A bit of history
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Located in the heart of this land of history and legends, near the medieval cities of Carcassonne and Lagrasse, at the foot of the Cathar castle of Termes, the Bergerie du Prat de Mu invites you to immerse yourself in the history of this place.
The Lordship of Termes
At the beginning of the 11th century, Termes was the capital of an important lordship, on the border of the lands of the Viscounts of Carcassonne and the Counts of Barcelona. This lordship controlled the vast territory of Corbières, to which it gave its name, the Termenès, comprising around forty villages. The first mention of the Termes family dates from 1061 with Lord Olivier-Bertrand. This famous house belonged to the main barons of Trencavel, Viscounts of Carcassonne-Albi-Béziers.
The castle
The first handwritten evidence of the castle dates from 1093. At the time of the Crusade against the Albigensians, it was, along with Lastours and Minerve, one of the satellites of Carcassonne. Faced with the troops of Simon de Montfort in 1210, the lord of Termes, Raimond, put up stubborn resistance during the siege that the fortress endured for four months. Both besiegers and besieged had stone walls, which made this episode a special case of the "war of the castles".
After its fall, Termes was entrusted to the crusader Alain de Roucy (1215). In 1228, Termes became a royal fortress when Amaury, son of Simon de Montfort, gave up his rights over Languedoc to the crown of France. Saint-Louis then carried out major works there and integrated it into the line of fortifications - borders facing the Kingdom of Aragon, following the Treaty of Corbeil in 1258. For more than four centuries, a royal garrison occupied the castle.
After the Wars of Religion, the king ordered the destruction of the castle. From then on, the site was abandoned and returned to its wild state.
Acquired by the commune of Termes in 1988, the building is listed as a Historic Monument and major restoration work is being undertaken.