Fortress · France · Restored

Cité de Carcassonne

The Cité de Carcassonne is a medieval fortified citadel on a hill overlooking the Aude river, characterised by its concentric double enceinte, dozens of towers, the Château Comtal and the Basilica of Saint-Nazaire. It presents a continuous band of crenellated grey stone walls and fortified gates enclosing streets, houses and defensive buildings.

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Photograph via Wikimedia Commons

Its prime

1250

Today

Restored

As it stood in 1250

What Cité de Carcassonne looked like in its prime.

A long, continuous pair of grey stone curtain walls march along a hilltop for about three kilometres, regularly punctuated by roughly fifty cylindrical towers and a few square keeps; within them a compact stone castle (Château Comtal) and a Romanesque–Gothic basilica rise. Towers are capped by steep conical terracotta-tiled roofs in keeping with southern France, the walls show crenellations, arrow slits and machicolations, and the site sits above the green floodplain of the Aude with a stone bridge to the fore.

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9 places to explore in 1250.

The record describes 9 distinct spots at Cité de Carcassonne, including 3 interiors: château comtal — central courtyard, castle chapel (chapel of the château comtal), basilica of saint-nazaire — nave. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more photos, more angles and more of the immersive experience.

Approach from the Pont Vieux (Old Bridge)Porte Narbonnaise (outer gate) — exteriorWalk along the outer enceinte (ramparts)Barbacane and lices in front of the eastern approachChâteau Comtal — exterior viewChâteau Comtal — central courtyardCastle chapel (Chapel of the Château Comtal)Basilica of Saint-Nazaire — naveTower of Justice — battlements

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