Mazamet and Hautpoul
South of Castres you will find la Montagne Noire (the Black Mountain
I need to mention the crusades and Simon de Montfort, as the crusaders tended to clean out the Cathars from their villages systematically, leaving little for us to see now. However, just beyond Mazamet is the medieval village of Hautpoul 
It has a good ‘collection’ of medieval remains – castles, ramparts, old gates, beautiful walls in a fish-bone pattern, narrow, winding, steep streets – and excellent views, of course. And of course, Simon de Mountfort did manage to destroy the chateau, except for the bits we can still see today.
12 July
South of Castres you will find la Montagne Noire (the
At Mazamet, the Maison des Mémoires (the house of memories) is said to be the best museum in France to take us through the history of Catharism in the townships and castles of the pays Occitan – broadly speaking, medieval southern France. The details of the persecution of this faith (followed by the Occitan counts), judged by the Catholic Church to be heretical, are too much to recount here but the displays are well worth the visit. The church had visiting preachers, who blessed the bread and preached to the family gathered around the fire. Suffice to say that over a long period, many people were burned at the stake and lands confiscated, for reasons that seem at the least dubious as regards faith and much more to do with the power of the Papacy. I know I am being simplistic here, so I will quietly move on. I bought a new book on the Cathars. Due to the detailed records made by the inquisition, modern historians are still able to glean more about this period, even now.
I need to mention the crusades and Simon de Montfort, as the crusaders tended to clean out the Cathars from their villages systematically, leaving little for us to see now. However, just beyond Mazamet is the medieval 
It has a good ‘collection’ of medieval remains – castles, ramparts, old gates, beautiful walls in a fish-bone pattern, narrow, winding, steep streets – and excellent views, of course. And of course, Simon de Mountfort did manage to destroy the chateau, except for the bits we can still see today.
People moved down into the valley and set up Mazamet, which has since developed to be a much bigger town. However, during the wars of religion, Hautpoul was to come into its own again. But that story is for another day and another museum.
Photos at:
