Medieval statues inCarcassonne, 138845_Carcassonne
Carcassonne is a fortified French town in the Aude department, of which it is the prefecture, in the former province of Languedoc. It is divided into the fortified Cité de Carcassonne and the more expansive lower city, the ville basse. Carcassone was founded by the Visigoths in the fifth century, though the Romans had fortified the settlement earlier. The fortress, which was thoroughly restored in 1853 by the theorist and architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997. The folk etymology – involving a châtelaine named Carcas, a ruse ending a siege and the joyous ringing of bells ("Carcas sona") – though memorialized in a neo-Gothic sculpture of Mme Carcas on a column near the Narbonne Gate, is of modern invention. The first signs of settlement in this region have been dated to about 3500 BC, but the hill site of Carsac became an important trading place in the 6th century BC. Carcassonne became strategically identified when Romans fortified the hilltop around 100 BC and eventually made the colonia of Julia Carsaco. In 462 the Romans officially ceded Septimania to the Visigothic king Theodoric II who had held Carcassonne since 453; he built more fortifications at Carcassonne, which was a frontier post on the northern marches. In 508 the Visigoths successfully foiled attacks by the Frankish king Clovis. Saracens from Barcelona took Carcassonne in 725, but King Pepin the Short (Pépin le Bref) drove them away in 759-60; he was unable to penetrate the impregnable fortress. In 1067, Carcassonne became the property of Raimond Bernard Trencavel. Carcassonne became famous in its role in the Albigensian Crusades. In 1240, Trencavel's son tried to reconquer his old domain but in vain. The city submitted to the rule of the kingdom of France in 1247, and King Louis IX founded the new part of the town across the river. Philip III built the outer ramparts. Contemporary opinion still considered the fortress impregnable.
Size: 3840px × 5759px
Location: Carcassonne, Aude, Languedoc-Roussillon, France
Photo credit: © DV TRAVEL / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: architecture, carcassonne, city, fortified, medieval, statues
