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	Cathar Castles Of France

France has an unbelievable and rich heritage that has impacted much of the country, especially its castles.

The oldest and most enchanting castles in France are the cathar castles, located in the Languedoc region. The date of their construction is unknown, but is believed to be about the 10th century. The castles were constructed on high rocky needles, in inaccessible and remote areas.

These castles became notorious due to the peaceful cathars who resided in the region around the 11th century, that rapidly became popular..

The Catholic Church experienced insecurity due the cathars, who preached virtues of chastity, vegetarianism, and equality of women, but without adhering to the church dogmas.

Ultimately the church decided to end the cathars, and they ordered a crusade, to restore order and Catholic values.

A cruel man called Simon de Montfort, led the war. The crusade spent long years located and killing the cathars. Complete villages and towns were destroyed, and the residents killed. The cathars took refuge against on the hilltop castles from where they could face the cruelty of the crusades. However these castles were impregnable even with a big army. So the crusaders resorted to other means to make the cathars surrender, but without any success.

After this dark period of history the castles were used during the war with Spain and used as army barracks for many centuries - till a peace treaty in the 17th century shifted the border further south. Since then, the castles were left alone, and fell apart.

In the last some decades few of the castles have been partly renovated, and are now open to the public. Peyrepertuse and Queribus castles are few of the most popular, and offering an interesting and emotional insight into life that existed 1000 years ago.

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