Cathars & Cathar Castles
Click here to find out more about the Cathars and Cathar Castles (photos, info and video)
The religious sect known as the Cathars first appeared in the Languedoc region of the South of France in the 11th. century.
They believed in a God of Good and a God of Evil. They regarded themselves as christians but rejected the idea of a priesthood and did not worship in church buildings.
In the early part of the 13th. century the Catholic church branded them heretical. At first the Catholic church tried to peacefully convert them, but when that failed it called for a Crusade against the Cathars in 1208.
Over the next 4 decades Cathar strongholds fell one by one and after the fall of Chateau Queribus in 1255 the war ended. As many as half a million Cathars could have died, in Toulouse 10,000 were killed and in St Nazaire 12,000 perished.
There are still several Cathar Castles in the Languedoc…See the Map below:
Click here to find out more about the Cathars and Cathar Castles (photos, info and video)
