Bordeaux and Palmiers

Of the three châteaux Cathares near us here in the Southwest (three of the five “sons of Carcassonne” that protected the border between the regions of Aude and the Pyrénées-Orientales), we had only visited two last year: Aguilar and Queribus. The third, Peyrepertus, at first deemed too dangerous, was a new addition this year, and will be coming soon to a blog near you.

This year, the kids went to Queribus in the “Scooby Van,” but because there were 23 of us this year to fit into two vans, I didn’t get to go. Lucky for you, I have some pictures from last year, when this year’s counselors were just campers, and Luc had really long hair.

Queribus remained strong after the fall of the other five châteaux in the 13th century and housed the militia and Cathars (”heretics” to the Inquisition) that had fled from the other four in 1244 before they moved on to regions more friendly to their religion such as Piedmont. Queribus was much higher than the other châteaux at 728 m, and it was also quite isolated. As such, it remains in much better condition than many of the other châteaux in the area.

Eventually, however, Queribus fell into ruins as well, and until 2002, the castle was not accessible to tourists. Now, however, after four years of intense work and reconstruction, the climb is quite safe (by European standards), and it is possible to see much more of the former castle than it was of Aguilar.

Even though I didn’t get to go to Queribus this year, I still feel as though I was there: every morning, the kids sit around the table and write journal entries (in French, bien sûr) about the day before. Some activities do not cause much of a stir and invite sentences like: “On est allés à la fête des abricots. C’était ennuyeux.” Queribus, and all of the châteaux Cathares got a much warmer reception.

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