Barbicans, Ramparts & Moats, Oh My…

Today we spent the day wandering Carcassonne., a restored medieval fortified hill city with a long history starting in the Roman Empire. Fallen into neglect it was slated to be demolished which  call for its preservation, restoration and now is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In talking to co-workers before I left I was warned it was kind of touristy and like visiting Disneyland with many eating establishments shops full of goods and trinkets. That turned out to be true, packed with people from all over the world who were buying souvenirs and taking in the sites during the day. A different story at night, the place emptied out mostly and we coud enjoy the environment a bit more. Reminded me of Rothenburg ob der Tauber where bus loads of tourists show up for only a few hours also but the best time is at night when the town is empty.

We took a tour of the Chateau and that is where the history really came to life. We took the audio tour that had great explanations on the fortresses construction over the history and the important events that occurred here. One of the more interesting points was it was independent, run by Catholics that had a tolerant attitude to non-believers.  When the Pope decided that heretics and those who supported them had to go (aka the Crusades) the city was besieged, fell and became part of the French Kingdom. It still maintained its strategic importance due to its location on the outer edge of the kingdom until the Treaty of the Pyrenees which, amongst other things dividing nearby Catalonia between Spain and France thus moving French border away from Carcassone. The impressive build-up of the fort (and I mean impressive) stopped at this point and things started to fall slowly into neglect until the event I describe above. This is a brief history (and I hope I got it right) that we all found fascinating to hear and see at the same time.

One last great dinner in the town, time to move on again tomorrow, Rain appears to be on the way…