THE CATHARS CASTLES

Aguilar: Situaded 3km from Tuchan, it overlooks a plain. A surrounding wall was added to the castle by order of the King of France during the 13C.
Also to see: a roman chapel outside of the surrounding wall.

Quéribus: Situated on a peak, 729 meters of altitude. View over the Mediterranean and the Pyrennées. In 1255, the besieging of this castle marked the end of the Albigensian Crusade. It became from then on a royal fortress and underwent numerous transformations.

Peyrepertuse: the most impressive of the fortified castles of Languedoc. Situated on the top of a rocky hill, it offers a breath-taking view.

Puilaurens: South-East of Quillan. Its strong defensive system allowed it never to fall in the hands of the troops of Simon de Montfort.

Puivert: Very imposing castle with three levels. In the musician room, small scuptures evoque lordly life in which minstrels were ever present.

Montségur: Outside of Corbieres country, 12 Km from Lavelanet. Built on a rocky peak, at an altitude of 1200 meters. One of the main places of the Cathar resistance. In 1244, after 10 months of siege, the defenders negociated a surrender with their assaillants in order to save their lives. As for the Cathars, 200 of them were burned at the stake.

ABBEYS IN THE CORBIERES REGION

Fontfroide: Situated in the South-West of Narbonne. Cistercian abbey founded at the end of the 11C, it joined the religious order of Citeaux in the middle of the 12C.
It flourished up to the 14C when it lost its importance. It was abandonned and looted during the Revolution. It has been restored with care and now offers interesting visits of the church, the cloister, the dormitory of the monks and the terrace-gardens.

Lagrasse: Situated on route D212, South-West of Lezignan, Lagrasse is a Benedictine abbey. It was founded during the Caroligian era, it was improved upon in the course of the centuries.
Not to miss: 18C Cloister, 13C church, 16C steeple, fortification of the monastery, the ancient abbey palace with the cloister and the church. The village itself with its small streets and old houses.

USEFUL ADDRESSES / CURIOSITIES

Cucugnan: a famous little village thanks to its exposure in French litterature (Alphonse Daudet's writing concerning the famous speech of a Cucugnan priest).

Rennes-le-Chateau: this villlage has been surrounded by mystery since the Abbé Saunière, priest of the village (1885 to 1917 ) began from 1891 to spend large sums of money for the restoration of his church and also began to live beyond his means. Several theories have been put forth to explain the origin of his fortune (treasures of the Templiers and the Cathares, etc..).
To See: the musuem dedicated to Abbé Saunière, which is found in the presbytery.

Tautavel Museum: Paleontologists have discovered in a neighbouring cave , the remains of a human skull - one of the oldest found in Europe. This skull allows a reconstitution of the Tautavel man who lived in this region about 450,000 years ago.

Limoux: a city reputed for its sparkling wine produced the Champagne way : the Blanquette of Limoux.