Dominated by the village of Rennes le Château, in Coustaussa there are still the ruins of a historic castle.
The castle of Coustaussa is registered as a historical monument by decree of April 10, 1948.
The site of the castle has been occupied since 730, originally by Visigoths.
As early as the 11th century, a medieval village, "Villam quae vocatur Constantium", is mentioned.
This village was then endowed with a castrum, under the directive of the powerful Raymond I Trencavel, in 1157, in order to defend the valley of the Sals.
It was placed under the command of a certain Pierre de Villar.
In 1170, the king of Aragon, Alfonso II of Aragon, who came from pillar Rennes-le-Château, also took Coustaussa.
In 1210, when the region became mired in the Albigensian crusade, the crusaders led by Simon de Montfort took the castle, rallied to the Cathar cause, while the majority of the inhabitants left the village. The occupants of the castle are said to have left it thanks to an underground passage leading to the nearby castle of Blanchefort.
One year later, when Simon de Montfort was besieged in Castelnaudary, the lord of Coustaussa decided to rise up and liberate his lands.
Nevertheless, after the victory of the Crusader chieftain in Castelnaudary, he returned to Coustaussa, massacred the inhabitants, severely damaged the castle and set fire to the castral village.
The lord of Coustaussa was then deprived of his rights on the domain, which was offered to the family of Montesquieu de Sault. By gift from the seneschal of Carcassonne, he then passed to Pierre de Voisins; Simon de Montfort's lieutenant.
In the 16th century, the whole castle was redesigned, transforming the powerful fortified castle into a beautiful Renaissance residence.
After the French Revolution, it was acquired by a property trader in 1803.
Following this, its frames are removed in 1819, leading to the gradual destruction of the building through the recovery of building materials.
This medieval castle in Cathar country still features numerous monumental remains dating from the Cathar era and the time of Philippe d’Alayrac the Perfect, a close associate of the ruling family and patron of the famous Bélibaste, who lived in Coustaussa.
Just like Rennes le Château, Coustaussa also has its secrets and mysteries (See video)
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