Carcassonne Castle in France: photo, description, history, how to get there
In the southern part of France in the Languedoc-Roussillon, near the foothills of the Pyrenees, there is a city called Carcassonne, and in its very heart is the world-famous castle of Carcassonne, which is a unique masterpiece of military and educational architecture. The country itself, where this place is located, has always been fanned by a huge number of various legends, some kind of mysterious atmosphere reigned in it!
Description
If we talk about the structure of the majestic medieval citadel, then it has two parts – the first is the Upper part or the acropolis, and the Lower part of the city, both parts are separated by the river Aude. The fortress walls are a long encirclement of the medieval city, and their length is more than 3,000 meters, on the length of which there are more than 50 towers that look like sharp hats of wizards.
There are a huge number of arches, fairy-tale bridges, wooden galleries, an old cathedral with chimeras on its facade, amazing stained-glass windows, huge stone slabs on the floor… It smells of the Middle Ages from here!
This is one of the most important monuments of culture, which carries the world heritage and is protected by UNESCO. Here you can trace the history of each of the past eras, try to get acquainted with military architecture from the time of the ancient Romans to the 14th century.
Today, there is a small town in the fortress, there are many streets, shops, hotels and cafes. In souvenir shops you can find something unusual – for example, a bronze sundial that has a blue magic crystal, you can also buy a copy of ancient weapons, figurines of saints from clay, a vest made from pieces of fur, and many other curiosities, as if taken somewhere from ancient times.
Legend
The fortress has always been associated with many legends, one of them tells about the “Karkas Lady”, who led the whole city. Some sources say that her husband was an Arab governor, with whom she was able to deceive Charlemagne and his entire army. Other sources say that she, on the contrary, was the husband of King Charles, and together with him she was able to deceive the Muslim and his army.
The invaders with their army stood close to the walls of Carcassonne, soon a food crisis began in the city, but despite all this, the invaders patiently waited for the townspeople to begin to die of hunger and begin to surrender. Then the wise and cunning Karkas Lady ordered that the last pig that they had left for all the inhabitants be slaughtered and put the remaining grain in her belly. After following the instructions, the pig was thrown from the city walls, and the invaders retreated. They thought that if they scatter food, then they have enough of it.
They also say that in order to create the appearance of a large army of soldiers, she ordered dolls to be sewn to the height of a man, and the opponents, in turn, thought that they could not cope with such an army and retreated away. Maybe she did both, but who can say for sure now…
What to see
Not far from the castle is the Cathedral of St. Michael. It was built in the Gothic style, it has an octagonal bell tower and stands on a large and powerful base. Here you can see many amazing turns, magnificent statues of the Mother of God, a huge number of paintings and sculptures – all this is considered to be of great artistic value.
This fortress can be seen in Luc Besson's film Joan of Arc, Kevin Costner's Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, as well as in the plots of many Walt Disney cartoons.
How to get there
Carcassonne can be reached using the train connection that connects the city with Toulouse, the travel time will take no more than 1 hour, and its cost will be within 13 euros; from Narbonne, the travel time will be about 50 minutes, and the price will not be higher than 10 euros; from Beziers, the travel time will be from 45 minutes to 1 hour, and the price will not be higher than 12.5 euros; from Pontpellier, the travel time will take no more than an hour and a half, and the price will not exceed 12 euros.
The city has its own airport, which has been operating for over 15 years and has been able to serve many flights, both private and budget airlines. There are air links with London, Liverpool and Nottingham, Dublin, Cork, Shannon, Charleroi and others.
With the help of air communication, you can fly from anywhere in the world.
Recommended for viewing Palace of Versailles in France.