Montségur Castle - France

Third of the eight Royal Fortresses of Languedoc. 

Located on the northern front of the Pyrenees, at an altitude of 1,207 m, atop a rocky peak (the ‘pog’), Montségur Castle stands as the highest of the royal fortresses in Languedoc. While the memory of the Cathars still lingers over the site, the current fortress bears witness to the new authority of the King of France over the territory, from the second half of the 13th century. - in: https://forteressesroyalesdulanguedoc.fr

At the end of the 13th century, the old fortified village (castrum) of Montségur, which had been home to the Cathar community from 1204 to 1244, was dismantled. It was replaced by a fortress commissioned by the King of France. Against a backdrop of war and crusade against the King of Aragon, the fortress was to complete a network of fortresses on the kingdom’s Pyrenean border.

 Photo: Patrice Cartier

The project was carried out with the support of Philippe le Bel, King of France, and Guy III de Lévis-Mirepoix, Lord of Montségur. Occupied by a small garrison of around 15 men, the fortress was never attacked. It was abandoned in the first half of the 17th century by the lord of Lévis-Mirepoix, before the destruction of fortresses by Richelieu and the Treaty of the Pyrenees. - in: https://en.pyreneescathares.com