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Castle of Montségur

Without any doubt the most famous and the most loaded with history among the cathar sites, the Montségur ruins are perched on the top of a rocky piton at 1200 metres of altitude, just above the village of Montségur.

Cathar fief from the begining of the XIIIth century, Montségur became the symbol of their resistance against the pope and the french king.

During the crusade against the Albigeois, the 28th of May 1242 by night, eleven inquisitors are killed by a cathar commando coming from Montségur. From then on, the destiny of the fortress and of its occupants was fixed. After a siege of 10 months during a very harsh winter, the place surrenders and the 16th of March 1244, more than 200 cathar people was burnt at the stake in Montségur. Today a stele recall their martyrdom.

Even if some other places have resisted a time more, this tragedy tolled the knell of the catharism.