Cathar Country
The Cathars who lent their name to this area, stretching from Ariège to Corbières, were followers of a political and religious movement which opposed, both in belief and in practice, what they condemned as the errors and abuses of the medieval Church. Mercilessly suppressed by the crusades sent against them, the Cathar believers became famous for their spirit of purity, integrity and independence. Seven centuries later, the ruins of the strongholds which were their last refuge, stand as monuments to their steadfastness, and inspire many tourists to come to the area.
The ruins of these rocky citadels, high on their crags but nonetheless doomed to fall, still preserve a tragic atmosphere which, even now, makes the visitor pause in reflection. Montségur, Lastours, Peyrepertuse, Quéribus, Puivert, Minerve … For many, these names are the roll-call of martyrs who went singing through flame and sword to their glory.
Spectacularly well preserved, another major Cathar centre is seen in the magical sight of the walled town of Carcassonne, with its medieval ramparts, turrets, gateways and paved streets. Abbeys and Romanesque churches abound, too, in the Corbières and Minervois districts, today as well known for their fine wines as for their history and architecture.
Spectacularly well preserved, another major Cathar centre is seen in the magical sight of the walled town of Carcassonne, with its medieval ramparts, turrets, gateways and paved streets. Abbeys and Romanesque churches abound, too, in the Corbières and Minervois districts, today as well known for their fine wines as for their history and architecture.
Climbing to the higher rocky interior of the Minervois, we enter another world altogether, where nature and humankind are together in isolation, among the box brush and pine woods of these slopes which are a whole dimension away from the twenty-first century.
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