In the southern part of France, in Languedoc-Roussillon, near the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains, 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!
From ancient times, Carcassonne was a strategic object and was located in a special place - in the Mediterranean at the crossroads with the Atlantic. Many aggressive warriors and crusades of Pope Innocent III played a huge role in the further history and development of the city.
Description
If we talk about the structure of the majestic medieval citadel, then it has two parts - the first is the Upper part or acropolis, and the Lower part of the city, both parts are separated by the Aude River. The fortress walls are a long encirclement of the medieval city, and their length is more than 3,000 meters, along the length of which there are more than 50 towers, which in appearance resemble the sharp hats of wizards.
There is a huge number of arches, fabulous bridges, wooden galleries, there is an old cathedral with chimeras on its facade, amazing stained-glass windows, huge stone slabs on the floor ... From here it blows like the Middle Ages!
This is one of the most important cultural monuments that bears 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 extraordinary - for example, a bronze sundial that has a blue magic crystal, you can also buy a copy of ancient weapons, statuettes of saints made of clay, a vest made of pieces of fur, and many other curiosities. as if taken from somewhere long ago.
Legend
The fortress has always been associated with many legends, one of them tells about the “Karkasskaya Lady”, who ruled this entire 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 with him she was able to deceive the Muslim and his army. Whatever it was, but we are talking about something completely different ...
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 starve to death and begin to surrender. Then the wise and cunning Lady of Karkas ordered that the last pig, which they had left for all the inhabitants, be slaughtered and put the remaining grain in her belly. After the instructions were followed, the pig was thrown from the city walls, and the invaders retreated. They thought that if they scattered food, then they had enough of it.
They also say that in order to create the appearance of a large army of soldiers, she ordered to sew dolls to the height of a person, and the opponents, in turn, thought that they could not cope with such an army and retreated away. Maybe she did both, but who will say for sure about this now ...
What to see
Not far from the castle is the Cathedral of St. Michael. It was built in the Gothic style, has an octagonal bell tower and stands on a large and powerful base. Here you can see many delightful bends, 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 Jeanne d'Arc, Kevin Costner's Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, as well as in the plots of many Walt Disney cartoons.
How to get there
You can get to Carcassonne by rail, which connects the city with Toulouse, the travel time will take no more than 1 hour, and its cost will be around 13 euros; from Narbonne, travel time will be about 50 minutes, and the price will not be more 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 Ponpellier, the travel time will take no more than an hour and a half, and the price is no more than 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 low-cost airlines. There are flights here 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 the Palace of Versailles in France.
