In the 11th and 12th centuries, Termes was the chief town of an important seigneury.
In 1061, the lord held the district dominated by the castle: Termenés.
As opportunities arose, the lords of Termes expanded their domain, periodically engaging in conflicts with the abbey of Lagrasse.
When the Albigensian crusades began, the seigneury extended from Arques in the west to Aguilar in the east.
Raimond de Termes was one of Trencavel's most powerful vassals. Involved in the Cathar heresy, he fought the crusade.
When, in August 1210, Simon de Montfort decided to subdue the "impregnable" Termes, it was one of the crucial episodes of the crusade.
The defenders held out for almost four months.
But finally, water shortages and dysentery got the better of the besieged: on November 23, 1210, they fled...
Raimond de Termes was imprisoned and his possessions entrusted to the crusader Alain de Roucy.
Temporarily recaptured during the crusader debacle around 1223, the castle became a French royal fortress in 1228.
While the castle was gradually strengthened, the adjacent castral settlement was evacuated in 1257.
From then on, Termes was one of the fortresses defending the border, one of the "Five Sons of Carcassonne".
A royal garrison occupied it for four centuries.
Olivier de Termes, Raimond's son, distinguished himself in numerous battles, both against the king and, after submitting in 1248, on crusade to Palestine.
The château was demolished in 1652, seven years before the Treaty of the Pyrenees removed the border.
The site was brought out of oblivion in the middle of the 20th century, when the first steps were taken to safeguard it.
It was listed as a Historic Monument in 1989.
Château de Termes
11330 Termes
Tel/fax: 04 62 70 09 20
chateau.termes@payscathare.org
Translated with DeepL.com
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