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Historic Fortified City of Carcassonne

Historic Fortified City of Carcassonne

Since the pre-Roman period, a fortified settlement has existed on the hill where Carcassonne now stands. In its present form it is an outstanding example of a medieval fortified town, with its massive defences encircling the castle and the surrounding buildings, its streets and its fine Gothic cathedral. Carcassonne is also of exceptional importance because of the lengthy restoration campaign undertaken by Viollet-le-Duc, one of the founders of the modern science of conservation.

Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

Ville fortifiée historique de Carcassonne

Depuis la période préromaine, des fortifications ont été érigées sur la colline où est aujourd'hui située Carcassonne. Sous sa forme actuelle, c'est un exemple remarquable de cité médiévale fortifiée dotée d'un énorme système défensif entourant le château et les corps de logis qui lui sont associés, les rues et la superbe cathédrale gothique. Carcassonne doit aussi son importance exceptionnelle à la longue campagne de restauration menée par Viollet-le-Duc, l'un des fondateurs de la science moderne de la conservation.

Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

مدينة كركاسون التاريخية الحصينة

منذ الحقبة التي سبقت عهد العصر الروماني، تمّ تشييد تحصينات على التلة التي تقع عليها اليوم مدينة كركاسون. وتشكّل هذه المدينة بشكلها الحاليّ نموذجاُ مُلفتاً لمدينة في القرون الوسطى محصّنة تتمتّع بنظام دفاعي ضخم يحيط بالقصر وبالقسم الرئيس من المنازل المتصلة بها، والطرقات، والكاتدرائية القوطية الخلابة. وتُعزا كذلك أهمية مدينة كركاسون إلى حملة الترميم الطويلة الأمد التي قام بها فيوللي لو دوك وهو أحد مؤسسي علم الحفاظ الحديث.

source: UNESCO/CPE
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

卡尔卡松历史城墙要塞

从前罗马时期起,卡尔卡松现在所在的山上就有了防御性聚落。城堡历经历史而形态不改,是中世纪要塞城市的杰出典范。城堡四周环绕着坚固的防御工事,还有房屋、街道以及完美的哥特式大教堂。卡尔卡松的极端重要性还在于现代保护科学奠基人之一——维奥莱公爵(Viollet-le-Duc)开展的漫长修复工作。

source: UNESCO/CPE
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

Исторический укрепленный город Каркасон

На месте нынешнего расположения города Каркасон еще до древнеримского периода существовало укрепленное поселение на холме. В своем теперешнем состоянии это - выдающийся образец укрепленного средневекового города с массивными крепостными стенами, которые окружают замок, примыкающие к нему здания, улицы и прекрасный готический кафедральный собор. Каркасон также широко известен в связи с длительной кампанией по его реставрации, проведенной Виолле-ле-Дюком, одним из основателей современной науки сохранения памятников архитектуры.

source: UNESCO/CPE
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

Ciudad fortificada histórica de Carcasona

En la colina donde se yergue hoy esta ciudad histórica, se habían construido fortificaciones desde la época prerromana. Carcasona es un ejemplo destacado de ciudad medieval fortificada provista de un vasto sistema defensivo que circunda el castillo y sus dependencias, así la soberbia catedral gótica y el resto de los edificios urbanos. La importancia de Carcasona se debe también a que fue el escenario de prolongadas obras de restauración emprendidas por Viollet-le-Duc, uno de los creadores del arte moderno de la conservación y rehabilitación de monumentos y obras de arte.

source: UNESCO/CPE
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0

歴史的城塞都市カルカッソンヌ
丘の上の町を二重に包む城壁は、西ゴート・ロマネスク時代の部分を取り込みながら13~14世紀に完成した。城塞は12世紀。円筒や角塔を要所に備え、内部には家屋や道路が整い、ゴシック様式の大聖堂が残る。17世紀以後荒廃したが、1844年ヴィオレ=ル=デュックに始まる修復・再建運動によりほぼ復元された都市として重要である。

source: NFUAJ

Historische vestingstad Carcassonne

Op de heuvel waar Carcassonne nu ligt, heeft sinds de pre-Romeinse tijd een versterkte nederzetting gestaan. In zijn huidige vorm is Carcassonne een uitstekend voorbeeld van een middeleeuwse vestingstad, met massieve verdedigingswerken rondom het kasteel en de omliggende gebouwen, straten en de mooie gotische kathedraal, waarvan de bouw begon in 1096. Het kasteel dateert uit de 12e eeuw en in 1226 werd er een versterkte rechthoekige muur omheen gebouwd. Carcassonne is ook van belang vanwege de langdurige restauratiecampagne die in de tweede helft van de 19e eeuw werd uitgevoerd door Viollet-le-Duc, een van de grondleggers van de moderne wetenschap van monumentenzorg.

