ARCHITECT, French
(active 14th century in Languedoc)

View of the citadel

14th century
Photo
Carcassonne (Aude)

Carcassonne is a fortified French town, famous for the Cité de Carcassonne, a medieval fortress restored by the theorist and architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc in 1853. The fortified city consists essentially of a concentric design of two outer walls with 53 towers and barbicans to prevent attack by siege engines. The castle itself possesses its own drawbridge and ditch leading to a central keep. The walls consist of towers built over quite a long period. The double walls of the citadel, greatly enhanced in the Middle Ages, go back to Merovingian times.

The photo shows the citadel of Carcassonne in its present (restored) state.