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Old postcards of Mirepoix and area.
The name of the town has evolved over the centuries from the ancient language known here as Occitan, which showed it as 'mira peis', broadly meaning a place where one can look at the fish. The original city was built on the banks of the River Hers, where ample opportunities would have existed to look at the fish, admire them and perhaps catch some for your dinner. The armorial bearings, which date from at least 1697, show a golden fish, probably a trout. The three golden stars would have had some significance, now lost with time, but perhaps a reference to the consuls of the city. The people of Mirepoix were, and are known today, as Mirapiciens.
The modern day city was newly constructed after a devastating flood that occurred in 1289, when a natural dam broke, near to Puivert, and which swept away the village of Camon and the old town of Mirepoix which was located on the land below the castle, on the other side of the River Hers. This region of France has been well known for its devastating floods, even to this day, caused by river surges. Over the centuries, measures have been taken to minimise flood damage, but not always very effectively.
The town planners for the new town used the typical 'bastide' design for the plan layout of - north, south, east, west - as is clearly seen on the more recent 1948 map below. There is now no evidence of the old, swept away, Mirepoix from the 13th century, other than perhaps the (mentioned in the 10th century) castle on the hill and known today as the Chateau de Terride.
Early Historical Background
In the 11th century, a village called Mirepoix used to lie at the foot of the hill where the feudal castle (known today as the Chateau de Terride) still stands, to the west of the River Hers. Before the crusade, that village was a place of paramount importance, as we know that the cathar deacon Guillabert de Castres visited several times. In 1206, a massive gathering of over 600 cathars was held in Mirepoix.
The Cathars (also known as Cathari from the Greek Katharoi for “pure ones”) were a dualist medieval religious sect of southern France which flourished in the 12th century and which challenged the authority of the Catholic Church. They were also known as Albigensians, from the town of Albi, which was a strong Cathar centre of belief. Cathar priests lived simply, had no possessions, imposed no taxes or penalties, and regarded men and women as equals; aspects of the faith which appealed to many at the time disillusioned with the Church.
Cathars rejected the teachings of the Catholic Church as immoral and most of the books of the Bible as inspired by Satan. They criticized the Church heavily for the hypocrisy, greed, and lechery of its clergy, and the Church’s acquisition of land and wealth. Not surprisingly, the Cathars were condemned as heretical by the Catholic Church and massacred in the Albigensian Crusade (1209-1229) which also devastated the towns, cities, and culture of southern France.
In the Autumn of 1209, a few months after the fourth crusade had begun, Simon de Montfort and his army besieged the castle, and he consequently granted his first lieutenant Gui de Lévis the fief of Mirepoix. The Lévis family held Mirepoix until the French Revolution in 1789.
Mirepoix took advantage of its strategic situation; being halfway between Foix and Carcassonne, it became a privileged trade centre, until the tragic flood of 1289. That flood was to destroy Mirepoix and several villages in the Hers valley. Guy III de Lévis then joined the great movement of town planning in France and had his new town built on the left bank, to the south of the river.
After the building of the new town, it suffered severely from the 'Hundred Years War', and the 'Great Companies' which were in the habit of plundering towns and villages across France. The heart of Mirepoix was then fortified in the late 14th century. The Hundred Years War was a long struggle between England and France over the question of succession to the French throne. It lasted from 1337 to 1453, a bit more than 100 years! The war started off with successes on England's part, with the English dominating France for decades. No more England, no more!
Perhaps the most impressive of the new buildings is the house of the consuls, with its 100 carved images depicting all sorts of aspects of life in medieval times.
Looking around today, most of the wood has stood the test of time. Mirepoix once had a stone-built perimeter wall, for protection against attack. However, other than the Porte d'Aval on the west side, very little of that defensive structure has survived. In order to prevent towns rising up against the state, many had their defensive walls removed around the time of the French Revolution from 1789. Luckily, Mirepoix was allowed to keep some sections of it, perhaps a matter of money changing hands.
The Porte d'Aval as shown below in modern times, shows evidence of a portcullis (herse) and drawbridge, which would have meant that there would have been a defensive ditch, or dry moat, around the wall. The tower that can be seen is what is left of a staircase that would have served a large house, since lost.
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There is a fascinating structure in the centre that is, in part, previously occupied by the Grain de Sel restaurant. Its vaulted interior suggests its use as a stronghold and for food storage. Here is a picture of it from the Rue Porte d'Amonte.
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The interior of the restaurant with its vaulted ceilings (closed in 2022, re-opened 2023).
Mirepoix was once a city, as is proudly displayed on signs, as you enter the old area. With the coming of the French Revolution, big changes were brought about and part of these changes was that Mirepoix lost its status as a city, its cathedral became a church and its bishop was stood down.
Mirepoix was one of the Gallican Church archbishoprics of France, in the Province of Toulouse, a suffragen see, before and at the time of the French Revolution in 1789. It was one of several in the Ariège, alongside Toulouse, Lavaur, Lombez, Montauban, Pamiers, Rieux, Saint-Papoul. All but Toulouse and Montauban were suppressed (lost their bishopric status) in 1801, although Pamiers' was re-established in 1817.
Then and Now.
Here, we show you some 'carte postales', post cards dated from 1901 (when they were first introduced) to around 1950.
We have added more recent photographs of the same locations, for comparison purposes, to most of the postcard images.
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