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Château de Quéribus rises on a rocky spur some 728 m high, overlooking the Grau de Maury Pass and dominating the Roussillon plain as far as the Mediterranean Sea to the south-east. The smallest of the Cathar castles, it is considered an eagle's nest and a testament to medieval construction abilities in light of its uninhabitable location.
The standing fortifications of the fortress are built on three levels and date from the 13th century, with some parts from renovations done in the 16th century. The fortress is reached by climbing a narrow path, cut in the rock, leaving the only supply of water to be provided by rain. The third level of the fortress has a polygonal keep, probably dated to the 13th century, with walls 4 m thick at its base, displaying one of the best examples of military architecture in the area. Inside the keep the Chapel of St Louis, a large room built in the early Gothic style, has an almost mystical atmosphere as vaults fan out from a single central column and light enters through only one window with six openings. The chapel was named so after the canonization of King Louis IX in 1297.
Quéribus is mentioned in the historical records in 1020 as Popia Cherbucio, or "inhabited place on the rocks". The first castle built at the site belonged to the County of Barcelona, and in 1162 it was part of the Crown of Aragon, one of the few castles the composite monarchy held north of the Pyrénées. At the end of the 12th century its lords were Cathar believers, condemned as heretics by the Catholic Church.
Despite the fact that the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars was raging for some time, the fortress did not come under attack until later in the conflict. For several years, Cathars and their allies, including lords who were dispossessed of their lands by the Catholic crusaders of the North, found refuge at the site. In 1255, all this changed, as the seneschal of Carcassonne, supported by the bishop of Narbonne, laid siege to Quéribus. The lord of the castle, Chabert de Barbaira, also known as the "fighting lion" is said to have heroically defended it but he was captured and imprisoned by the forces of the French king. Some hold that he succeeded to escape, and like other Cathars, found sanctuary in regions (in what later became Spain) where the faith was still tolerated. When water and food supplies were running low, and with the absence of its lord, Quéribus was forced to surrender.
In the aftermath of the Albigensian Crusade, as the region was annexed to the Kingdom of France, Quéribus along with other castles, served the French in their southern line of defence against the Crown of Aragon. Quéribus, along with 5 other castles was one of "The Five Sons of Carcassonne", a series of fortresses located on rocky peaks that secured the border. After the Treaty of the Pyrénées was signed on 7 November 1659, ending the Franco-Spanish War and establishing a border at the Pyrénées, Quéribus lost its strategic importance. With that being said, the French held a garrison at the site until the end of the 18th century.
Attribution:
Music "Harbor" by Kai Engel
Available at freemusicarchive.org https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ka...
Under CC BY-NC 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Music "Warm of Mechanical Heart" by Kai Engel
Available at freemusicarchive.org https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ka...
Under CC BY license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Music "Oecumene Sleeps" by Kai Engel
Available at freemusicarchive.org https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ka...
Under CC BY license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...
© 2020 Dan Shachar. All rights reserved.
#CroisadeDesAlbigeois #PaysCathare #Randonnée #Paysage #Medieval #MiddleAges #TravelPhotography #Patrimoine #CatharCountry #France #Castle
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