A 1800 year-old fortified town - Historic Fortified City of Carcassonne 345; Gastronomic meal of the French 00437
What and Why
The fortified city of Carcassonne (French: Cité de Carcassonne) is a 1,800-year old mediaeval citadel in Carcassonne. The city was built during the Gallic Empire (Latin: Imperium Galliarum), and was since occupied by the Romans, Visigoths (Latin: Visigothi), German and then French. The fortification was mainly built by the French during the 3rd century CE, against the weakening Roman Empire (Latin: Imperium Romanum), as Gallia was largely a de facto independent state. The citadel underwent a large number of modifications, constructions and restoration throughout its history until the 19th century CE, especially adding a number of layers of fortified walls and more than 40 towers, but the general form and shape remains largely the same for the past two millennia. The largest restoration of the city took place during the late 19th century CE under the famed architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc who restored many prominent mediaeval landmarks in France.
According to Wikipedia, Carcassonne was the first fortress to use hoardings in times of siege. It also inspired the famous namesake board game Carcassonne.
Toponymy
The name of the city derives from a legend. According to this famous legend, Lady Carcas was the wife of the Muslim prince of the city, who was killed in action against Charlemagne (né Charles Martel). Carcas, as a result took charge of the city's defence against the Frankish army for more than five years. By the beginning of the sixth year, food and water were becoming increasingly scarce. Carcas wanted to make an inventory of all the reserves left. The then city was following the Islamic faith and hence did not consume pork, and pigs were in excess in the city. The villagers brought her a pig and a bag of wheat. She then had the idea of feeding the pig with the sack of wheat and then throwing it from the highest point of the city to the outer remparts, with the intent of creating an illusion to the enemies that the city was still well-stocked.
Charlemagne and his men, believing that the city was still overflowing with soldiers and food to the point of wasting a fat well-fed pig, gave up and retreated. Seeing Charlemagne's army leaving the city, Carcas was filled with joy decided to ring all the city's bells. One of Charlemagne's men then looked back and shouted: 'Carcas is ringing! (Carcas sonne!)' , thus creating the name of the city. Carcas then made peace with Charlemagne and pledged allegiance to the new empire.
See
Porte Narbonnaise
The main imposing gate into the citadel, the Narbonnaise gate, located to the east, was built around the late 13th century CE and was made up of two enormous spur towers. It owes its name to its orientation towards Narbonne. A pseudo drawbridge was built in 19th century CE.
Cité Médiévale
The enclosed city is aptly named the Mediaeval City (Cité Médiévale), and one will see a classical, almost disney-like town. A very beautiful place to walk around and of course shop. As a matter of fact quite a number of sets of the hollywood movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves was taken around the city and its remparts.
Remparts
The Mediaeval City has more than 40 towers spread over a double enclosure measuring 3 km long. There are at least 2 or 3 layers of walls around the city, as they were built over the ages, the outer one completed by a dry moat.
This space between the two remparts, of a little more than 1 km in circumference was flattened in the 13th century, carried an interesting name the Lices. During the 18th century CE, it was where the poorest Carcassonnais built their homes there before they were destroyed during the restoration of the mediaeval city by Viollet-le-Duc in the 19th century CE.
Château Comtal
The Château Comtal (Count’s Castle) is a mediaeval castle within the citadel. Built during the 12th century CE by the viscounts of Carcassonne, this area is made up of a curtain, round towers, the châtelet of entry, the barbican as well as the ditch.
Saint Nazaire Basilica (Basilique Saint Nazaire)
The Basilica of Saints Nazarius and Celsus (Basilique des Saints Nazaire et Celse) is a Roman Catholic minor basilica located inside the citadel of Carcassonne. It is a national monument, and is in the Gothic-Romanesque architecture. The sandstone basilica's floor plan is based on a Latin cross.
Buy and Do
Nougat
For some unknown reason, nougat seems to be the specialty in Carcassonne. These nougats are sold in a form of a big board, the size of a big book, almost everywhere inside and outside the citadel.
Festival de Carcassonne
When we were there, it coincided with the Festival de Carcassonne: It is a massive open-air theatre and concert conducted inside or outside the citadel, and is usually held during summer. During the night, there is a nightly firework show.
Eat and Drink
Similar to Toulouse, the main specialty dish is the cassoulet, the bean stew.
We had one of the best dinners in Le Parc Franck Putelat, a two-Michelin-star restaurant in the city and was fortunate enough to take a photograph with the chef Franck Putelat.
The restaurant and its food is absolutely divine. His famed signature dish is the beef filet steak, where the beef is well cured with small cubes of fois gras, truffle and lard stuffed into it. This dish won him multiple awards and the stars. Hands-up unmissable!
The award for the steak.
Getting There and Around
The entrance fee into the citadel is EUR €9.50. The citadel is a good place to walk around and you can easily spend a day there enjoying the mediaeval atmosphere. We drove from Toulouse and it took us around two hours for the drive, although the city is also well served by the train.
UNESCO Inscriptions
Since the pre-Roman period, a fortified settlement has existed on the hill where Carcassonne now stands. In its present form it is an outstanding example of a medieval fortified town, with its massive defences encircling the castle and the surrounding buildings, its streets and its fine Gothic cathedral. Carcassonne is also of exceptional importance because of the lengthy restoration campaign undertaken by Viollet-le-Duc, one of the founders of the modern science of conservation.
The gastronomic meal of the French is a customary social practice for celebrating important moments in the lives of individuals and groups, such as births, weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, achievements and reunions. It is a festive meal bringing people together for an occasion to enjoy the art of good eating and drinking. The gastronomic meal emphasizes togetherness, the pleasure of taste, and the balance between human beings and the products of nature. Important elements include the careful selection of dishes from a constantly growing repertoire of recipes; the purchase of good, preferably local products whose flavours go well together; the pairing of food with wine; the setting of a beautiful table; and specific actions during consumption, such as smelling and tasting items at the table. The gastronomic meal should respect a fixed structure, commencing with an apéritif (drinks before the meal) and ending with liqueurs, containing in between at least four successive courses, namely a starter, fish and/or meat with vegetables, cheese and dessert. Individuals called gastronomes who possess deep knowledge of the tradition and preserve its memory watch over the living practice of the rites, thus contributing to their oral and/or written transmission, in particular to younger generations. The gastronomic meal draws circles of family and friends closer together and, more generally, strengthens social ties.
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