Roquefixade Castle (Roquefixade in French or Castèth de Ròca Fixada in Occitan) is the Cathar Castle built on a rock overlooking the village of the same name. It is located 8 km west of the Lavelanet municipality in the Ariège department in southern France (Eastern Pyrenees).
The first mention of the castle dates back to 1180. It is known that the castle provided refuge to the Cathars (representatives of the heretical Christian sect) during the Cathar wars. We are talking about the Albigensian Crusade or the Cathar Сrusade of 1209-1229 (French: Croisade des albigeois, Occitan: Crosada dels albigeses). It was initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, in the south of France, and led not only to a significant reduction in the number of Cathars, but also to the restructuring of the Toulouse county in Languedoc, bringing it under the French crown’s sphere of influence and reducing the regional culture consequences of the Counts of Barcelona.
Roquefixade became a stronghold of the fortress built at the end of the 13th century along the Corbières hills to observe the Count of Foix territory.
The castle lasted until the year 1632.
At this time, the French King Louis XIII stopped at the castle on the way to Toulouse to execute Henry II, Duke of Montmorency, who had risen against Richelieu. The king ordered men to destroy the castle, which in his opinion had no more meaning and was expensive to maintain.
Roquefixade Castle was turned into a historical monument by the French Ministry of Culture in 1995. The castle ruins are open to the public.
Roquefixade Village
Roquefixade is a small village in the south of France, in the Ariege department, which is part of the Foix district.
The village’s population is 112 people (2007). The population density is 12 inhabitants per 1 sq. km. There are 71 houses in the village, 9 of which are empty.
The Association of the Roquefixade Friends (l’Association des Amis de Roquefixade) is registered in the village, the main merit of which is to organize open-air music evenings.
How to get there?
From Andorra: N20, D117, D709, D9a
From Toulouse (tolls): A620, A61, A66, N20, D117, D709, D9a
