Carcassonne Carcassonne ( ; ) is a fortified French town in the Aude department , of which it is the prefecture , in the former province of Languedoc . It is divided into the fortified " Cité de Carcassonne " and the more expansive lower city , the " ville basse " . Carcassone was founded by the Visigoths in the fifth century , though the Romans had fortified the settlement earlier . The fortress , which was thoroughly restored in 1853 by the theorist and architect Eugène Viollet - le - Duc , was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997 . The folk etymology – involving a châtelain e named Carcas , a ruse ending a siege and the joyous ringing of bells ( " sona " ) – though memorialized in a neo - Gothic sculpture of " Mme . " on a column near the , is of modern invention . The name can be derived as an augmentative of the name Carcas . Similarly in Italian , there are derived names like Castellino ( little castle ) – Castello – Castellone ( big castle ) , or Ombrellino ( small umbrella ) – Ombrello – Ombrellone ( large umbrella ) . The double ' s ' in the name appears for phonetic reasons , as a single ' s ' would be pronounced as ' z ' . History . The first signs of settlement in this region have been dated to about 3500 BC , but the hill site of " Carsac " – a Celtic place - name that has been retained at other sites in the south – became an important trading place in the 6th century BC . The Volcae Tectosages fortified the " oppidum " . Carcassonne became strategically identified when Romans fortified the hilltop around 100 BC and eventually made the " colonia " of " Julia Carsaco " , later " Carcasum " ( by the process of swapping consonants known as metathesis ) . The main part of the lower courses of the northern rampart s dates from Gallo - Roman times . In 462 the Romans officially ceded Septimania to the Visigothic king Theodoric II who had held Carcassonne since 453 ; he built more fortification s at Carcassonne , which was a frontier post on the northern marches : traces of them still stand . Theodoric is thought to have begun the predecessor of the basilica that is now dedicated to Saint Nazaire . In 508 the Visigoths successfully foiled attacks by the Frankish king Clovis . Saracens from Barcelona took Carcassonne in 725 , but King Pepin the Short ( Pépin le Bref ) drove them away in 759 - 60 ; though he took most of the south of France , he was unable to penetrate the impregnable fortress of Carcassonne . A medieval fiefdom , the county of Carcassonne , controlled the city and its environs . It was often united with the County of Razès . The origins of Carcassonne as a county probably lie in local representatives of the Visigoths , but the first count known by name is Bello of the time of Charlemagne . Bello founded a dynasty , the Bellonids , which would rule many " honores " in Septimania and Catalonia for three centuries . In 1067 , Carcassonne became the property of Raimond Bernard Trencavel , viscount of Albi and Nîmes , through his marriage with Ermengard , sister of the last count of Carcassonne . In the following centuries , the Trencavel family allied in succession either with the counts of Barcelona or of Toulouse . They built the " Château Comtal " and the Basilica of Saint - Nazaire . In 1096 , Pope Urban II blessed the foundation stones of the new cathedral , a Catholic bastion against the Cathar s . Carcassonne became famous in its role in the Albigensian Crusade s , when the city was a stronghold of Occitan Cathars . In August 1209 the crusading army of Simon de Montfort forced its citizens to surrender . Raymond - Roger de Trencavel was imprisoned whilst negotiating his city ' s surrender , held in his own dungeon , and allowed to die . Montfort was appointed the new viscount . He added to the fortifications . Carcassonne became a border citadel between France and the kingdom of Aragon ( Spain ) . In 1240 , Trencavel ' s son tried to reconquer his old domain but in vain . The city submitted to the rule of the kingdom of France in 1247 , and King Louis IX founded the new part of the town across the river . He and his successor Philip III built the outer ramparts . Contemporary opinion still considered the fortress impregnable . During the Hundred Years ' War , Edward the Black Prince failed to take the city in 1355 , although his troops destroyed the Lower Town . In 1659 , the Treaty of the Pyrenees transferred the border province of Roussillon to France , and Carcassonne ' s military significance was reduced . Fortifications were abandoned , and the city became mainly an economic centre that concentrated on the wool len textile industry , for which a 1723 source quoted by Fernand Braudel found it " the manufacturing centre of Languedoc " . Main sights . The fortified city . The fortified city itself consists essentially of a concentric design with two outer walls with towers and barbicans to prevent attack by siege engines . The castle itself possesses its own drawbridge and ditch leading to a central keep . The walls consist of towers built over quite a long period . One section is Roman and is notably different from the medieval walls with the tell - tale red brick layers and the shallow pitch terracotta tile roofs . One of these towers housed the Catholic Inquisition in the 13th Century and is still known as " The Inquisition Tower " . Today there is a museum " Musée de la Torture " , which shows some of the original torture equipment employed by the Catholic Church . Carcassonne was struck off the roster of official fortifications under Napoleon and the Restoration , and the fortified " cité " of Carcassonne fell into such disrepair that the French government decided that it should be demolished . A decree to that effect that was made official in 1849 caused an uproar . The antiquary and mayor of Carcassonne , Jean - Pierre Cros - Mayrevieille , and the writer Prosper Mérimée , the first inspector of ancient monuments , led a campaign to preserve the fortress as a historical monument . Later in the year the architect Eugène Viollet - le - Duc , already at work restoring the Basilica of Saint - Nazaire , was commissioned to renovate the place . In 1853 , works began with the west and southwest walling , followed by the towers of the " porte Narbonnaise " and the principal entrance to the " cité " . The fortifications were consolidated here and there , but the chief attention was paid to restoring the roofing of the towers and the ramparts , where Viollet - le - Duc ordered the destruction of structures that had encroached against the walls , some of them of considerable age . Viollet - le - Duc left copious notes and drawings on his death in 1879 , when 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 . Fresh from work in the north of France , he made the error of using slates and restoring the roofs as point - free environment . Yet , overall , Viollet - le - Duc ' s achievement at Carcassonne is agreed to be a work of genius , though not of the strictest authenticity . The fortification consists of a double ring of ramparts and 53 towers . Other . Another bridge , Pont Marengo , crosses the Canal du Midi and provides access to the railway station . Lac de la Cavayère has been created as a recreational lake and is about five minutes from the city centre . Further sights include : Economy . The newer part ( " Ville Basse " ) of the city on the other side of the Aude river ( which dates back from the Middle Ages , created after the crusade ) manufactures shoes , rubber and textiles . It is also the centre of a major AOC wine - growing region . A major part of its income , however , comes from the tourism connected to the fortifications ( " Cité " ) and from boat cruising on the Canal du Midi . Carcassonne is also home to the MKE Performing Arts Academy . Carcassonne receives about three million visitors annually . Transport . In the late 1990s Carcassonne airport started taking budget flights to and from European airports and by 2009 had regular flight connections with Bournemouth , Cork , Dublin , Frankfurt - Hahn , London - Stansted , Liverpool , East Midlands , Glasgow - Prestwick and Charleroi . The Gare de Carcassonne railway station offers direct connections to Toulouse , Narbonne , Perpignan , Paris , Marseille and several regional destinations . The A61 motorway connects Carcassonne with Toulouse and Narbonne . Language . Historically , the language spoken in Carcassonne and throughout Languedoc - Roussillon was not French but Occitan . Sport . Carcassonne was the starting point for a stage in the 2004 Tour de France and a stage finish in the 2006 Tour de France . As in the rest of the southwest of France , rugby union is popular in Carcassonne . The city is represented by Union Sportive Carcassonnaise , known locally simply as USC . The club have a proud history , having played in the French Championship Final in 1925 , and currently compete in Pro D2 , the second tier of French rugby . Rugby league is also played , by the AS Carcassonne club . They are involved in the Elite One Championship . Puig Aubert is the most notable rugby league player to come from the Carcassonne club and the city has a bronze statue of him . International relations . Twin towns – Sister cities . Carcassonne is twinned with :