Genıtal Pıercıng Vıdeo

Carcassonne: the city of the Cathars.

As someone with soul and spirit of adventure, open a new section that I call "boutique cities". A good bunch of cities here and there from the blog I will recommend for its charm, history and beauty.

fortified town of Carcassonne (in the language of Oc)-Languedoc, France.

This small haven of the past is located in the south of France between the cities of Toulouse and Perpignan.

The citadel has 52 towers and 2 concentric fortifications and a total of three miles of double walls. It is the largest walled city in Europe.

Inside you can find the Basilica of San Nazario (called "the jewel of the citadel" S. XI-XIV), former Cathedral Basilica today that was originally Romanesque but which Gothic elements were added later.

also find the Count's Castle from the XII century and built by Trencavel. Their site is protected by a square tower and eight semicircular. The Treasure Tower was built in the reign of Philip the Bold, and is considered a the most beautiful of the city. Call Cité

smells since medieval city walk through the door of Narbonne, window to another world, another time.


Carcassonne is famous for his role in the crusade against the Albigenses, when the city was a stronghold of the Cathars.

Do not you know who were the Cathars?

As an introduction I will say that the Cathars (Greek for "pure") emerge as an attempt by many Christians to return to the early teachings of Christ, a life of seclusion, poverty and austerity at that time had lost more fully the Catholic hierarchy interested in their struggles to gain power.

preach from town to town and earned a living working the land or helping in different tare as the field. Reject wealth, violence, lies and women are treated as equals. This thought quickly won them fans, mostly local people and also many nobles had enough of power and hegemony exercised by the Pope of Rome and the imposition of tithes. (Among them many lords of the Crown of Aragon, the Trencavel, Raymond VI of Toulouse or the same Pedro II the Catholic, killed Simon de Montfort the Crusader in the battle of Muret) was precisely

Pope which to see the importance of this group began to be Christian, banal attempt to return to Catholic orthodoxy. That was when Innocent III with the help of Louis VIII of France decided to use violence: the declared heretics and his army helped noble knights Templar and the north (very interested in taking the rich lands of the South) finished with most of them. Famous

are inquisitorial tactics to get rid of the Cathars: mass public bonfires that killed hundreds of the faithful as was the case of Montsegur, the last stronghold of Catharism where more than 200 men, women, children and faithful perished under the yoke of the Inquisition burned.

The many shops located inside the walls of the citadel remind you all the time you're in the land of the "Bons Hommes" Good men "

Also, if you are interested in the Cathars and the stories about the Holy Grail (it is said that the Cathars hid and brought him before they took the city) and you want go one of the places charismatic crusade, Carcassonne is an excellent starting point.

do that you've been bitten by the bug to know more? Is not this a fascinating story?

Some recommended routes from Carcassonne:

- City Narbonne (approx. 40 km)
- Abbey of Saint-Hilaire. (12 Km)
- Laggrasse Abbey (25 km)
- Saissac Castle. (22 Km)
- Castle of Arques (50 km)
- Castle Lastours. (25 Km)
- Villerouge Castle (50 km) farther I

Montsegur and Foix are also unmistakable symbols of the Cathar crusade.

Of course, notice to mariners, century castles are XII, that is, you see "what is left of many of them" some in a very dilapidated state but to "medieval spirits" like mine, it's what they were and accounted for ...

Tips:

Be sure to try if you're there the Casoulette (French bean stew) and Limoux white wines (the famous Blanquette).

If you like to fully enjoy the medieval city is best to visit outside normal holiday periods. The hundreds of tourists through the streets of the Cité do lose a lot of times the charm.

One option is to visit in winter. The tourist office offers a package called "bon-week-end hotels including moderately priced and free guided tour inside the towers.

Cité More info:

Carcassonne Tourism Office.
The city of Carcassonne. (English, French and Italian)

Want to know more about the Cathars?

http://portail.cathares.org/ (French)
http://www.montsegur.org/ (French)
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki / Catharism

Essays:

- The History of the Cathars. Malcolm Lambert.
- Cathars. Anne Brenon.

Historical Novel:

- The Lord of the Cathars. Hanny Alders.
- The Bonfire of Montsegur. Zoé Oldenbourg
- the labyrinth. Kate Mosse.
- The Secret Supper. Javier Sierra.