Carcassonne Listen is a French commune, prefecture of the Aude
department in the Occitanie region. At the last census of 2017, the
town had 46,031 inhabitants called Carcassonnais. Carcassonne is the
main city of Carcassonne Agglo 111,452 inhabitants (2016), of the
urban area of Carcassonne 99,448 inhabitants (2017) and of its urban
unit which has 48,633 inhabitants (2017).
Occupied since the
Neolithic era, Carcassonne is located in the Aude plain between two
major traffic axes connecting the Atlantic to the Mediterranean Sea
and the Massif Central to the Pyrenees.
The city is known for
the Cité de Carcassonne, a medieval architectural ensemble restored
by Viollet-le-Duc in the 19th century and listed as a UNESCO World
Heritage Site since 1997.
The City of Carcassonne
The Cité de Carcassonne is a medieval
architectural ensemble that is located in the French city of
Carcassonne in the department of Aude, region of Occitanie. It is
located on the right bank of the Aude, south-east of the current
city. This fortified medieval city, whose origins date back to the
Gallo-Roman period, owes its fame to its double enclosure, reaching
nearly 3 km in length and comprising fifty-two towers1, which
dominates the Aude valley. The city also includes a castle (the
Count's castle) and a basilica (the Saint-Nazaire basilica).
Saved from destruction by the action and tenacity of archaeologist
Jean-Pierre Cros-Mayrevieille, then restored in the nineteenth
century in a sometimes controversial way under the direction of
Viollet-le-Duc and then of Boeswillwald, the City of Carcassonne is,
since 1997, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The count's
castle, the fortifications, and the towers belong to the State and
are managed by the Center des monuments nationaux, while the lists
and the rest of the City are part of the municipal domain.
Location
Situation
The City of Carcassonne is located on
the right bank of the Aude, overlooking the city of Carcassonne
located to the west. It is located between the Black Mountain and
the Pyrenees on the axis of communication going from the
Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. The presence of the two
mountains forms the Carcassonne corridor often cited when
climatologists speak of the wind blowing in this corridor.
This location is therefore a strategic location in the south of
France making it possible to monitor this major communication axis:
to the North towards the Montagne Noire, to the South towards the
Corbières, to the West towards the Lauragais plain and to the East
the plain. wine to the Mediterranean.
Site
La Cité is
built at the end of a small plateau formed by the digging of the
Aude at about 150 meters above sea level above the lower town. The
first enclosure built by the Visigoths follows the depressions of
the land. This plateau stands out from the Corbières massif in the
town of Palaja at an altitude of 260 m, passes through the Cité at
148 m and ends its course in the Aude at 100 m. On the west side,
the slope is quite steep offering difficult access to potential
attackers. To the east, the slope is gentler and allows easy access
for goods, but also for attackers. Also, the most important defense
mechanisms are on this side of the City.