I abandoned my Cathar Castles project at the start of the pandemic. This week I returned to it by visiting Lastours, in the empty country N of Carcassonne. This is almost a true Cathar castle, in that this site was the seat of the Cabaret dynasty that defied the Crusaders for nearly 20 years. After their castle fell in 1229 the victorious French demolished the three existing towers and built these by the end of the 13th Century, as this was now the S border of France.
The four towers, from the left, are named Cabaret, la tour Régine (the Queen's Tower), Surdespine (Thornflower) and Quertinheux. There are many ways of photographing them from the surrounding hills, this shot was taken from the Belvédère, a sightseeing spot.
Click on the tims-cathar-castles link to see the others in the series.
