Raymond de Péreille, one of two lords of Montségur, decided around 1204 to rebuild a castle that had been in ruins for 40 years or more. A study cited in the article dates his fortress to about 1210. The article names no architect or materials. It stands at about 3,900 feet (1,200 m) on a rock formation called a pog.
Royal forces began a siege in 1242, and the castle surrendered in March 1244. About 220 Cathars who refused to renounce their faith were burned at the foot of the pog, and the castle was destroyed. Royal forces rebuilt and upgraded the site over the next three centuries. French archaeologists describe the present ruin as typical of 17th-century royal defensive architecture.
It has been a monument historique since 1862. Visitors climb a path to the top.
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