Captivating Carcassonne

Carcassonne, a medieval walled city so old, it goes all the way back to the 6th century B.C. We visited the city for the whole day because it was there was a lot to see. We visited the highlights on a self guided walking tour and learned some really interesting facts.

Like I said before, the city is really old. After the early tribes and the Romans came and went, the city was owned by the family Trencavel. The viscount Roger Raymond Trencavel in 1194-1209 protected those who followed a religion called Catharsism which went against the church’s teachings and beliefs. This led the pope at the time, Pope Innocent III, to start a crusade starting with Carcassonne. The city was besieged until Carcassonne surrendered. It was then given to an important warrior in the Crusades, Simon de Montfort who eventually gave it up to King Louis VIII.

Carcassonne was passed from king to king and underwent major changes, like the adding of the lower town. However, once warfare technology changed with the introduction of gunpowder and the French-Spanish border changed, the city was abandoned. Fortunately, Carcassonne was saved by Jean-Pierre Cros-Mayrevielle, a French historian and journalist, and the architect Eugene Viollet-le-Duc. Thanks to them, thousands of visitors are able to explore the beautiful walled city today.

My favourite story that I heard about Carcassonne was the legend of how it got it’s name. One of the early tribes who occupied the city, the Saracens, were besieged by Charlemagne and his army. The Saracen king was killed, leaving his wife Dame Carcas behind to defend the castle in the centre of the city. The siege had been going on for numerous years and famine had killed most of the defenders. Dame Carcas stayed at the top of the ramparts firing a crossbow to make the attackers think there were still inhabitants inside.
The only food that remained in the castle was a little pig and a handful of wheat. Dame Carcas stuffed the pig with the wheat and threw it over the walls down to the attackers. The pig burst open on the ground showing the wheat in it’s stomach. Charlemagne stopped his attack because he thought that there was so much wheat inside, the inhabitants of the castle were feeding the precious grain to the pigs! Dame Carcas summoned Charlemagne to make peace, so she had the bells rung. The people left in the city started yelling “Carcas sonne”, meaning “Carcas rings” in French. That is the story of how the city got it’s name.

Here are some of the highlights we saw during our tour.

Porte de l’Aude

This gate was extended by the Aude bastion which was partially demolished in 1816 to make space for the building of the church of Saint-Gimer. The only surviving piece of this gate is the ramp. The Porte de l’Aude has been the backdrop of quite a few movies including “Les Visiteurs“, “Robin Hood Prince of Thieves“, and “Le Corniaud“.

The Basilica of Saint-Nazaire

This basilica is considered to be “The Jewel of the Medieval City”. It is a combination of Gothic and Romanesque architecture and contains the finest stained glass in the south of France. The church was first blessed by Pope Urban II in 1096. It lost it’s status of cathedral in 1801 to the church of Saint-Michel. In 1898, it was made a basilica by Pope Leo XIII. Although we didn’t get the chance to see the inside, we could only imagine how splendid it must look, as the exterior was beautiful.

The Basillica

The Basilica of Saint-Nazaire

View of the Basilica from up the street

A closeup of the facade

Theatre Jean Deschamps

Previously known as the Theatre de la Cite, it is built on the former cloisters of the Saint Nazaire in 1908. Jean Deschamps was an actor and director who created the Festival de la Cite in 1957, so the theatre was renamed as a tribute to what he had done for the city.

The Large Well

This well is rumoured to be the oldest well in the city. Pieces of the well can be traced back to the 16th century and the Renaissance era. There is a legend which says there is buried treasure inside, but an archaeologist dig in 1910 found no evidence of this.

The Bust of Jean-Pierre Cros-Mayrevieille

Jean-Pierre Cros-Mayrevieille was a French historian and journalist. He was also a very important part of the safety of Carcassonne by donating large amounts of money. The bust was inaugurated in 1910, but was melted down during the German occupation so the new one that stands today was inaugurated February 1, 1989.

The Comtal Chateau

The chateau was built as a last line of defence by the Trencavel family in the 12th century. It was constantly altered in the following centuries by whoever owned the castle. The interior wall of the castle also includes parts of the Gallo-Roman ramparts from the 3rd to the 5th centuries.

While we visited the Comtal Chateau, there was an exhibit being displayed of castles and their evolution in stories and movies. There were lego castles, Disney princess castles, and (Zoe’s favourite) a picture of the Hogwarts castle. I love little things and pictures like there was in the room, so I could have stayed there all day!

The view out one of the windows

The outer wall

I really enjoyed exploring the walled city and looking at all the shops and sights. It was very well preserved and although the shops were modern, it still made us feel as though we were in the Middle Ages when the city thrived. This has definitely inspired us to add more to our design of the castle we plan to build when we return!