LOCATION & SURROUNDINGS

We are located in the most beautiful part of the south of France. Close to the high mountains of the Pyrenees, between Axat, Perpignan en Andorra. Here we have 300 sunny days a year. Until late in Autumn you can enjoy the French sun.

Lots of information can be found at the Links-page. We have brochures about the area for our guests.

Caudies de Fenouilledes can be found on the D117, this is the road from Perpignan to Foix. Good routeplanners can be found on the Links-page.

Coördinates:
Latitude Longitude:
42° 48' 45,04", 2° 22' 22,84"
42.812510 , 2.373010

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The village

- Medieval houses
- Renovated houses around the square
- Chapel Notre Dame de Laval 15th century, picknick area, large parking with fresh water tap
- Gorges de St Jaume (Fenouillet)
- Col de St Louis
- Touristic Cathar train, a way to discover Fenouilledes
- Tennis court
- Children's playground
- Swimming in the river
- Parts of the hiking route GR36
- Mountainbike routes
- Horse riding
- Fishing

The surroundings

Visit Cathar castles:
- Puylaurens (7 km)
- Quéribus (15 km)
- Peyreperthuse (15 km)

But also:
- Gorges de Galamus
- ULM (11 km)
- Swimming pools, 5 en 11 km
- Châteaux de Fenouillet
- Museum Tautavel (ancient man)
- Bouchevill forest
- Belesta: Chateau museum about prehistory>
- Chateau de Castelnou, about military architecture
- Les Orgues d “Ille-sur-Têt, where nature is an artist
- Boulou les Thermes: Thermal healing baths
- Mosset: la Tour des parfums. Little house with many perfumes
- Dinosaurs: Dinosaur museum
- Parc Animalier in Castel: Bears, lions, monkeys, walibi's

History of the Cathars

In west-north-west of Marseilles on Golfe du Lion is the old province of Languedoc where in 1208 the people were condemned to death by catholic pope Innocent 111. In 1209 a papal army of more than 30,000 soldiers descended on the region under the command of Simon de Montfort. The soldiers had been sent to kill and exterminate the Cathar religion. The killing went on for 35 years claiming thousands of lives of men women and children.

The doctrine of the Cathars was basically Gnostic, they were basically spiritual people. The catholic churches fear of the Cathars was in part caused by the Cathars knowledge of the bloodlines of Jesus, which was in conflict with the churches propaganda of the crucifixion. The Cathars were also said to be the guardians of a great and sacred treasure, associated with an ancient knowledge. The Catharts also regarded Mary Magdalene as the Grail Mother. The Cathars were tolerant of other peoples religions and believed in equality of the sexes. Their belief of equality of the sexes was a major problem for the catholic church which wanted to suppress women.

The Cathars believed in God, recited the prayer, had a welfare system for the poor, elderly and sick, schools, hospitals, charity and a fine society. The Cathars also practised birth control which led to all sorts of accusations. The catholic church also believed that the Cathars were in possession of the Table of Testimony and the Jerusalem Manuscripts of the gospel era. The Cathar religion was presumed to hold enough information of substance as to expose the fundemental concept of the catholic church.

 There was only one solution for the desperate and fanatical church, to kill them all. In 1209 the papal troops arrived in the foothills of Pyrenees and the savage campaign was called the Albigensian Crusade. The people were murdered in their thousands, including men, women and children. Whole towns were destroyed but the treasure was never found. The Cathar religion was completely genocided.