Its citadel, known as theCité de Carcassonne, is a medieval fortress dating back to theGallo-Roman period and restored by the theorist and architectEugène Viollet-le-Duc between 1853 and 1879. It was added to theUNESCO list ofWorld Heritage Sites in 1997 because of the exceptional preservation and restoration of the medieval citadel.[6] Consequently, Carcassonne relies heavily on tourism but also counts manufacturing andwinemaking as some of its other key economic sectors.[7]
Carcassonne is located in the south of France about 80 kilometres (50 mi) east ofToulouse. Its strategic location between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea has been known since theNeolithic era. The town's area is about 65 km2 (25 sq mi), which is significantly larger than the numerous small towns in the department of Aude. The rivers Aude, Fresquel, and theCanal du Midi flow through the town.
The first signs of settlement in this region have been dated to about 3500 BC, but the hill site ofCarsac—aCelticplace-name that has been retained at other sites in the south—became an important trading place in the sixth century BC. TheVolcae Tectosages fortified it and made it into anoppidum, a hill fort, which is when it was named "Carsac".[8][9]
Thefolk etymology—involving achâtelaine namedLady Carcas, a ruse ending asiege, and the joyous ringing of bells ("Carcas sona")—though memorialized in aneo-Gothic sculpture ofMme.Carcas on a column near theNarbonne Gate, is a modern reconstruction of a 16th-century depiction.[10] The name can be derived as anaugmentative of the name Carcas.
Miniature depictingCathars being expelled from Carcassonne in 1209
Carcassonne became strategically identified when theRomans fortified the hilltop around 100 BC and eventually made it thecolonia ofJulia Carsaco, laterCarcaso, laterCarcasum (by the process of swapping consonants known asmetathesis). The main part of the lower courses of the northernramparts dates fromGallo-Roman times.[8][9] In AD 462 the Romans officially cededSeptimania to theVisigothic kingTheodoric II who had held Carcassonne since AD 453.
A medieval fiefdom, thecounty of Carcassonne, controlled the city and its environs. It was often united with thecounty of Razès. The origins of Carcassonne as a county probably lie in local representatives of the Visigoths, but the first count known by name isBello of the time ofCharlemagne. Bello founded a dynasty, theBellonids, which would rule manyhonores in Septimania andCatalonia for three centuries. In 1067, Carcassonne became the property of Raimond-Bernard Trencavel,viscount ofAlbi andNîmes, through his marriage with Ermengard, sister of the last count of Carcassonne. In the following centuries, theTrencavel family allied in succession with either the counts of Barcelona or of Toulouse. They built theChâteau Comtal and theBasilica of Saints Nazarius and Celsus. In 1096,Pope Urban II blessed the foundation stones of the newcathedral.
Carcassonne became famous for its role in theAlbigensian Crusades when the city was a stronghold of OccitanCathars. In August 1209 the crusading army of thePapal Legate, abbotArnaud Amalric,besieged the city. ViscountRaymond-Roger de Trencavel was imprisoned while negotiating his city's surrender and died in mysterious circumstances three months later in his dungeon. The people of Carcassonne were allowed to leave—in effect, expelled from their city with nothing more than the shirts on their backs.Simon de Montfort was appointed the new viscount and added to the fortifications.
In 1240, Trencavel's son tried unsuccessfully to reconquer his old domain. The city submitted to the rule of the kingdom of France in 1247. Carcassonne became a border fortress between France and theCrown of Aragon under the 1258Treaty of Corbeil.King Louis IX founded the new part of the town across the river. He and his successorPhilip III built the outer ramparts. Contemporary opinion still considered the fortress impregnable. During theHundred Years' War,Edward the Black Prince failed to take the city in 1355, although his troops destroyed the lower town.[13]
In 1659, theTreaty of the Pyrenees transferred the border province ofRoussillon to France, and Carcassonne's military significance was reduced. Its fortifications were abandoned and the city became mainly an economic center of thewoollen textile industry, for which a 1723 source quoted byFernand Braudel found it "the manufacturing center of Languedoc".[14] It remained so until theOttoman market collapsed at the end of the eighteenth century, then reverted to a country town.[15] The town hall, known asHôtel de Rolland, was completed in 1761.[16]
Duringsieges, temporary wooden platforms and walls would be fitted to the upper walls of the fortress through square holes in the face of the wall, providing protection to defenders on the wall and allowing defenders to go out past the wall to dropprojectiles on attackers at the wall beneath.
