Queribus Castle

Dominating the southern Corbières, Quéribus castle, just forty-five minutes from Quillan, was mentioned in texts for the first time in 1020.
It was one of the major castles on the northern frontier of the kingdom of Aragon from 1162 onwards.
It was the last bastion of Cathar resistance to fall into the hands of the Crusaders.

Visible from Cap Béar, around sixty kilometres away, this fort has walls of 4 metres thick in some places and has an exceptionally beautiful interior. The whole of Roussillon is spread out at the foot of this panoramic viewpoint, about whose role in the Albegensian crusade we know very little. With Chabert de Barbaira in charge, it served as a refuge for the Cathar bishop of Razès, Benoit de Terme, who finally died there. After the fall of Montségur in 1244, Quéribus took in the last rebels against the new order imposed by the King of France and the Church. This situation was not tolerated by the King of France who forced Chabert de Barbaira to abandon the castle in 1255. Quéribus, became yet again a royal fortress, watching over the border between the kingdoms of France and Aragon.

More information at: www.cucugnan.fr

The highlights:

• Experience the Achille Mir Theatre in Cucugnan, with a performance of the famous humorous poem “Sermon du curé de Cucugnan”.