Carcassonne - Cité Medieval

"I've never had such fun on any vacation, anywhere, ever. The meals were fabulous everywhere, the routes were almost always delightful, the roads mostly quiet, and the people were completely charming." - G. Antal

Carcassonne is a fortified French town, in the Aude département of which it is the préfecture, in the former province of Languedoc. It is separated into the fortified Cité de Carcassonne and the more expansive lower city, the ville basse. The folk etymology – involving a châtelaine named Carcas, a ruse ending a siege and the joyous ringing of bells ("Carcas sonne") – though memorialized in a neo-Gothic sculpture of Mme Carcas on a column near the Narbonne Gate—is of modern invention. The fortress, which was thoroughly restored from 1853 by the theorist and architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997.

First signs of settlement in the region have been dated to about 3500 BC, but the hill site of Carsac—a Celtic place-name that has been retained at other sites in the south—became an important trading place in the 6th century BC. The Volcae Tectosages fortified the oppidum.

Carcassonne became strategically identified when Romans fortified the hilltop around 100 BC and eventually made it the colonia of Julia Carsaco, later Carcasum. The main part of the lower courses of the northern ramparts dates from Gallo-Roman times.

In 462 the Romans officially ceded Septimania to the Visigoth king Theodoric II who had held Carcassonne since 453; he built more fortifications at Carcassonne, which was a frontier post on the northern marches: traces of them still stand. Theodoric is thought to have begun the predecessor of the basilica that is now dedicated to Saint Nazaire. In 508 the Visigoths successfully foiled attacks of the Frankish king Clovis. Saracens from Barcelona took Carcassonne in 725, but King Pippin the Younger drove them away in 759.

In 760, Pippin took most of the south of France, although he was unable to penetrate the impregnable fortress of Carcassonne.

In 1067 Carcassonne became, through marriage, the property of Raimond Bernard Trencavel, viscount of Albi and Nîmes. In the following centuries the Trencavel family allied in succession either with the counts of Barcelona or of Toulouse. They built the Château Comtal and the Basilica of Saint-Nazaire. In 1096 Pope Urban II blessed the foundation stones of the new cathedral, a Catholic bastion against the Cathar heretics.

Cathars being expelled from Carcassone in 1209Carcassonne became famous in its role in the Albigensian Crusades, when the city was a stronghold of French Cathars. In August 1209 the crusading army of Simon de Montfort forced its citizens to surrender. After capturing Raymond-Roger de Trencavel and imprisoning and allowing him to die, Montfort made himself the new viscount. He added to the fortifications. Carcassonne became a border citadel between France and Aragon.

In 1240 Trencavel's son tried to reconquer his old domain but in vain. The city submitted to the rule of kingdom of France in 1247, and King Louis IX founded the new part of the town across the river. He and his successor Philip III built the outer ramparts. Contemporary opinion still considered the fortress impregnable. During the Hundred Years' War, Edward the Black Prince failed to take the city in 1355, although his troops destroyed the Lower Town.

In 1659, the Treaty of Pyrenees transferred the border province of Roussillon to France, and Carcassonne's military significance was reduced. Fortifications were abandoned, and the city became mainly an economic center that concentrated on the woollen textile industry, for which a 1723 source quoted by Fernand Braudel found it "the manufacturing center of Languedoc" [1].

See aerial photos here

What good "stuff' can you eat?

The gastronomy in the French Catalonia area has its own flavor and specialties-
Following are some of these specialties that you will enjoy while you tour.

Aubergines a la tomate- eggplants with tomatoes
Aubergines aux cepes- eggplants cooked with mushrooms
Blanquette de pommes de terre- White meat cooked with potatoes
Calamars farcis- Stuffed Calamari
Ragout de Costello - Meat and vegetables dish
Courgettes farci- Stuffed Zucchini
Morue a la catalane- Catalonia Cod Style
Pintade a la catalane- Catalonia turkey Style
Pois chiche a la catalane- Catalonia Chick peas Style
Ragout de Costello- Meat and vegetables dish
Crème catalane- Catalonia Dessert cream Style
Fougasse au Pignons- Flat bread with pine nuts

What about a drink?

The French Catalonia Wines
AOC - Vins secs (Dry wine)- Cotes du Roussillon (white wine), Cotes du Roussillon (rose wine),Cotes du Roussillon (red wine) and Collioure (Rose wine)

AOC- Vins doux naturels (Natural Sweet wines)- Rivesaltes (Ambre), Rivesaltes, Tuile, Banyuls, Maury traditionels, Vintage, Rimage, Muscat de Rivesaltes.

Vins de Pays- 70 different Vins de Pays under the appellation of Vins du Pays d’Oc.

The “appellation” Wines of the Languedoc covers 120,000 acres of vines on the slopes and garrigues of Languedoc. The production gives red wine, rose and white wine.

Four departments of the Languedoc-Roussillon, Gard, Herault, Aude and Pyrenees Orientales share the biggest French vineyards. It assure 40% of the French production, with 18% in AOC and 70% in Vins de Pays.

The different AOC wine of Languedoc are: Fitou, Minervois, Corbieres, Tavel, etc.
The diversity of soils makes it possible to produce wines of different types, and the differences are carefully maintained, with a constant eye to quality.

Some vineyards draw their strength from the burning sun as they produce a sweet wine. They are made from ripe grapes in which pure grape spirit has been added to them during fermentation. Of the 12 appellations for natural sweet wines, only 6 are muscats.