Cathar castles

A barrier for the Cabardès region from the 11th century until the Revolution, and a spearhead of the Cathar resistance in the 13th century, the Lastours site is an exceptional ensemble, with its four medieval castles standing proudly at the…

In the foothills of the Black Mountain, below the picturesque village of Saissac and directly above a ravine, stand the remains of an ancient Cathar castle. Built in the 10th century, and reconstructed between the late 13th and early 14th centuries,…

Roquefixade castle is perched on top of a high cliff opposite the stronghold of Montségur. A place of refuge and resistance for the Cathars in the 13th century, it was destroyed in the 17th century on the orders of King Louis XIII. Accessible…

Montségur castle, the symbol of Cathar resistance rebuilt at the start of the 13th century, was once a refuge for Cathars hunted down by the Inquisition. The stronghold was besieged for 10 months before being taken by the royal army in March…

The square gate tower, the curtain walls, the courtyard of honour and the 35-metre-high keep, which has four splendid rooms (such as the Musicians' Room with cul-de-lampe sculptures of people playing different instruments), are all examples…

From its height of 697 metres, the Cathar castle of Puilaurens, on a rocky spur at the edge of Fenouillèdes, proudly overlooks the verdant Boulzane valley. An amazing example of the military architecture of the Middle Ages, Puilaurens Castle,…

Justifiably known as the citadel of vertigo, the impressive Cathar castle of Peyrepertuse, which clings to the heights of the commune of Duilhac-sous-Peyrepertuse, overlooks wild, unspoilt country from its rocky promontory. The fiefdom of Guillaume…

Completely in the heart of the Corbières massif, near the village of Cucugnan, made famous by Alphonse Daudet's book Letters from my Windmill (Lettres de mon Moulin), stands the Cathar castle of Quéribus, at the summit of a narrow, rocky peak.…