030 FRANCE - Historic Fortified City of Carcassonne (WHS)

Carcassonne is a fortifed French town in the Aude department of which it is the prefecture, om the fromer province of Languedoc. Carcassonne was founded by the Visigoths in the fifth century, though the Romans had fortified the settlement earlier. The fortress, which was thoroughly restored in 1853 by the theorist and architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997. The folk etymology - involving a chatelaine names Carcas, a ruse ending a siege and the joyous ringing of bells ("Carcas sona") - though memoralized in a neo-Gothic sculpture of Mme. Carcas on a column near the Narbonne Gate, is of modern invention.

The Cité de Carcassonne is located on a hill on the right bank of the River Aude, in the south-east part of the city proper. Founded during the Gallo-Roman period, the citadel derives its reputation from its 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) long double surrounding walls interpersed by 52 towers. The town has abou 2500 years of history and has seen the Romans, Visigoths, Saracens and Crusaders. The town was annexed to the kingdom of France in 1247 A.D. It provided a strong  French frontier between France and the Crown of Aragon. In 1659 after the Treaty of the Pyrenees, the province of Roussillon became a part of France and the town lost its military significance. Fortifications were abandoned and the town became one of the economic centres of France, concentrating on the woollen textile industry.

About the sender

There is no sender, because I bought it there in May 2013