Thismedieval drawing of Carcassonne from 1462, discovered by Jean-Pierre Cros-Mayrevieille in theGaignières collection of theBibliothèque Royale, had a major influence on the project to restore Carcassonne. It reinforcedViollet-le-Duc's idea that all of the towers were topped with conicalroof trussing.[17]
The fortified city consists essentially of a concentric design of two outer walls with 52 towers andbarbicans to prevent attack by siege engines. The castle itself possesses its own drawbridge and ditch leading to a central keep. The walls consist of towers built over quite a long period.[18] One section is Roman and is notably different from the medieval walls, with the tell-tale red brick layers and the shallow pitch terracotta tile roofs. One of these towers housed theCatholic Inquisition in the 13th century and is still known as "The Inquisition Tower".
Carcassonne was demilitarised underNapoleon Bonaparte and theRestoration, and the fortifiedcité of Carcassonne fell into such disrepair that the French government decided that it should be demolished. A decree to that effect that was made official in 1849 caused an uproar. The antiquary and mayor of Carcassonne, Jean-Pierre Cros-Mayrevieille, and the writerProsper Mérimée, the first inspector of ancient monuments, led a campaign to preserve the fortress as a historical monument. Later in the year the architectEugène Viollet-le-Duc, already at work restoring the Basilica of Saints Nazarius and Celsus, was commissioned to renovate the place.
In 1853, work began with the west and southwest walls, followed by the towers of theporte Narbonnaise and the principal entrance to thecité. The fortifications were consolidated here and there, but the chief attention was paid to restoring the roofing of the towers and the ramparts, where Viollet-le-Duc ordered the destruction of structures that had encroached against the walls, some of them of considerable age. Viollet-le-Duc left copious notes and drawings upon his death in 1879 when his pupilPaul Boeswillwald and, later, the architect Nodet continued the rehabilitation of Carcassonne.
The restoration was strongly criticized during Viollet-le-Duc's lifetime. Fresh from work in the north of France, he made the error of using slate (when there was no slate to be quarried around) instead ofterracotta tiles. The slate roofs were claimed to be more typical of northern France, as was the addition of the pointed tips to the roofs.
Theville basse dates to theLate Middle Ages. Founded as a settlement of the expelled inhabitants of the town sometime after the crusades, it has been the economic heart of the city for centuries. Though once walled, most of the walls in this portion of the town are no longer intact. TheCarcassonne Cathedral is in this part of the town.[19]
The fortified city of Carcassonne and the Pont Vieux crossing theAude river
Another bridge,Pont Marengo, crosses the Canal du Midi and provides access to therailway station. TheLac de la Cavayère has been created as a recreational lake; it is about five minutes from the city centre by automobile.
Carcassonne has ahumid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification:Cfa), though with noticeablehot-summer mediterranean climate influence (Köppen climate classification:Csa), a climate which is more typical of southern France, with moderately wet and mild winters coupled with summers averaging above 28 °C (82 °F) during daytime with low rainfall.
Carcassonne, along with the French Mediterranean coastline, can be subject to intense thunderstorms and torrential rains in late summer and early autumn. The Carcassonne region can be flooded in such events, the last of which happened on 14–15 October 2018.
Climate data for Carcassonne (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1948–present)
The newer part (Ville Basse) of the city on the other side of the Aude river (which dates back to the Middle Ages, after the crusades) manufactures shoes,rubber and textiles. It is also the center of a majorAOC winegrowing region. A major part of its income comes from the tourism connected to the fortifications (Cité) and from boats cruising on theCanal du Midi. Carcassonne is also home to the MKE Performing Arts Academy. Carcassonne receives about three million visitors annually.
