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Published: July 22nd 2008
In Montpellier we will stay 2 nights at ( www.leguilhem.com ). We also spent one afternoon at the beach (Le Grou du Roi) which was very nice. We also made a brief detour to Carcassonne and Minevre - Home of the Cathars. No matter which direction you are coming from, you can’t miss the imposing silhouette of the City of Carcassonne which is encircled by a huge double row of fortified walls that run almost 2 miles long, accentuated by 56 watchtowers. The 3rd century A.D. was a particularly unstable period that saw incessant Barbarian invasions. This is when Carcassonne decided to update its defense mechanisms and solidify its ramparts, building the fortified walls that we can still admire today. Rattled by another period of invasions and insecurity, the inhabitants built a second exterior wall around 1230. It took several thousand soldiers to protect the city back then. The 2000-year-old city of Carcassonne still stands today as the most successful achievement in military architecture of that time in Europe. Nothing has really changed since the 13th century, and if you find yourself in the south of France, you should not miss the chance to be carried back to the heart of
Fish soup
In Montpellierthe Middle Ages and feel the magic of its glorious past.
The Cathars declared themselves true Christians, bearers of the Gospel’s message. They spread the Word of a Christ who they claimed had been sent by God to deliver a message of truth, not to atone for man’s sins by his own death. Unlike the Roman Catholic Church, the Perfects did not retreat into monasteries but shared work with their faithful, proclaiming the Gospel while fully integrated with society. The Pope could not allow this heretical belief that stood in opposition to the official dogma to establish itself as a religion, and become a threat to the Roman Catholic Church and its institutions. So he
decided to wipe out all these heretics. The army of crusaders arrived at the gates of Béziers in July 1209. The citizens fled in disarray as an unbalanced and merciless battle took place. It was by then too late to make the distinction between Catholics and heretics... all the inhabitants were slaughtered while the thugs and crusaders fought over the spoils.
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