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, spoken in parts o ...

Castèl de Queribús) is a ruined

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

in the '' commune'' of Cucugnan in the

Aude Aude ( ; ) is a Departments of France, department in Southern France, located in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region and named after the river Aude (river), Aude. The departmental council also calls it " ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

'' of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It has been listed as a ''

monument historique () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, ...

'' by the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture () is the ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of France in charge of List of museums in France, national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and pro ...

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 bee ...

, Termes 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 , "the pure ones") was a Christian quasi- dualist and pseudo-Gnostic movement which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France, between the 12th and 14th centuries. Denounced as a he ...

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

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

(the present border between the

and the

Pyrénées-Orientales Pyrénées-Orientales (; ; ; ), also known as Northern Catalonia, is a departments of France, department of the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France, adjacent to the northern Spain, Spanish ...

). In 1255, a French army under the command of

Olivier de Termes Olivier de Termes (1200 – 12 August 1274) was a knight from the southern French region of Termes, Aude. He was raised as a Cathar but eventually converted to Catholicism in a move that would help restore peace to his homeland following the ravage ...

, a former Cathar knight, was dispatched to deal with these last remaining Cathars. Quéribus was defended by Chabert de Barbaira, who surrendered the castle without a fight in unclear circumstances. He may have been deceived by or have made a deal with his former friend Olivier de Termes. The fate of the Cathar occupiers of the castle is unknown, but they possibly slipped away, probably to

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

- 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 kilometres 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 (; ; ) 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 *Maury AOC *Communes of ...

References

External links

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

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