Carcassonne
[key], city, capital of Aude dept., S France, in Languedoc. The old city,
a medieval fortress atop a hill, is one of the architectural marvels of
Europe. The new city, across the Aude River, is a farm trade center with
rubber, shoe, and textile manufactures. Tourism, however, is the main
industry. The Romans fortified the hilltop site in the 1st cent.
b.c.; towers built (c.6th cent.) by the Visigoths are still
intact; and the viscounts of Carcassonne added to the fortifications in the
12th cent. A stronghold of the Albigenses, the fortress was taken by
Simon de Montfort in 1209. It yielded to the king in 1247, at which time
Louis IX (St. Louis) founded the new city across the river. The outer
ramparts of the fortress were constructed during St. Louis's reign, and the
work was continued, with intricate defense devices, under Philip III. When
completed, the fortress was widely considered impregnable; Edward the Black
Prince was stopped at its walls in 1355. However, its usefulness ended in
1659, with the annexation to France of the province of Roussillon. The
ramparts were gradually abandoned and fell into disrepair; they were
restored by Viollet-le-Duc in the 19th cent.
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