Château du Bezu

Le Bézu, France

Château du Bezu, also called Les Tiplies, was a Cathar castle located on a hill top near to the village of Le Bézu. In the popular imagination Le Bézu is an old Templar fortress, from where the Templars treasure was rescued when they were persecuted by the French King Philip le Bel in 1307.

There is very little evidende that it was ever a Templar fortress, but plenty that it was a Cathar stronghold at the time of the war against the Cathars known as the Albigensian Crusade.

The castle ruins is open to the public. According to locals the place is haunted. A silver bell rings at midnight on the anniversary of the Templars' arrest.

References:

castlesandmanorhouses.com

Address

À Tiplie, Le Bézu, France

See all sites in Le Bézu

Details

Founded: 11th century
Category: Castles and fortifications in France
Historical period: Birth of Capetian dynasty (France)

More Information

www.templiers.org
www.castlesandmanorhouses.com

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

St. Mary Magdalene Church (6,2 km)
Château de Coustaussa (6,9 km)

Historic Fortified City of Carcassonne (36,5 km)
Cháteau Comtal (36,6 km)
Basilica of Saints Nazarius and Celsus (36,3 km)
Villefranche-de-Conflent Fortress (33,1 km)
Minerve (63,7 km)
Mirepoix Cathedral (41,9 km)
Château de Peyrepertuse (20,4 km)
Château de Castelnou (43,7 km)
Saint-Hilaire Abbey (23,6 km)

User Reviews

Armin Friedrich (2 years ago)
Beautiful place to let your thoughts wander. You should be sure-footed, especially when descending.

Phil Bus (2 years ago)
Very beautiful view but steep uphill path at times and somewhat difficult descent. Not everything is visible as in the photos and not at all indicated. Too bad, magnificent landscape once at the top

Shiro (3 years ago)
Incredible place, the view is splendid.

Jean Francois (3 years ago)
Easy to access, magnificent view

alter paradoxal (4 years ago)
It's a special place... I would love to see what this castle looked like. You can find pieces of ruins scattered on the mountain, it must have been a small castle with houses left and right... It's truly a special place...

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Photo from Flickr, copyright Following Hadrian

Historic Site of the week

Walls of Constantinople

The Walls of Constantinople are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople (today Istanbul) since its founding as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great. With numerous additions and modifications during their history, they were the last great fortification system of antiquity, and one of the most complex and elaborate systems ever built. They were also the largest and strongest fortification in both the ancient and medieval world.

Initially built by Constantine the Great, the walls surrounded the new city on all sides, protecting it against attack from both sea and land. As the city grew, the famous double line of the Theodosian Walls was built in the 5th century. Although the other sections of the walls were less elaborate, they were, when well-manned, almost impregnable for any medieval besieger.