A trip to Cathar Country in the Langedoc - 2
Carcassonne

The central point of Cathar Country, Carcassonne comprises the old Cité to the East of the New Town. Americans will be amused to learn that the New Town was originally built inthe 1270s after Louis IX cleared out the inhabitants of the Cité. (Louis IX is misleadingly known at St. Louis, owing to his thuggish habit of slaughtering the Pope's enemies & participation in two unsuccessful crusades against the Moslems, during the second of which, he died, having lived too long for many peoples' good). During the Albigensian Crusade, the town soon surrendered to the awful Simon de Montfort, who lead the crusade, so was not sacked. The present appearance of the Cité is due to enthusiastic restoration work by Viollet le Duc in the 1840s.

The old Cité looms over the New Town	Seen from the South from the motorway	Part of the walls
The Chateau	Two of the Visigoth Towers	More walls
The Cathedral	The Cathedral has its original glass	More glass
The Cathedral & Chateau in evening light	Horse bus	Yet more walls

During the Albigensian Crusade, the town surrendered in 1209 to avoid a sacking but the Count, Raymond-Roger, was imprisoned & came to a secret sticky end soon after. The Cité is a beautiful place to stay but the libel laws forbid me from describing the hotel we used! The New Town, however, is no great shakes:-