Thursday 24th September - The Story of Carcassonne

The history of Carcassonne began 1000BC and it was called Carsac and in 1BC the Romans took it over and it was renamed Castellum in the 4th century.
The city suffered long periods of occupation at the hands of the Visigoths and the Saracens and it was integrated into the kingdom of the Francs in the 8th Century.
In the 13th century in response to the Cathar heresies, Pope innocent III sent Simon de Montfort on a crusade to fight the heresy. He laid siege to the city which fell to him in 1209 and he handed it over to the King of France in 1226.
The city became the forefront of a defensive line to guard the Franco-Spanish border
In 1355 the city was torched by the Price of Wales and was rebuilt within the walls of the present old city.
The production of woollen cloth was evident since the 14th century when it was the main industry. Carcassonne whose Cite and the Canal du midi are now listed as UNESCO heritage sites enjoy immense tourism.