Here and There Blog

The mega castle of reconstructed old ruins is a short drive from Toulouse.  Carcassonne has it all, towers, a wall you can walk for great views, and rooms to explore. After all that you can shop and eat in within the city walls. Typical history, a fortress, various families ruled, attacked in the crusades, fell to and from hands, and finally to disuse, ruin and now perfect for tourism!        

Short version - Abli and church area date back to the 10th and 11th centuries. The people of Albi went out on the crusades in the 13th century against Cathars. What are Cathars? I never heard of them before. Simply people who rejected the Roman Catholic Church but still considered themselves Christian. Holy war commence, a lot of people died. Roman Catholic Church won and decided that this was a good way to get rid of a problem.  What remains is a now UNESCO World Heritige site to wander around.      

Foix was about the mid-point on our drive between Toulouse and Andorra and with a castle like this, we had to make the stop to climb around. Basic history, founded a long time ago, well fortified and defended in various wars and the area absorbed into the greater kingdom.