Photos of the Beautiful Medieval Carcassonne Walls & Citadel

Home  /  Medieval Middle Ages Index / Medieval Castles & Fortifications

Photos of the Beautiful Medieval Carcassonne Walls & Citadel Fortifications, France. Photos by photographer Paul E Williams.  (TIP – use the icons below the slideshow for thumbnail photos and info)

How To Download These Photos ?

Photos of the Beautiful Medieval Carcassonne Walls & Citadel Fortifications

---

Photos images of the medieval walls Carcassonne and of its fortified citadel, Southern France.

Carcassonne is located in the plain of the Aude between a historic trade route linking the Atlantic to the Mediterranean Sea, and another linking the Massif Central to the Pyrénées.

The Fortifications of Carcassonne

Its citadel, the Cité de Carcassonne, is a medieval fortress dating back to the Gallo-Roman period and restored by in 1853. The fortified city consists essentially of a concentric design of two outer walls with 53 towers and barbicans to prevent attack by siege engines.

There is a castle within the city walls with a drawbridge over a defensive ditch leading to a central keep.

The walls consist of towers built over quite a long period. One section is Roman and is notably different from the medieval walls, with the tell-tale red brick layers and the shallow pitch terracotta tiled capping.

Cathars of Carcassonne

Carcassonne became famous for its role in the Albigensian Crusades when the city was a stronghold of the Occitan Cathars. In August 1209 the anti Cathars crusading army of the Papal Legate, Abbot Arnaud Amalric, forced Carcassonne to surrender. after a siege.

Viscount Raymond-Roger de Trencavel was imprisoned whilst negotiating his city’s surrender. He died in the prison under mysterious circumstances three months later, probably starved to death. The people of Carcassonne were expelled from their city with nothing more than the shirts on their backs.

Simon De Montfort was appointed the new viscount of Carcassonne and added to the new fortifications.

Carcassonne was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997.