Mirepoix - La Maison Des Consuls

Mirepoix, part of the independent fiefdom of Foix, was a stronghold of the Cathars, who held a council here in 1206. Only 3 years later (1209) Simon de Montfort´s armee captured the town after a siege. He gave it to one of his lieutenants, Guy de Lévis. Raymond Roger von Foix reconquered Mirepoix in 1223 and re-installed the Cathar Pierre-Roger de Mirepoix.

After the Treaty of Paris (1229), that ended the Albigensian Crusade and the political autonomy of Occitan, the town was given back to Guy de Lévis, whose son moved the town after a devasting flood (1289) to higher grounds and had it rebuilt as a "bastide". This layout was never changed, so in the center is a large rectangular, arcaded square, named today "Place du Maréchal-Leclerc".

The square is bordered by half timbered houses dating from the 13th to the 15th centuries. One of them is the "Maison Des Consuls". More than 100 sculptures decorate the wooden beams. The little monkey is one of them.