The Château de Quéribus (in

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language Occitan (; ...

Castèl de Queribús) is a ruined

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

in the '' commune'' of Cucugnan in the

Aude Aude (; ) is a department in Southern France, located in the Occitanie region and named after the river Aude. The departmental council also calls it " Cathar Country" (French: ''Pays cathare'') after a group of religious dissidents active i ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety- ...

'' of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. It has been listed as a '' monument historique'' by the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture (french: Ministère de la Culture) is the ministry of the Government of France in charge of national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and protection of the arts (visual ...

since 1907. Queribus is one of the "Five Sons of Carcassonne", along with Aguilar,

Peyrepertuse Peyrepertuse (Languedocien: ''Castèl de Pèirapertusa'') is a ruined fortress and one of the so-called Cathar castles located high in the French Pyrénées in the commune of Duilhac-sous-Peyrepertuse, in the Aude ''département'', and has been a ...

Termes Termes may refer to: People * Dick Termes, American artist * Josep Termes (1936–2011), Spanish historian * Rafael Termes (1918–2005), Spanish banker Places Belgium * Termes, Wallonia, a district of the municipality of Chiny France * Terme ...

and Puilaurens: five castles strategically placed to defend the French border against the Spanish, until the border was moved in 1659. It is sometimes regarded as the last

Cathar Catharism (; from the grc, καθαροί, katharoi, "the pure ones") was a Christian dualist or Gnostic movement between the 12th and 14th centuries which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France. Follo ...

stronghold. After the fall of

Montségur Montségur (; Languedocien: ''Montsegur'') is a commune in the Ariège department in southwestern France. It is famous for its fortification, the Château de Montségur, that was built on the "pog" (mountain) on the ruins of one of the last ...

in 1244, surviving Cathars gathered together in another mountain-top stronghold on the border of

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to so ...

(the present border between the

and the

Pyrénées-Orientales Pyrénées-Orientales (; ca, Pirineus Orientals ; oc, Pirenèus Orientals ; ), also known as Northern Catalonia, is a department of the region of Occitania, Southern France, adjacent to the northern Spanish frontier and the Mediterranean ...

). In 1255, a French army was dispatched to deal with these remaining Cathars, but they slipped away without a fight, probably to

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

- both regions where Cathar beliefs were still common, and where the

language was spoken. Quéribus is high and isolated. It stands on top of the highest peak for miles around. In 1951, restoration work on the turret began and, between 1998 and 2002, a complete restoration of the castle was undertaken. The castle is now accessible to visitors. It is at coordinates and an altitude of . The nearest village is

Maury, Pyrénées-Orientales Maury (; oc, Maurin; ca, Maurí) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Geography Maury is located in the canton of La Vallée de l'Agly and in the arrondissement of Perpignan. Population See also * ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Queribus, chateau de Castles in Aude Ruined castles in Occitania (administrative region) Monuments historiques of Aude Catharism

See also

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