When we venture off the beaten path we often find that the most interesting places are tiny tucked away surprises that we, and almost everybody else it seems, have never heard of. Minerve is just such a place.
This southern French village is perched precariously atop a ridge between two rivers, le Brian and la Cesse, which have carved out cliffs that make the spot a nearly perfect stronghold. We must say nearly because we soon learned that it failed tragically under a relentless siege.
But before we found out about that failure we were wildly impressed with the fortifications. Most of the defenses are natural, left behind when water eroded the local limestone into a formidable castle-like formation that certainly looks impenetrable. With a little additional stone work the original inhabitants no doubt felt pretty safe a thousand years ago.
As we approached we marveled at the enormous bridge required to gain entry into the city, and the sheer walls that dropped away on every edge.
Once inside, we were also thrilled by the fact that we had the narrow medieval lanes almost all to ourselves while we explored. It was about that time that Antoine, our guide for the barge cruise along the Canal du Midi that brought us here, pointed out that the street we were walking on was named Rue des Martyrs.
That got us wondering what might have happened here. He didn’t explain until we arrived at a memorial to those martyrs.
At the small monument consisting of a Christian cross and the outline of a dove carved in a stone he began to relay the story of how, after several centuries of safety, the residents found that their security was fleeting. In 1210 the village fell at the hands of the Albigensian Crusade. The tale is one of the saddest we have heard throughout European history.
A relatively small religious sect, the Cathars, was living peacefully in this region when Pope Innocent III decided that he didn’t like their views and therefore they must be wiped clean off the planet. The Kingdom of France was more than happy to oblige in the extermination of the heretics.
Their heresy mainly consisted of believing in two gods, a good and an evil, and worse yet, allowing women to have nearly equal standing in the church. Obviously it was imperative to eliminate every last one of them.
Once the Crusaders cleared the harmless Gnostics from the nearby cities of Béziers and Carcassonne the relentless zealots set their sights on Minerve. The town’s natural defenses held off a direct attack, so the invaders set up a siege.
Catapults were placed on the opposite walls of the canyons surrounding the city and commenced firing. Several weeks of bombardment finally led to a surrender and the Cathars that lived in Minerve were given a choice, return to the Catholic faith or be put to death.
One hundred and forty refused the offer and were burned at the stake. This was at least slightly better than the crusaders had done in previous cities, there they simply killed everyone whether they were Cathars or not.
After hearing this tale while walking the path of the martyrs we ended up outside a small museum, the Musée Hurepel de Minerve. Stepping inside we encountered something completely unexpected, the entire history we had just discussed brought to life in remarkably meticulous miniature dioramas.
Each scene was accompanied by a detailed description in one of the booklets provided available in a dozen different languages. At first the whole set up struck us as very odd, even a bit off base for such serious subject matter, but within a few minutes we were completely engrossed and the story was forever imprinted in our memories.
Feeling extremely somber by the time we left, we made our way back across the colossal bridge (vehicles are not allowed in the town unless owned by a resident) and began our trek back to the boat. Along the way we had one more stop to make.
Not far from Minerve, Antoine pulled off the highway onto a nearly nonexistent dirt road. We bounced a half a mile or so before stopping, then he jumped out and he led us up a small hill.
At the top we found a few isolated megalithic burial stones, dolmens left behind by the Celts who lived here thousands of years ago, well before the time of Christ. These were kin to the people who made Stonehenge hundreds of miles to the north.
Like the much larger and more famous archaeological marvel, this also lines up with the sun on the solstice. So while not as overwhelming, we were still duly impressed.
We were also glad to have this dose of celestial alignment help put the day’s earlier distressing history behind us.
David & Veronica, GypsyNester.com
See all of our previous adventures in France!
A big thank you to France Cruises for providing this adventure, as always, all opinions are our own.
The first time we visited we were lucky enough to see Japan in the Spring, which is arguably the best time because the famous cherry blossoms are in bloom. There are also a bunch of festivals, running from late March to early May, that coincide with the blossoms depending on whether they are in the northern or southern part of the islands.
However, the railway system is fast, reliable, extremely efficient, and covers almost all of the country, so it is travel choice for most visitors. There is also a good bus system that is more economical than the trains, but takes much longer to get from one place to another.
Even the competition struck us as a bit small for gods. The two were offering the city gifts and the best would become its namesake. Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and water sprung forth, however it was saltwater so… not so good.
We learned from our intrepid guide, Dionysios, that ingenious architectural techniques employed by the Greeks helped to make it so sturdy. On close inspection we could see that the columns are not straight up and down, and they are also slightly bulging in the middle.
The Parthenon is only one of many tributes the Athenians dedicated to their patron goddess. Another is just a stone’s throw away, the Temple of Athena Nike. Built around the same time as its much larger neighbor, the version we see now is actually a reconstruction.
Originally the museum opened in 1874 and was up on the Acropolis, but as more and more artifacts were unearthed it became apparent that a bigger venue was needed. A location at the base of the famed rock outcrop was chosen and a completion for the design held but, as with almost everywhere in Athens, when construction began they discovered more ruins beneath the site.
Another highlight of the museum, and one of the only exhibits that allows photographs inside, are the Caryatids of Erechtheum. Caryatids are female figures that serve as columns, and the Porch of the Maidens on the Erechtheum is perhaps the most classic example. Replicas support the porch on the temple up on the Acropolis, but the originals are safely tucked inside the museum.
Even though the temple is small, it had importance much beyond its size because it marks the place where Poseidon’s spring flowed forth and Athena’s olive tree sprouted. It is also said to be the burial site of the mythic kings Cecrops, first king of Athens, and Erechtheus, who according to Homer’s Iliad was raised by Athena.
At first sight the forty foot high structure may not be overwhelming, but as we learned about its function we were duly impressed. This is the world’s first weather station. The tops of the eight sides each depict a direction of the wind carved in relief that a vane pointed to in the breeze.
From the best preserved temple we made our way to one of the worst kept, the Temple of Olympian Zeus. Yet even though only sixteen columns remain, it is still remarkably impressive. When construction began in the 6th century BC it was to be the largest temple in Greece, but wasn’t finished until Rome had taken control.
Evidence shows that it was around this time that burials began to take place within the circles. However, soon after our visit an ancient burial chamber was unearthed near Stonehenge.
What could possibly have inspired these ancient builders to drag untold tons of rock from so far away? It certainly made my little quest to see their handiwork seem pretty pitiful in comparison.
The final phase included the largest stones. This time the blocks were brought in from about 25 miles to the north. They were used to construct the iconic doorway like structures of upright stones topped by lintels, with each piece weighing up to fifty tons.
Whoever made the monument left no written records; so many aspects of Stonehenge remain a mystery. Over time a number of myths developed surrounding the stones, including one of the most often repeated which is that the Druids were the builders behind the mystical boulder circles.
More recently a visitor center and small museum have been added, where theories on how the stones may have been moved and how the builders may have lived are recreated in life-sized models. While interesting, these are little more than guesses because any indications of their methods have long since disappeared.
Inside the center, we browsed through old photos and memorabilia until we stumbled upon a serious collector’s item.