Carcassonne: France

Carcassonne Travel: France
Carcassonne (Carcassona in Occitan) is a fortified French city, in the Aude département, of which it is the préfecture, in the former province of Languedoc. Population (1990): 44,911. It is 90 km (56 miles) south-east of Toulouse. It stands in the gap between the Pyrenees and the Massif Central of France.
The fortified city
Eventually the fortified part of Carcassonne fell into disrepair in such an extent that the French government seriously considered that it should be demolished. A decree to that effect was made official in 1849 but it caused an uproar. Historian Jean-Pierre Cros-Mayrevieille and writer Prosper Mérimée lead a campaign to preserve the fortress as historical monument. Later in the year an architect Eugene Viollet-le-Duc was commissioned to renovate the place.
Fortifications consists of a double ring of ramparts and 53 towers. The fortress was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997.
The fortified city of Carcassonne serves as inspiration for the German board game Carcassonne by Hans im Glück.