|
|
| |
CASCASTEL des CORBIERES |
 |
Cascastel nestles in the rolling hills of the Corbières, in the Languedoc (Occitan) region of Southern France. Cascastel lives and breathes wine. There are 200 inhabitants and nearly all are connected with wine. Click on the highlighted words to view additional photos. |
| They either grow, prune or spray the vines and harvest the grapes or are involved in the making and selling of the wine from the Cave Co-operative. |  | |
| Fitou, Rivesaltes and Corbières wines are produced and economically the Cave has been successful so that other local
villages call the Cascastelloise ’Les Americaines’. This small village is 6 kilometers from Durban Corbières, 35 kilometers from Narbonne, and 40 kilometers from Perpignan to the South and Carcassonne to the North West. | ||
 |
The village does have a history and the first recorded evidence of Cascastel is in 861. In the years prior to this Charlemagne had re-established some order after a long period of instability and devastation following invasions of this frontier zone by the Moors in the 8th century. In 843 the control of the Aude area passed to Charles le Chauve who in 861 gave his vassal Andromarius the ’ Villa Calcicustello ’. A château was ordered to be built by a charter dated 1390 and the tower of this château along with the church dating from the 12th century and a bridge of the same period crossing the River Berre form the major part of the old medieval village from which the modern village has grown. The ’streets’ of that period were very different. | |
| The River Berre, which has its source in the commune of Quintillan, flows through Cascastel and continues on its route to the Étang of Bages via Durban and Portel Corbières. In November 1999 a 24 hour period of abnormally heavy rain caused the river to burst its banks and the torrents caused a lot of damage. Houses were flooded to a depth of nearly 2 metres, the Medieval bridge was swept away, the Church and Château were damaged; the banks of the river were broken and the Cave Co-operative was nearly destroyed. Roads disappeared and the village was cut off until emergency services arrived. Since 1999 the roads have been rebuilt, the original Cave Co-operative repaired and a new one built opposite. Water and sewage pipes have been relaid and electricity and telephone lines repaired. The important economic life of the village continues but the heart of the old village still remains damaged by the flood. The Château of Cascastel is a listed historic building - not in the first rank where such national monuments as Versaille and Fontainebleau are listed - but nevertheless it is recognised as part of the Patrimoine or tradition. We have been assured that the work to repair the Château, the church and the banks of the river and maybe rebuild the old Medieval bridge will start soon. | ||
| September 2005 | |
| The 1999 flood was destructive and time is needed to replace or repair all that was damaged or lost. In the last two years the bridge on the route between Cascastel and Albas has been repaired and the old Medieval Bridge which had been swept away has been replaced using many of the original stones and constructed using traditional stone mason skills. |
 |
 |
The architect overseeing the reconstruction followed faithfully the original medieval way of building and now the stones
of the bridge have been given a lime coating to protect against weathering. The people in the village were not happy with this as the bridge they had
known all their lives, Le Pont des Pierres, did not have a crepi covering. |
 |
The banks of the river on the village have been rebuilt and the old heart of the medieval village is undergoing repair. The 11th century church and Château are in the process of being repaired. The village has had to tolerate dust and contractors’ lorries and equipment all summer and have for this year lost the Place de l’église for the weekly Petanque matches. There are some grumbles but mostly we are all interested to see the work taking place and in particular the repairs to the Château. One elderly lady said her parents celebrated their marriage in the Château in 1927, her granddaughter is already wondering if she can also celebrate her marriage in the same place. |
| The life of the village revolves around the seasonal demands of the vines but also “La Chasse” or the hunting of wild boar. The boar is hunted and shot from the end of August until the end of January for three days every week. Outside the hunting season pétanque is played, there are a few fishermen, and from time to time the Comité de Fête organises a meal with a disco or a live group to follow. For three days in August there is a Village Fête with a meal and live music. The organisation, “Les Amis du Château de Cascastel” organises an Exhibition of Art and a “Vide Grenier” Car Boot (trunk) Sale in August. The village has an Epicerie, a Tabac, a Post Office, a restaurant and, surprisingly for such a small village, a school which takes the older primary children from the villages of Albas, Cascastel and Villeneuve. |  |
| In a small village everyone says ’bonjour’ to each other, children are safe to wander the streets and the dogs sprawl across the road, reluctantly rising to their feet when a car approaches. When someone dies everyone goes to the funeral, walking behind the hearse into the cemetery. Occasionally someone gets married in the Mairie. If the bride and groom wish for a religious ceremony they and their guests walk through the village to the church after the Civil ceremony conducted by the Mayor. Births happen, children grow up and as young adults nearly all move away unless they stay and work the family vines. There is no other work but the vines. It is a quiet place to live. | |
| Text and Photographs by Maggie Comley, Cascastel 2003/5 | |
[ Places to visit Index | Accommodation Index | Boat Hire Index | Internet | Contact ] Copyright : © 2003-2007, Sysnix Consultants Ltd. All rights reserved. | |