Carcassonne

Romans fortified the hilltop of Carcassonne around 100 BC and eventually made it the colonia of Julia Carsaco, later Carcasum. The main part of the lower courses of the northern ramparts dates from Gallo-Roman times.

In 462 the Romans officially left and the Visigothic king Theodoric II built more fortifications at Carcassonne, some of them still stand. In 760, Pippin was unable to take Carcassonne, although he was able to take most of the south of France.

In 1067 Carcassonne became the property of Raimond Bernard Trencavel, Viscount of Albi and Nîmes. Carcassonne became famous in its role in the Albigensian Crusades, when the city was a stronghold of Occitan Cathars. In August 1209 the crusading army of Simon de Montfort forced its citizens to surrender. He added to the fortifications. Carcassonne became a border citadel between France and Aragon.

Carcassonne is at about 90 km (56 mi) southeast of Toulouse in the space between the Pyrenees and the Massif Central of France. It is at the crossing of two major traffic routes: the route leading from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean and that from the Massif Central to Spain, skirting the Pyrenees. Both routes exist since ancient history.

The commune is in the valley of the Aude river. Another river that flows through the city is the Fresquel river. The Canal du Midi also flows through the commune.

The commune of Carcassonne has an area of 65.1 km² (25.1 sq mi),^[2] and its average altitude is 111 m (364 ft); at the city hall, the altitude is 110 m (360 ft).^[3]

The commune of Carcassonne is surrounded by the communes:

The climate of Carcassonne, in the Köppen climate classification, is Cfb - oceanic climate with warm summers.

The inhabitants of Carcassonne are known, in French, as Carcassonnais (women: Carcassonnaises ).^[4]

With a population of 45,941,^[5] Carcassonne has a population density of 706 inhabitants/km².

Evolution of the population in Carcassonne

Carcassonne forms, with other 2 communes, the urban area of Carcassonne with a population of 49,257 inhabitants (2013) and an area of 71.6 km² (27.6 sq mi).^[6] This urban area is the centre of the metropolitan area of Carcassonne, formed by 71 communes with a population of 98,318 inhabitants (2013) and an area of 804.9 km² (310.8 sq mi).^[7]

A campus of the École nationale de l'aviation civile (French civil aviation academy) is in Carcassonne.

Carcassonne is the prefecture of the Aude department, the capital of the arrondissement of Carcassonne and the administrative centre (French: chef-lieu) of three cantons:

• Carcassonne-1, with 15,128 inhabitants (2014).
• Carcassonne-2, with 20,700 inhabitants (2014).
• Carcassonne-3, with 21,479 inhabitants (2014).

It is part of the intercommunality Carcassonne Agglo (French: Communauté d'agglomération Carcassonne Agglo).

Carcassonne is twinned with:

•   Eggenfelden, Germany
•   Baeza, Spain
•   Hargesheim, Germany

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  The fortified city of Carcassonne and the Pont Vieux crossing the Aude river

The fortifications consist of a double ring of ramparts and 53 towers. In 1849, the architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc took over restoration works. At his death in 1879 his pupil Paul Boeswillwald, and later the architect Nodet continued the rehabilitation of Carcassonne. The restoration was strongly criticized during Viollet-le-Duc's lifetime because he made the error of using slates and restoring the roofs as pointed cones, where local practice was traditionally of tile roofing and low slopes, as in this region snow was very seldom. But today Viollet-le-Duc's work at Carcassonne is thought to be a work of genius, even if it is not exactly the same as it was.

• Carcassonne Airport

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  The Aude river, the old bridge and the medieval city.
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  Castle walls.
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  Hôtel de la cité.
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  Basilica of St Nazarius and St Celsus.

• Arrondissement of Carcassonne
• Communes of the Aude department

• Official website of the city of Carcassonne
• Office de tourisme de Carcassone
• Online resource for the Aude & Pyrénées-Orientales Archived 2007-03-07 at the Wayback Machine, including tourist information for Carcassonne
• Cité de Carcassonne, from the French Ministry of Culture
• Photographs of Carcassonne and the Region
• Many photos of Carcassonne Archived 2007-04-01 at the Wayback Machine
• Tourist attractions in Carcassonne Archived 2007-03-07 at the Wayback Machine
• Official website of Carcassonne Airport Archived 2008-02-27 at the Wayback Machine (in French)