Carcassonne (the Carcaso of Cæsar), a town in the French department of Aude, on the river
Aude, and the Canal du Midi, 56 miles SE. of Toulouse by rail. It is divided by the river into two parts, the old and the new town, which are connected by two bridges dating from 1184 and 1846. The new town is well and regularly built; but the old town or cité, built on a height, is much more picturesque, with its ramparts and towers, some parts of them dating from the time of the Visigoths, and the rest, with the many-towered castle, from the 11th or 13th century. In 1210 this old town suffered greatly at the hands of the fierce bigot Simon de Montfort and his crusaders, who here burned 400 of the Albigenses. In 1356 it effectually resisted the Black Prince. Of several fine churches the finest is St Nazaire. Cloth-making is the staple industry; and there are also manufactures of paper, leather, linen, and soap. Pop. (1872) 20,808; (1891) 25,306. See La Cité de Carcassonne, by Viollet le Duc (1858) and by Boyer (1884).