Cathar Castles
Château de Puilaurens ( Castèl de Puèglaurenç)

The Château de Puilaurens (Occitan: lo Castèl de Puèg-Laurenç) is one of the Cathar Castles of the Languedoc in what is now the South of France. It is located in the commune of Lapradelle-Puilaurens in the Aude département.

The castle stands on a spur of rock above the Boulzane Valley and the villages of Lapradelle and Puilaurens. There is a path from Axat to the castle. The castle here had belonged to the Abbey of Saint-Michel de Cuxa before it was acquired by the King of Aragon in 1162.  As Aragonese property it was outside the territory ravaged by the Crusaders during the Cathar wars.  Like Queribus it therefore provided a refuge for those fleeing from the invading forces.  Those who took refuge there included both Cathars and faidits, that is to say those who had forfeited their property because of their opposition to the invaders.  These faidits included high nobles, such as Guillaume de Peyrepertuse. 

Somehow, it is not known how, Puilaurens was ceded to the French some time before 1255.  After 1258 its possession by the French crown was ratified by the Treaty of Corbeil, when the Aragonese border was moved south. In 1260 it was garissoned by 25 sergeants. 

This is one of the "Five Sons of Carcassonne", along with Queribus,  Termes,  Aguilar, and Peyrepertuse: five castles strategically placed to defend the French border against the Spanish. It was taken by Spanish troops in 1635, but lost all strategic importance after the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659 when the border was moved even further south to its present position along the crest of the Pyrenees. 

The present building mainly postdated the Treaty of Corbeil, and is thus principally French.  Some points of interest include the heavily defended steep zig-zagging approach path, remnants of a barbican, meutriers (murder holes), and a spectacular donjon (keep).  Most impressive of all in the south-west tower (the White Lady's Tower) is a speaking-tube, built into the stonework and allowing people to communicate from one floor to another - exactly the same priciple later adopted in ships to allow voice communication between decks. 

To find the castle head towards Lapradelle between Quillan and Perpignan.  at   42°48'20" N,   2°17'36" E

Google map showing Château de Puilaurens

In the 13th century it belonged to the Lords of Fenouillet. Defended by Pierre Catala and, more importantly, by Guillaume de Peyrepertuse, it withstood attack by Simon de Montfort and his successors until the end of the crusades. After 1243, its owner was Roger Catala, Pierre's son, but it was defended, like Quéribus, by Chabert de Barbaira, a Cathar military commander who was the last commander to defend the Occitan cause.

Numerous Cathar deacons sought refuge here after the fall of the Château of Montségur ( Montsegùr). It is thought that the castle was finally forced to surrender (probably around the same time as Queribus) c.1255.

The castle is open to the public, it stands on a spur of rock above the Boulzare Valley and the village of Lapradelle. After a short walk, you cross the barbican protecting the entrance and find yourself in a courtyard surrounded by tall walls flanked by two round towers. To the left of the courtyard is a second line of fortifications defending the keep. Two towers strengthen this wall, including the «White Lady » tower named after the lady who haunts the ruins (Blanche of Bourbon, Philip the Fair's grand-daughter who stayed in Puilaurens and was murdered by her husband, Peter the Cruel, King of Castile). The massive square keep crushes by its sheer weight a castle that is one of the best preserved reminders of the Cathar period in the area.

Puilaurens lies in the Aude departément