Carcassone - Medieval City in the sun.

Protected from would-be invaders by 52 defensive towers arranged along a huge double row of fortified walls nearly 3 kms in length, lies the Medieval city of Carcassonne. Carcas, a village found 2 kilometers South of Carcassonne, was a very large and active agglomeration during the 9th and 10th centuries BC. The inhabitants of Carcas migrated to the present location of Carcassonne around 600 BC. At that time, the common way to protect a city was to dig a large moat and build a high and reinforced wooden fence surrounding the city.

The third century BC was a particularly unstable period and invasions by cruel Barbarians were common. This is when the city of Carcassonne increased it defenses by improving the solidity and defensive aspects of the ramparts surrounding the city. These are the fortified walls that we can still admire today. Approximately between 1230 and 1240, another period of invasion and insecurity pushed the inhabitants to built a second exterior wall. Thousands of soldiers were needed to protect the city from invasion by the Barbarians at that time. The "City of Carcassonne", born over 2000 years ago, is a symbol of the most successful achievement of the military architecture of this time in Europe. Nothing of the architechture there has changed since the 13th century and if you have a chance to go to the South of France, you should not miss being carried into the heart of the Middles Ages and feeling the magic of its past glory.

We cannot describe Carcassonne without mentionning the Cathars. Catharism was a very active religion in Europe and especially in Carcassonne.

The middle of the 12th century was a period of serenity, wealth and religious tolerance. Jews, Catholics and Cathars lived in relative harmony. Cathars were Christians, but differed from the Roman Catholics because they considered the material world the creation of Evil, whereas God had created spiritual perfection for eternity. As a result, they refused any earthly pleasure: fancy food and meat, sex and wealth were banned from their lives.