Carcassonne

**Carcassonne** () is a fortified French town, in the _Aude département_, Occitanie region. It is separated into the fortified _Cité de Carcassonne_ and the more expansive lower city, the _ville basse_.

This bastide, which was thoroughly restored from 1853 by the theorist and architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997.

## History

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.

## Geography

Carcassonne is at about  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 , and its average altitude is ; at the city hall, the altitude is .

The _commune_ of Carcassonne is surrounded by the _communes_:

### Climate

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

## Population

The inhabitants of Carcassonne are known, in French, as _Carcassonnais_ (women: _Carcassonnaises _).

With a population of 45,941, Carcassonne has a population density of  inhabitants/km<sup>2</sup>.

**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 . 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 .

### Education

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

## Administration

Carcassonne is the prefecture of the Aude department, the capital of the _arrondissement_ of Carcassonne and the administrative centre () of three cantons:
- Carcassonne-1, with 15,128 inhabitants <small>(2014)</small>.
- Carcassonne-2, with 20,700 inhabitants <small>(2014)</small>.
- Carcassonne-3, with 21,479 inhabitants <small>(2014)</small>.

It is part of the intercommunality _Carcassonne Agglo_ ().

### Twinned and partner towns

Carcassonne is twinned with:
- Eggenfelden, Germany
- Baeza, Spain
- Hargesheim, Germany

## The fortified city

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.

## Transports

- Carcassonne Airport

## Related pages

- Arrondissement of Carcassonne
- Communes of the Aude department

## Other websites

- Official website of the city of Carcassonne
- Office de tourisme de Carcassone
- Online resource for the Aude & Pyrénées-Orientales , including tourist information for Carcassonne
- Cité de Carcassonne , from the French Ministry of Culture
- Photographs of Carcassonne and the Region
- Many photos of Carcassonne
- Tourist attractions in Carcassonne
- Official website of Carcassonne Airport

## Infobox (french commune)

- **name**: Carcassonne
- **native name**: _Carcassona_
- **commune status**: Prefectures in France, Prefecture and Communes of France, commune
- **image**: 1 carcassonne aerial 2016.jpg
- **caption**: Panorama of the Cité de Carcassonne
- **image coat of arms**: Blason Carcassonne Ville Haute 11.svg
- **arrondissement**: Carcassonne
- **canton**: Canton of Carcassonne-1, Carcassonne-1, Canton of Carcassonne-2, 2 and Canton of Carcassonne-3, 3
- **insee**: 11069
- **postal code**: 11000
- **mayor**: Gérard Larrat
- **term**: 2014–2020
- **intercommunality**: Carcassonne
- **elevation m**: 111
- **elevation min m**: 81
- **elevation max m**: 250
- **area km2**: 65.08
- **population**: 45941
- **population date**: 2014
- **website**: [http://www.carcassonne.org/ www.carcassonne.org]