Montségur · The Last People on the Mountain Top

Montségur Castle stands on a mountain top; in the 13th century it became the last stronghold of the Cathars. The Pope called a crusade against them, and after a ten-month siege more than two hundred believers walked down together onto the fire below the castle; not one renounced their faith.

Legend says that before the fall they hid the “Holy Grail” in the mountain. For the eight hundred years since, people have been digging in the rock in secret.

Today only the bases of the stone walls remain. The wind on the mountain is strong; you hold the rope as you climb.

Historical Mysteries / Aude · France / 1209