only possible through the Count’s Castle, offers stunning views of the medieval Cité, the surrounding hills, and the Bastide Saint-Louis district on the other side of the River Aude.

Often, churches bear the marks of centuries past, and the Basilica of Saint Nazaire is no exception. On a site documented as early as the 10th century – and perhaps occupied by an even older building–a first Romanesque church was consecrated at the end of the 11th century. The nave was erected in the 12th century before the major alterations of the 13th and 14th centuries profoundly transformed the structure.

It was therefore in the 13th century that the church acquired its magnificent current appearance. Outside as well as inside, especially within, it is possible to see elements of the humble Romanesque period – embedded in the characteristic Rayonnant Gothic features of the choir and transept.

Inside the basilica, your gaze may be drawn to the tomb of Bishop William Radulphe–a key figure in the church’s construction during its Gothic period. Centuries later, a local man, Jean-Pierre Cros-Mayrevieille (1810-1876), horrified to hear of the planned demolition of the ramparts, would discover this tomb in the brambles proliferating. It will help him in raising public awareness and launch the movement to preserve the heritage of the Cité.

The Basilica of Saint Nazaire underwent restoration by Viollet-le-Duc, and some of its Romanesque elements actually date from the 19th century. Yet, if you come inside to relax on a sunny day, you can admire the shimmering reflections of one of the most spectacular collections of Gothic stained glass in the south of France.

According to the legend, during Charlemagne’s conquest of southern France, the royal troops were unable to breach the city’s defenses, which were then occupied by Muslims (the famous Saracens of the time, whose battles with the Franks can be seen in the frescoes of the Château Comtal). After several years of siege, Dame Carcas, widow of the Muslim prince Balaach, Lord of Carcassonne, is said to have used a stratagem to convince Charlemagne that the City could still withstand the siege indefinitely.

The ruse was to feed the last pig inside the city with the last sack of wheat and then throw the fattened pig over the ramparts. Seeing the pig burst open on the ground, its belly stuffed with all that wheat, the attackers supposedly lifted the siege, believing the battle was lost. It was then that Lady Carcas is said to have rung the bells and opened the city gates. A herald was sent to fetch Charlemagne to inform him that “Carcas sonne” (“Carcas is ringing the bell.”)

The story goes that Charlemagne then ceded the city to Lady Carcas, who in return converted to Christianity.

Amazingly, this legend is centuries old. The first written account dates from the 16th century, and it likely goes back to the medieval period. Furthermore, it’s quite amusing to discover that it has a counterpart in Muslim legends, with a heroine who was initially Catholic but converted to Islam…

Yet this “modern” town has its roots deep in the Middle Ages! It was under Louis IX – known as Saint Louis – that the Bastide Saint-Louis was created, with the aim of rehousing the population expelled from the Cité during the Cathar period.

The distinctive feature of this part of Carcassonne is its grid plan, characteristic of this type of urban development. This type of town is specific to this southwestern region of France, where it was highly developed from the early 13th to the early 14th centuries – to the point that up to five hundred such towns can be found throughout this part of France.

It seems that the creation of these towns almost from scratch answered various economic and political needs of the time: the bastides were more than just a way of organizing urban space; they also offered advantages to those who chose to live in them.

Today, the grid plan will seem far more familiar to you than it does to the French – as it is much less common in Europe, and particularly in France, than it is in the United States.

From the Middle Ages onwards, Carcassonne became renowned for its high-quality, highly sought-after woolen cloth. Several factors explain this success, notably the quality of the wool from sheep in the Montagne Noire and the use of sophisticated dyeing techniques. Furthermore, its strategic location at the crossroads of routes between east and west—the Mediterranean and the Atlantic—on the one hand, and south and north—Spain and Northern France—on the other, allowed it to both benefit from new techniques and export its production.

So much so that the textile manufactories of the Bastide Saint-Louis benefited from royal protection, and the cloth industry was its source of wealth for many centuries. Numerous traces of this opulence remain in Carcassonne, with its grand historic townhouses built between the Renaissance and the 18th century. The wine industry further contributed to this economic prosperity.

Yet, in the 19th century, competition from large, industrialized textile centers and the changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution led to the decline of Carcassonne’s cloth industry.

At the same time, viticulture suffered successive crises, from phylloxera to the overproduction that struck Languedoc at the end of the century (see the publication on Béziers and the revolt of the winegrowers of the Midi in 1907). These upheavals brought an end to this long period of prosperity and marked the end of the golden age of the Bastide Saint-Louis.

Fortunately, between Place Carnot, at the heart of the grid pattern and home to a lively market of the kind we love so much in the South of France, strolling through these streets lined with elegant townhouses that whisper of bygone wealth, there is still plenty to enjoy in this part of Carcassonne.

You will certainly be surprised to learn that the pink marble, quarried from the nearby Minervois region, which lies beneath your feet in Place Carnot and in several streets of the Bastide, was used in some of France’s most prestigious monuments, from the Palace of Versailles to the Louvre and the Opéra Garnier.

The Bastide was once fortified to protect itself from destruction such as the one due to the Black Prince’s famous raid in 1355. These fortifications were gradually dismantled in the 18th century, making way for peaceful boulevards and green spaces. Traces of these fortifications can still be seen here and there, and their vestiges, as well as the newly landscaped areas, bear witness to the changes brought about by the centuries in this historic district of Carcassonne.

The 20th century also left its mark on the town with Art Nouveau and Art Deco. These two distinctive architectural movements—one with its swirling curves and plant-inspired design, the other with its straight lines and geometric patterns—followed one another and gradually intertwined in the streets of the Bastide Saint-Louis, offering sources of wonder at virtually every turn. The former Town Hall recalls a period when American skyscrapers served as a source of inspiration.

The Tourist Office provides a small booklet to help you easily locate the buildings of these two movements throughout Carcassonne.

And to complete your visit, you can also take a boat trip on the Canal du Midi, the 17th-century engineering masterpiece, whose spectacular nine locks of Fonséranes can be found nearby in Béziers.