TheGare de Carcassonne railway station offers direct connections to Toulouse, Narbonne, Perpignan, Paris, Marseille, and several regional destinations.[26] TheA61 motorway connects Carcassonne with Toulouse and Narbonne.
In July 2025, Carcassonne was the finish city for stage 15 of the Tour de France. Tim Wellens, the 2025 Belgian road race champion, won from a breakaway. This was his first TdF stage win.[27] In July 2021, Carcassonne was the finish city for stage 13, and the starting point of stage 14, of the2021 Tour de France. It was at the finish in Carcassonne thatMark Cavendish tied the record for mostTour de France stage wins (34) held byEddy Merckx. Carcassonne was the finish city for stage 15, and the starting point of stage 16, of the2018 Tour de France. Previously it was the starting point forstage 11 of the2016 Tour de France, the starting point for a stage in the2004 Tour de France, and a stage finish in the2006 Tour de France.
As in the rest of the southwest of France,rugby union is popular in Carcassonne. The city is represented byUnion Sportive Carcassonnaise, known locally simply as USC. The club has a proud history, having played in theFrench Championship Final in 1925, and currently competes inPro D2, the second tier ofFrench rugby.
Felice Varini, project "Concentric, eccentric" with concentric yellow circles, at Carcassonne for the 7th "IN SITU, Heritage and contemporary art" event in May 2018 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the inscription on the World Heritage List of UNESCO
In May 2018, as the project "Concentric, eccentric"[28] by French-Swiss artistFelice Varini, large yellow concentric circles were mounted on the monument as part of the 7th edition of "IN SITU, Heritage and contemporary art", a summer event in the Occitanie / Pyrenees-Mediterranean region focusing on the relationship between modern art and architectural heritage. This monumental work was done to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Carcassonne's inscription on the World Heritage List ofUNESCO.[29][30]
Exceptional in its size and its visibility and use of architectural space, the exhibit extended across the western front of the fortifications of the city. The work could be fully perceived only in front of the Porte d'Aude at the pedestrian route from theBastide. The circles of yellow colour consist of thin, painted aluminium sheets, spread like waves of time and space, fragmenting and recomposing the geometry of the circles on the towers and curtain walls of the fortifications. The work was visible from May to September 2018 only.[29][30]
The French poetGustave Nadaud made Carcassonne famous as a city. He wrote a poem about a man who dreamed of seeing but could not see before he died. His poem inspired many others and was translated into English several times.[31]Georges Brassens has sung a musical version of the poem.Lord Dunsany wrote a short story"Carcassonne" (inA Dreamer's Tales) as didWilliam Faulkner.
On 6 March 2000 France issued a stamp commemorating the fortress of Carcassonne.[32]
In 2000, the popular board gameCarcassonne (board game) was released. While exploring the area for inspiration, the creator,Klaus-Jürgen Wrede, "was so impressed by the whole landscape and area surrounding Carcassonne" that he "wanted to build it in a game".[33]
It was the titular destination in the bookNarrow Dog to Carcassonne journalling a couple's trip from England to the Mediterranean coast of France aboard their 60 foot (18.3 meters)narrowboat.[35]
^abExplanation about "Carsac" in Appendix VI ofThe Gallic Wars by Julius Caesar, edited by Vincent Rospond:Carsac was [the] Celtic place-name [of a settlement] which became an important trading place in the 6th century BCE. The Volcae Tectosages fortified it as anoppidum. The Latin name for this place was Carcaso, which today is called Carcassonne. Carsac became strategically identified when [the] Romans fortified the hilltop around 100 BCE and eventually made it the colonia of Julia Carsaco, later Carcasum. The main part of the lower courses of the northern ramparts dates from Gallo-Roman times.
