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Origin and history

The ramparts of Cordes-sur-Ciel were built to protect the new city founded in the 13th century by Raimond VII, Count of Toulouse, after the destruction of Saint-Marcel during the Albigois Crusade. The communal charter of 1222, granting exceptional exemptions (tax exemptions, hunting rights, testamentary freedom), quickly attracted a large population. The city, with two initial enclosures completed around 1229, successfully resisted the siege of Imbert de Beaujeu in 1227, demonstrating its strategic role in the conflicts between the Count of Toulouse and the crown of France.

In the 14th century, the prosperity of Cordes led to the extension of fortifications with a third enclosure, then a fourth to include the suburbs (Notre-Dame, Al Rousse). The ramparts, adapted to the steep topography of the puech (colline dominating the Ceru and the Aurausse), included staggered doors, portanels, and narrow leagues. The Clock Gate (XVI century) and the Barbacane (East) are among the remains still visible. The city, which passed under royal control after 1271, had a golden age until the black plague and the Hundred Years War, which decimated its estimated population of 5,000.

The ramparts witnessed religious and political conflicts: looting in 1435 during the episcopal quarrel of Albi, taken by the Protestants in 1568 (fire of the Jane Gate), and plague epidemics (1589, 1629-1632). Ranked or listed as historical monuments between 1910 and 1962, these remains (the property of the SAVC) illustrate the defensive evolution of a medieval bastide, now an emblem of the Occitan heritage.

The jurisdiction of Cordes extended to 33 localities, reflecting its administrative importance on the seine floor of Albigeois, then Toulouse. Urban privileges, confirmed by Philip III (1282) and Philip VI (1332), allowed relative autonomy, with a consular system reduced to four members in 1389. Local customs, codified under Charles V (1374), underline the special status of this city, where trade, crafts and judicial activities coexisted with a strong community identity.

The architecture of the ramparts, marked by successive adaptations (5th enclosure in the mid-14th century), met the needs of a growing population and external threats. The preserved doors (Ormeaux, Vainqueur, Rous) and crenellated towers testify to medieval military techniques. After 1350, the demographic and economic decline, accentuated by wars and epidemics, transformed Cordes into a fortified city less dynamic, but whose defensive heritage remains a remarkable example of medieval urban planning in Occitanie.

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