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The town
was built by Louis IX as the embarkation port for his seventh crusade,
in 1248, and his eighth crusade, in 1270. The town was built as
a medieval fortress, being enclosed by rectangled, indented battlements
that were constructed with thick stone walls as high as 25 to 30 feet.
The walls were built with intermittent towers.
There are two parts to Carcassonne. They are the Ville Basse and
the Cité. The Ville Basse is located on the left bank.
It contains most of Carcassonne’s business activity and two 13th
century churches: The Cathedral of Saint Michael and the Church of Saint
Vincent. The second part of the town is the Cité. It is
the medieval 5th century walled city built by Euric I, king of the Visigoths,
at a Roman site. It is located atop a hill on the right bank.
This site was occupied, as early as the 5th century BC, by the Iberians.
The 11th to 14th century Romanesque and Gothic Church of Saint Nazaire,
that was built by the viscounts of Carcassonne and Beziers, and the
12th century château Comtal, are located within the Cité’s
ramparts. Its fortifications are among Europe’s finest medieval
remains.
Hotels
& Guest Houses in Carcassonne:
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