In common with the rest of Occitania, this region suffered considerably during the various religious wars. In the course of the troubled period of the Albigensian crusade (13th century), this last outpost of the Cévennes was frequently a place of refuge for those fleeing from persecution. Today it is not uncommon for rambler to chance upon some relic of that eventful past in the soil, scarcely distinguishable from the surrounding rocks and vegetation. Only a few ruins remain as testimony to the importance of the fortress that was once the Château de Montredon, seat in the Middle Ages of a barony owing fealty to the Counts of Toulouse and later to the Viscounts of Lautrec and to which also belonged the various fiefs of Laroque, Berlan and Arifat. The church of Notre-Dame de Ruffis was erected in the fourteenth century but the bell-tower originally formed part of a much earlier castle (possibly twelfth century). The Château de Castelfranc was, during the reign of Henri IV (17th century) the home of Guillaume le Nautonnier, the celebrated geographer and astronomer to the King. Here he had constructed the first ever observatory in France in 1609 which can still be seen today. 125 km of signed footpaths for ramblers (duration and degree of difficulty vary). SYNDICAT D’INITIATIVE, La Halle, Grand’rue, 81360 MONTREDON, Telephone 05 63 75 14 18 Summary: 1 The Natural Regional Park of Upper Languedoc 2 The Sidobre 3 The Montagne Noire (Dourgne, Sorèze...) 4 Mazamet and region 5 The Monts de Lacaune - Brassac du Tarn 6 The Lakes and the Salvetois 7 The Valley of the Thoré 8 The Montredonnais   9 The Valleys of the Orb and the Jaur 10 The Saint-Ponais 11 The Monts d'Orb Following the wine trail: 12 The Faugérois 13 The Minervois 14 The Saint-Chiniannais       © Photography, Thomas Hallbert © English translation, David Bond. © 2000-2008 vivrehautlanguedoc thomas@idaeus.com