Quéribus Castle

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Quéribus Castle
130610-Queribus-03.jpg
Creation time : First mentioned in 1020
Castle type : Hilltop castle
Conservation status: ruin
Standing position : Adelsburg / Königsburg
Place: Cucugnan
Geographical location 42 ° 50 '12.5 "  N , 2 ° 37' 17.5"  E Coordinates: 42 ° 50 '12.5 "  N , 2 ° 37' 17.5"  E
Height: 728  m
Quéribus Castle (Occitania)
Quéribus Castle

The Quéribus castle ( Occitan : Castèl de Querbús ) is commonly one of the Cathar castles and was later a French fortress in the former border area with the Kingdom of Aragón and Spain. As early as 1907, the castle was recognized as a monument historique .

location

The ruin of the hilltop castle is in an imposing location at 728 meters above sea level. d. M. high mountain peak in the south of the Corbières mountains near the town of Cucugnan , about 42 kilometers (driving distance) northwest of the city of Perpignan .

history

The castle, first mentioned in 1020, belonged to the county of Besalú , then to the county of Barcelona , i.e. the later Kingdom of Aragon. A 'Cucugnan' family is mentioned as the owners of the castle towards the end of the 12th century; this sympathized with the religious ideas of the Cathars or Albigensians , as they were called in the south of France.

Albigensian Crusade

During the Albigensian Crusade (1209-1229), many Cathars found refuge in the remote and almost impregnable fortress. Among them was the bishop of the County of Razès , Benoît de Termes , who died in the fortress in 1233 or 1241. In 1239 it was then passed on from the ruler of Aragon to the French King Louis IX. sold. But in 1242 the Catalan Xacbert de Barbaira , a prominent figure of the southern French resistance, became the commander of Quéribus; He was able to hold the castle until 1255, but then had to cede it to the French king after a long siege by his former friend and comrade in arms, Olivier de Termes . Quéribus had withstood eleven years longer than Montségur Castle . The Seneschal of Carcassonne was installed as the new commander .

Border fortress

With the Treaty of Corbeil in 1258, Quéribus Castle becomes part of the Kingdom of France under Louis IX. , the saint and moves into the visible vicinity of the border between France and Aragon. The fortress becomes one of the so-called Five Sons of Carcassonne together with the castles of Aguilar , Peyrepertuse , Puilaurens and Termes ; During this time, parts of the castle were rebuilt and adapted to technical progress ( cannons ) and contemporary tastes. The fortress lost its strategic importance with the Pyrenees Treaty of 1659; Nevertheless, a small garrison remained in the castle in the following period.

View from Quéribus Castle to the surrounding area

architecture

The castle rises on a steep cliff in the southern Corbières and has several courtyards and buildings to the side of the partly winding staircase, from which intruders could be kept in check. At the highest point of the castle complex stands the mighty residential tower ( donjon ), which is the representative high point of the fortification; it has a polygonal plan. Inside is the Gothic 'pillar hall'; the architecture of the room with the pillar and its ribbed vault in its center may have been inspired by the chapter rooms of Gothic abbeys. A large renaissance window with a transom is also very beautiful . In the adjoining walls you can still see the breakthroughs that were made for the 14th / 15th centuries. Century new cannons were broken into the thick walls.

See also

literature

  • Michèle Aué: The land of the Cathars. Vic-en-Bigorre 1992, ISBN 2-907899-46-5 , pp. 68ff.

Web links

Commons : Quéribus Castle  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Château de Quéribus in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)