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We stayed in Narbonne for several days in January 2006 having ridden across the centre of Spain encountering snow and freezing fog on the higher ground. I did not know what to expect of Narbonne but have for some time been fascinated by its history.

It was a flourishing city long before the colonization of France by the Romans in 118 BC, at that time it was a natural port and both the town and harbour were much improved by the Romans, sadly in AD 150 a fire damaged the town. In 413 AD it was occupied by the Merovingians and then the Visigoths, by this time the area surrounding Narbonne was known as Septimania. Since the early days of Roman occupation there had been a Jewish community here, Mary Magdelene came to live in this part of France after the crucifiction.

The Visigoths were ‘Arian Christians’ and as such did not believe in the divinity of Jesus, the Jews of Septomania held very similar beliefs and so ‘Goths’ and ‘Jews’ lived peacefully together as a community. By the end of the 7th century the Goths had converted to Roman Christianity and as such had started to persecute the Jews, so when in 711 the Moors swept across Spain and included Septimania in their Spanish conquest they were welcomed by the Jews of Narbonne who co-existed with the Moors peacefully for 48 years. During this time the Moors pushed the Visigoths even further north and occupied what is now the south of France as far north as Lyons.

With the Romans, Merovingians and Visigoths gone the Carolingians (Franks) who were the new leaders of the Merovingians had retaken all of Septomania with the exception of Narbonne which they sieged for 7 years from 752 to 759 finally having done a deal with the Jews in the town, the Jews opened the gates of the town, the Moors were all killed and the Jews given control of part of the town. A Jewish King of the Jews in Septomania was created whose credentials were excellent as both Pepin the leader of the Carolingians and the Caliph of Bagdad recognised that he was of the royal house of King David as did the Pope, albiet somewhat reluctantly.

Narbonne prospered for several hundred years and was renowned for its University and perpetuation of Jewish customs and observance of holy days. Many of the descendants of these Jewish Kings and of the Merovingian Kings who were also said to be descended from King Solomon were leaders of the 1st Crusade who in 1098 travelled to Palestine to reclaim Jerusalem from the Saracens.

Construction of the wonderful church of St Just shown in the photographs above began in 1272. Narbonne was founded as an archbishopric in the 3rd century, the church was therefore a Cathedral, but despite losing that distinction in 1790, it still seems to be known as ‘The Cathedral’. It was never finished because to do so would have involved demolishing part of the defensive town wall which at the time did not seem a safe thing to do. It therefore still only consists of a choir which at 41 metres high is one of the tallest in France. It is both impressive and very beautiful with its high gothic pillars and arches and a wonderful whispering gallery, all of which seemed to have given it a powerful atmosphere. The Cathedral and the fortified Archbishops Palace are joined together by a mutilated cloister and also by a building built a little later but in the 13th century style which has become the Hotel de Ville.

Close to the Cathedral there is also an underground Roman grain store which unfortunately we did not see, there is also a Roman bridge (photograph to the left) which whilst it may once have supported a road now supports a house of 5 floors!

King Philip IV of France (1285 to 1314) expelled the Jews from Narbonne and at about the same time the river Aude which had been diverted to flow through Narbonne by the Romans reverted to its former course and the harbour silted up. As a result Narbonne’s fortunes went into decline for the next five hundred years until the local wine industry gave it a boost in the 19th century. By the middle of the 19th century Narbonne had ceased to be a garrison town and so in 1870 the last of its defensive walls were demolished.

Narbonne is 60 kilometers east of Carcassonne and less than an hour's drive from the Spanish border.