POINTS OF INTEREST
Béziers: The heart of this large town is located on the site of a pre-Roman settlement. Its most prominent feature today is the cathedral, near which there is a fine viewpoint. The old town nearby is pleasant to wander around. In central Béziers there are also museums and, near the railway station, a charming landscaped park.
The Canal du Midi: Now classed as a World Heritage Site, this famous waterway was built in the 17th century by Pierre-Paul Riquet. He sank all his money into the project and died bankrupt just before the canal was completed. Riquet was born in Béziers; an imposing statue now stands in the central boulevard. Running from Toulouse to Sète, via Carcassonne and Béziers, the 240km canal established a link for commercial craft between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and is fed by water from springs rising in hills to the north. It is now used solely by leisure boats – but on a large scale. The towpath is also very popular with walkers and cyclists.
Looking towards the Etang de Montady from the pre-Roman Ensérune hillfort
The Ecluses (locks) de Fonseranes: Located on the western outskirts of Béziers, this is one of the most striking engineering works along the whole length of the Canal du Midi. It consists of a series of locks which enable boats to rise (or fall) by more than 20m in a distance of about 300m.
Colombiers: An attractive Mediterranean village lying alongside the Canal du Midi. It has a small port, with shops and bars alongside. Near the port is a tourist information office in a grand stone building.
The Oppidum (hillfort) d’Ensérune: Lying close to a principal Roman road (the Via Domitia, or Voie Domitienne), these extensive remains have been described as one of the most outstanding archaeological sites in the south of France. This fortified site was first occupied in the 6th century bc. It continued in use for over a century after the Romans arrived and was abandoned in the 1st century ad. It has yielded an enormous number of artefacts and remains, many of which are displayed in a museum on the site. The delightful grounds have been planted with pine and cypress trees and several Mediterranean plants.
L’Etang de Montady: A large, roughly circular expanse of flat land divided into fields whose boundaries follow drainage ditches radiating out from the centre like the spokes of a bicycle wheel. Etang means ‘pool’ or ‘lake’, and a large body of water did lie to the north of Ensérune until the 13th century; its stagnant water was the cause of epidemics and it was drained in 1247. Its multi-coloured field pattern makes a very picturesque sight.
Visiting times
At least half a day is needed to do justice to Béziers cathedral and town centre. Allow at least 1hr to look around the Ensérune archaeological site and museum.
Further information
Béziers tourist office: Palais des Congrès, 29 avenue St Saëns, 34500 Béziers; tel: (00 33) (0)4 67 76 84 00; [email protected]; www.ville-beziers.fr.
Colombiers tourist office: Maison du Tourisme, Hôtel de Ville, 34440 Colombiers; tel: (00 33) (0)4 67 37 00 90; [email protected]; www.colombiers.com.
Tourist office on the Canal du Midi below Ensérune hillfort: Maison du Malpas, Route de l’Oppidum, 34440 Colombiers; tel: (00 33) (0)4 67 32 88 77; [email protected]; www.lemalpas.com.
Ensérune hillfort (site and museum): Centre des monuments nationaux, Site et musée d’Ensérune, 34400 Nissan-lez-Ensérune: tel: (00 33) (0)4 67 37 01 23; www.monum.fr.
Canal du Midi: www.midicanal.fr.
WALK 2
Minerve
| Start/Finish | Minerve |
| Distance | Long Walk 18km (11.2 miles); Short Walk 6km (3.7 miles) |
| Time | Long Walk 5hr; Short Walk 2hr |
| Altitude | Long Walk 180m to 400m; Short Walk 150m to 340m |
| Maps | IGN 1:25,000 2444ET (Somail Minervois); Minerve is in map fold 2 |
This section describes a long walk and a short walk. Both are circular, and start in the village of Minerve.
The long walk crosses a very dry limestone landscape, the causse, and passes close to two dolmens. The short walk passes the reconstructed ‘Malvoisine’ (see the Short Walk). Both cross riverbeds in the gorges near Minerve. Those are usually dry in the summer, but in the winter, and at other times after heavy rain, the rivers flow. The long walk is best not attempted in these circumstances; most of the short walk can be followed, but from a different starting point.
Of all the landscapes encountered in this book, that around Minerve is the driest and most Mediterranean in character.
CATHAR HISTORY: JULY 1210
After the sack of Béziers, the French army moved west to besiege the key fortress of Carcassonne. The Viscount of Carcassonne allowed the crusaders to take complete control of the town without a fight.
An enormous task still lay ahead for the French invaders. They had to quash resistance in the surrounding countryside and suppress the Cathar church in its entirety.
Some of the leading French barons were eager to return to their domains in the north. Thus Amaury appointed as long-term military chief of the crusade – and as the new Viscount of Carcassonne – a minor French noble, Simon de Montfort (father of another Simon de Montfort, earl of Leicester, who, later in the 13th century, played a leading role in establishing the first English parliament.)
De Montfort proved to be a brilliant, ambitious and ruthless military leader of the crusade against the Cathars. In the years following the fall of Carcassonne, he almost constantly travelled around Languedoc, capturing castles, suppressing revolt and burning heretics.
Some castles surrendered without a fight (such as Villerouge-Termenès – see Section 14). Others, such was Minerve, situated on a clifftop at the junction of two river gorges some 35km northeast of Carcassonne, put up strong resistance.
Montfort and his army besieged Minerve in the summer of 1210. They bombarded it mercilessly with huge stones fired by giant catapults. A reconstruction of the most formidable of those catapults – the ‘Malvoisine’ (‘bad neighbour’) – can be seen opposite the town today. With this deadly weapon, Montfort eventually destroyed a staircase giving access to the town’s well, near the junction of the two river gorges.
Deprived of water and food, the defenders of Minerve were forced to capitulate. On 22 July, after a siege lasting more than five weeks, the crusaders’ army entered the town. About 150 Cathars who refused to renounce their faith were thrown onto the flames of a huge fire just outside the town.
Later events
Minerve castle was subsequently occupied by the French forces. Once Languedoc had been fully subdued by the French crown, the castle’s military significance declined. Time, weather and neglect then took their toll, and the fortress was finally demolished in the 17th century.
Minerve: the slender tower on the left is all that remains of the Cathar castle here
Practical Information
Access to starting points
Both walks start on the graceful, high, arched bridge which spans the Cesse gorge and which leads into Minerve village from the south. By motor vehicle, Minerve is best approached either from Carcassonne