Carcassonne

Carcassonne

It's as if we saved the best for last. We followed the Canale du Midi, which allowed the connection of the Mediterranean with the Atlantic in the 17th century to the fortified Cite of Carcassonne. This fortified town was established in the 6th century BC and its first walls were built in the 3rd century AD. It is probably the best example of defensive medieval fortifications in existence today. The town was quite strategic because it lies in the valley between the Pyrenees and the Black Mountains, controlling the road between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The fortifications were taken during the Albigensian Crusades (the fight between the Catholics and Cathars) on August 15th, 1209. Its downfall was lack of water. At the time, a village of 3000 people lived around the outside of the fortification, but the entire town was destroyed as part of the punishment for the heretics. Following the death of Simon de Montfort, the region became part of France. Now the town became important to defend the borders of France from Spain and Aragon. A second wall was formed outside the Roman walls in the 13th century.

Liste between the walls

As we gazed at the inner walls, you could see that the towers were closer together (50 meters) than the new walls (100 meters) because the invention of the crossbow which could shoot arrows further. The sloping grass leading to the Roman walls was leveled, so we could see the stone placed below the old Roman wall foundation. The liste between the walls would leave any enemy exposed to arrows, oil, and rocks if they managed to get past the first walls. A charge of cavalry between the walls was also a threat. We entered through the Noarbonne Gate and noticed how there were two gates with huge towers between. If one gate was breached the attackers could still be pounded with rocks and arrows as they attempted the second gate. The towers themselves were small fortifications (in gothic style) with water and food inside.

Inner Chateau

The fortification lost its importance in 1659 when the border with Spain moved to the other side of the Pyrenees. The fortification was abandoned in the 18th century and became the poor neighborhood of the city. It was in the 19th century that the fortification was restored over the course of 60 years by the architect Viollet-le-Duc. One of the gargoyles used in the restoration actually has his face! We also toured the chateau inside the fortification built in the 12th century by Vicomtes Trencavels. This has many of the defensive features we've already seen repeated for the castle itself. We walked the streets which used to be dirt with the dirty water down the center, today they are cobblestone, but still have a v shape to them. We were going to tour the Basilica of Saint Nazaire, the former Cathedral for the area, but Pentecost high mass was still being celebrated. This church is a mixture of Roman and Gothic styles and was originally built in the 12th century. We got to view it after lunch. And what a nice lunch - we stopped at one of the cafe's and had a 3 course meal and shared two bottles of the local wine.

Dame Carcas and Noarbonne Gate

So how did Carcassonne get its name? Legend has it, that the town was being besieged by Charlemagne. Dame Carcas suggested that even though they were starving that they overfeed the last remaining pig with grain and then throw it over the wall at the invading force. When they saw this fat pig, the army assumed that there was plenty of food and water remaining in the fortress and gave up the siege. The church bells rang to signal the end of the siege to their hero Dame Carcas. Thus the name Caracassonne, sonne means ring. 

This is the last day of the trip. If you want to see more pictures, there is a narrated 15 minute video on youtube.

So how do I sum up this trip? It's one of the first trips we've had where the highlight of the entire trip was the post-trip: Toulouse, Albi, Lautrec, and Carcassone. The riverboat experience was among the best (other than cabin size). I read the itinerary beforehand, but I was still surprised by how many chateaus and vineyards we visited. If you're interested in Bordeaux wine, this is a great trip. But as is usually the case, the program director and guides make or break the trip. Marie, was superb, she would stop people, tell them that she was leading a group of Americans, and ask them to tell us about themselves or the sites we were seeing. We met two mayors, a Dominican priest, several school groups (one of which sang 'happy birthday' to one of our members), a gardener, and several random folks we encountered. Marie has unique talent at getting people to interact. Our local guides were also superb, particularly our guide in Chartres (we learned a lot about stained glass windows and Renaissance statuary), our guide to Toulouse and St. Emilion, and our guide in Carcassone (who really explained the history and architecture of the place. Finally, our group was great, always on-time, always curious.