Mirepoix, a medieval bastide

Mirepoix, small town of 3100 permanent inhabitants is located halfway between Carcassonne and Foix.

It is in the tenth century that the first time his name is mentioned in a charter granted to the inhabitants by Raymond Roger Count of Foix. He is credited with Celtic origins.

On the main square, you can still admire the half-timbered houses on wooden gallery. Wooden pillars helped to support the props form magnificent facades and covered galleries. The joists of the richest houses are sculpted. The most beautiful sculptures are on the house of the Lord which becomes Justice later in 1500 Maison des Consuls: Women headdress, bearded head, turtle …

The small church St Maurice built in 1298 by Jean de Lévis and his wife Constance de Foix is ​​transformed over time into a cathedral. Today the St Maurice Cathedral has a nave 48 m long, 24 m high, 22 m wide, a Gothic portal and a bell tower at the elegant spire 60 meters high. By its wide nave, the cathedral is the 2nd largest in Europe after Gerona in Spain. Inside, vandalism and demolitions destroyed many treasures but you can still admire a tabernacle, a Christ on the cross of the fourteenth century and one of the seven tables of Larivière-Vesontius.

The Dordogne phenomenon began to appear in Mirepoix few years ago: English estate agencies, menus in English, English newspapers and magazines in bookstores, etc … This small town and its area is much appreciated by the English customers for sure its mild climate, its proximity to the airport of Carcassonne and charm of quiet little town in southern France.

What’s Near Mirepoix to visit you will also find:

– The rock church Vals
– The Château de Lagarde: ruins of a castle called at the height of its splendor “Little Versailles of Languedoc” whose majestic ruins hint at a glorious past, it was built early fourteenth century by the heirs of Guy Lévis
– Camon a small fortified village built around a former Benedictine abbey which