Source: unesco.nl

Outstanding Universal Value

Brief synthesis

The city of Carcassonne is located in the Occitanie region, in the department of Aude, on a rocky outcrop dominating the course of the Aude and on the historic axis of communication linking the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. Since the pre-Roman period, fortifications have been erected on the hill where Carcassonne is located today. In its present form, it is an outstanding example of a fortified medieval city with an enormous defensive system developed mainly in the 13th century. This system consists of two enclosures separated by barriers surrounding the houses, the streets and the superb Gothic cathedral, as well as the castle and the main buildings associated with it.

The inner ramparts comprise twenty-six circular towers and largely overlap the clearly visible Roman defenses for two-thirds of their length. The outer ramparts have nineteen round towers, three of which are barbicans. The enclosure is surrounded by moats and the two main entrances to the fortified city, the Porte Narbonnaise and the Porte de l'Aude, are particularly elaborate. The 12th century count's castle and the main buildings associated with it were built on the western part of the Roman ramparts. The basilica dedicated to Saints Nazaire and Celse has no flying buttresses, stability being ensured by the internal vaulted structure.

Carcassonne also owes its exceptional importance to the long restoration campaign led from 1853 to 1879 by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, one of the founders of modern conservation science.

Criterion (ii): The fortified city of Carcassonne owes its exceptional importance to the restoration work undertaken during the second half of the 19th century by Viollet-le-Duc, who strongly influenced the evolution of conservation principles and practices.

Criterion (iv): The city of Carcassonne is an excellent example of a fortified medieval city whose enormous defensive system was built on ramparts dating from late antiquity.

Integrity

The fortifications of Carcassonne, as well as the castle and the cathedral, are imposing monuments which reflect in an exceptionally complete way the structure of a medieval fortified city. Their integrity is genuine for the fortifications (only the great barbican is missing from the defensive system), a little less for the urban buildings (disappearance of Saint-Sernin Church and the cloister of the Cathedral). The Cathedral is an integral part of the feudal and then royal design of this great medieval fortress. Paradoxically, it was the integrity of Viollet-le-Duc's intervention on the double enclosure that suffered attacks in the 20th century, through the arbitrary substitution of covering materials, before the quality of his work was recognized.  

Authenticity

While authenticity as a medieval monument cannot be maintained due to 19th century restorations, which mainly concerned crowning and roofing, most of the ramparts and towers are authentic, with substantial elements of the ramparts of the Late Roman Empire. Saint-Nazaire Cathedral, with its sculpted decoration and its remarkable set of 14th century stained glass windows, presents the appearance it had in the Middle Ages.

Protection and management requirements

The enclosure and the cathedral of Carcassonne are protected in application of the Heritage Code and belong to the State. They have been classified as historical monuments since 1840. Other intramural buildings are also protected.

The buffer zone is constituted by protection under classified and registered sites.

The management and conservation of the double enclosure are entrusted to the Centre des Monuments Nationaux, a public establishment under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture, which finances and implements the necessary conservation work and ensures that it is open to the public.

The Cité and its surroundings are governed by public utility and town planning easements which control its development, the management of which is the responsibility of the city of Carcassonne in collaboration with the State services, which constitutes the heart of the management system of the property.

To be effective, the management of the property requires stable inter-institutional dialogue, coordination and collaboration, for which a property committee is being set up, with the mandate to develop and implement a management plan. The landscape quality of the immediate and wider environment of the property is crucial for safeguarding its Outstanding Universal Value, hence the ongoing implementation of a major site operation. Its objective will be to improve the landscape quality of the surroundings of the city and to channel the reception of visitors, by eliminating parking in the immediate surroundings of the inscribed property.

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