Por el camino

CARCASSONNE

The medieval city
Construction: former Gallic oppidum (c. 300 BC), cathedral and count's castle in the 11th and 12th centuries.
Style: medieval, neo-medieval (restored by Viollet-le-Duc in the 19th century)
Area: 1,361 hectares

Characteristics: located on the right bank of the Aude, the medieval city is a fortified town unique in Europe for its size and state of preservation, with its 52 towers and two concentric walls totalling three kilometres of ramparts. Its history is marked by 2,000 years of conquest and the influence of Catharism and the Crusades.

History: the centre of power for the Counts of Carcassonne and then the famous Trencavel family in the 12th century, after the Albigensian Crusade (1209-1229) when the royal forces seized Carcassonne, accused of complicity with the Cathars, it became a royal stronghold governed by a seneschal. It secured the border between France and Aragon until the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659. In the 19th century, the city was on the verge of demolition and was used as a stone quarry. For more than 50 years (from 1853 to 1911), Viollet-le-Duc and his successor Paul Boeswillwald restored its medieval appearance: the destruction of parasitic constructions between the two walls, the covering of the towers with grey slate and the restoration of the decorations and hoardings were undertaken. In the 1960s, the Gallo-Roman towers were topped with tiles.

Listed as: UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Count's castle
Construction: 12th, 13th and 19th centuries

History and characteristics: the castle of the Viscounts of Trencavel is nestled within the walls of the old city, leaning against the inner western curtain wall where the slope is steepest. It has an elongated parallelogram shape running north to south, with two exits to the west on the Aude gate side and to the east on the inner side of the city. Its construction was begun by Bernard Aton IV Trencavel around 1130 to replace a primitive castle probably located on the site of the Narbonnaise gate. The castle consists of two L-shaped buildings dominated by a watchtower, the Pinte tower. To the north is a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary, of which only the apse remains today. Only a palisade separated the castle from the rest of the city. Between 1228 and 1239, the castle fell into the hands of the royal domain and became a fortress within the city. A barbican with a rampart walk and crenellated parapet bars the entrance to the castle just before the moat that completely surrounds it. The castle's entrance gate is flanked by two towers. The castle and its enclosure have nine towers, two of which date back to the Visigoth period: the chapel tower and the Pinte tower. The Pinte tower is a square watchtower, the highest in the city. All the other towers are identical in layout, as they were built at the same time in the 12th century. The entrance to the castle leads to a main courtyard surrounded by buildings that were remodelled many times between the 12th and 18th centuries.

Listed as: Historic monument since 1840.

Basilica of Saint-Nazaire
Construction: 11th century, 14th century, 19th century
Style: Romanesque and Gothic

History and characteristics: it was originally a simple church consecrated as a cathedral by Pope Urban II in 1096. A Carolingian cathedral once stood on the site, but no trace of it remains. The crypt also dates from the time when the new cathedral was built by the Trencavel family. The original stained-glass windows of the basilica are now in the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. The cathedral is built of sandstone. It was enlarged between 1269 and 1330 in the Gothic style imposed by the French, with a very slender transept and choir, decorative sculptures and a set of stained-glass windows that are among the most beautiful in the south of France. Eugène Viollet-le-Duc's renovations greatly transformed its exterior, but the interior is the most remarkable. Both Gothic and Romanesque styles can be seen in the stained-glass windows, sculptures and all the church's decorations. In 1801, the church was stripped of its status as a cathedral in favour of Saint-Michel Church, located in the bastide outside the Cité. It became a basilica in 1898, on the initiative of Pope Leo XIII.

Listed as: Historic monument since 1840.

Theatre of the city
Construction: 1908

Characteristics: the theatre, located within the medieval city, was built on the site of the former Saint-Nazaire cloister. It had nearly 6,000 seats (just over 3,000 are authorised today) and the audience sat on benches or simple chairs.

Special feature: In 1957, actor and director Jean Deschamps created the famous Festival de la Cité, which has been held every summer since then. The theatre was modified in 1972. In tribute to the work of Jean Deschamps, the Grand Théâtre de la Cité was renamed "Théâtre Jean Deschamps" on 15 July 2006.

Old bridge
Construction: 14th century

History and characteristics: the bridge connects the Upper Town (city) and the Lower Town. In the Middle Ages, it was the only way to access the city. The oldest document relating to it dates back to 1184. It was probably repaired in the 14th century. It consists of twelve semicircular arches of unequal length resting on piers with front and rear projections with sharp spurs. Shelters are built on the projections. On the third pier on the Lower Town side, there was a wall with a semicircular door separating the Lower Town from the Upper Town.

Listed as: Historic monument since 1926.

Saint-Michel Cathedral
History: the first Saint-Michel church was destroyed at the beginning of the 13th century. In 1283, King Philip the Bold authorised the rector to acquire nine houses for the enlargement of the church. It was rebuilt in the third quarter of the 13th century. After the Black Prince's expedition, the town was protected by a new wall that leaned against the southern wall of the nave. Between 1417 and 1419, a large roof was built over the main western door. In 1657, ribbed vaults were built over the nave. In 1803, the parish church became a cathedral and interior alterations transformed the church to suit its new function. A fire ravaged the choir in 1849. In 1857, Viollet-le-Duc undertook a vast restoration campaign, typical of his work.

Characteristics: the wide single nave with eight bays was originally covered by an exposed roof structure and lined with side chapels with ribbed vaults, as planned in the original design. The tripartite chevet consists of a central seven-sided apse and a straight bay lined with two apsidioles with ribbed vaults. The capitals of the nave are simply moulded. The north chapel of the fifth bay corresponds to the porch of an old portal. The bell tower is located to the north of the first bay of the nave and is accessed by a stair tower. The western façade is pierced by a large rose window and a portal.

Listed as: historic monument since 1886.

Canal du Midi
Built by Pierre Paul Riquet in the 17th century to link the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, the Canal du Midi, once used for transporting goods and people, is now frequented by many boaters and tourists. Since 1996, the Canal du Midi has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Locks, bridges, aqueducts and canal bridges spanning the 240 km of waterways are testament to both technical prowess and artistic achievement.

Bastide Saint-Louis
It was conceived in the 13th century under the impetus of King Saint Louis, who created a second medieval city. Although burned down by the Black Prince, the Bastide has retained its original orthogonal layout to this day. Its prosperity as a cloth-making town in the 17th century, then as a wine-trading centre from the 19th century onwards, led to the construction of several mansions of remarkable architectural interest. Around 700,000 visitors come every year on foot from the Cité, crossing the Old Bridge to discover the Bastide's original shops and cafés, in a southern French town atmosphere, all the way to the banks of the Canal du Midi.

The vineyards (living heritage)
"Cité de Carcassonne" is a PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) appellation covering 3,000 hectares divided into 27 estates, 9 of which are located in the commune of Carcassonne, right up to the ramparts of the Cité. The vineyard encourages visitors to get away from it all and discover wide open natural spaces with ever-changing landscapes: Malepère, Corbières, Minervois and Montagne Noire offer a taste of the Cévennes with their deep chestnut groves and a Tuscan atmosphere from the hills dotted with cypress trees.