Photos

(from Destination360: Carcassonne)

Carcassonne history goes back as least as far as Roman Gaul; parts of the city's fortifications date from 1st century AD. Located at the strategic intersection of two historic trade routes, from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean and from Spain to the center of France, Carcassonne's defenses were strengthened by successive owners. In the 5th century, the Visigoth's extended the Roman defenses and for many years after Carcassonne Castle proved impenetrable to invaders.

One legend from Carcassonne history is the attempted siege by Charlemagne in the 9th century. According to the story, a Madame Carcas cunning fed the last of the city's wheat to a pig in full view of the invading army. Believing that the besieged townspeople had an inexhaustible supply of food, Charlemagne retreated from the walls and the town was renamed in honor of the ingenious lady. The story is apocryphal; Carcassonne France took its name (or a version of it) even before the Roman conquest of Gaul.

Carcassonne France came under control of the French crown in 1247. King Louis IX (St. Louis) and his successor Philip III further strengthened the fortifications of Carcassonne Castle and built the "new town" outside the defenses. English troops laid siege to the city during the Hundred Years War, but once again in Carcassonne history, the fortifications proved impenetrable.

For the next several centuries of Carcassonne history, the fortified walls were allowed to fall into disrepair. In the mid-19th century, the French government proposed demolishing the walls. A popular uproar saved Carcassonne Castle and the architect and historian Eugene Viollet-le-Duc was commissioned to restore the medieval fortifications.

Despite after the restoration Carcassonne does not appear strictly authentic, the feeling for a casual traveller is to be entering a fairy tale world. The fortified city stands majestically on a hill overlooking the lush countryside of the Languedoc and the distant Pyrenees Mountains.

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The BW version here published does not differ much from the reality of the ugly, windy and rainy day I captured the shot.