Montségur Castle, locally known as Château de Montségur, lies above the village with the same name, south of the town of Lavelanet in the Languedoc-Roussillion region in France.

Perched upon a 1207 meters high rock, called Pog, stands Montségur Castle. It was built in the first half of the 13th century but the rock had probably been inhabited for many centuries before. At the base of the rock lies the small village of Montségur.

The castle is very famous for it's long and bloody history. It stands at the heart of the history of Catharism. This was a religious movement, connected with the Knights Templar during the Crusades, which had separated itself from the catholic church much to the anger of the pope and the catholic French King; Louis IX. In 1244, during the Inquisition, the castle became the last stronghold of the cathars. It was besieged and when the castle finally surrendered after 10 months, 205 cathars (men and women) died at the stake.

Furthermore there are a lot of mysteries connected with this castle. It is said to be the last known residence of the Holy Grail. According to legend the Grail, together with other treasures of the cathars, was smuggled out of the castle by two women during the siege in 1244 after which it was never seen again.

Also it is thought that the castle may have been a place were sun worship took place. This because the keep and its windows are aligned in such a way that during the summer solstice the first rays of sunlight shine in through the windows on one side, through the keep and out of the windows on the other side.

Whatever its history, the castle itself is beautifully located with magnificent views to the surrounding mountains and valleys. To visit the castle you've got to bring your walking boots because it's a 45 minutes long and rough climb from the visitor parking lot.

For more information visit the numerous sites about the castle and catharism on the web, which can be found by search engines. A great one (although in french) is at Montségur.

Back to top.