To make your trip to the walled city of Carcassone more interesting, it helps to know a little of the local lore and legend that accompanies the site.
The city has an long and turbulent history, due to its strategic location between the Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea and between France and Spain. Starting in the 11th century B.C. its inhabitants included Gauls, Romans, Visigoths, Saracens and Franks. The legend comes from a battle, between the Saracens and Franks, led by Charlemagne, (who were attempting to overtake the town). When the Saracen leader of the town died, his widow, Dame Carcas, had straw dummies placed along the battlements, dressed in the armor of dead soldiers.
The Franks, thinking they were outnumbered, decided to starve the inhabitants of the town into submission. After many days,all that remained to feed the besieged population was one barrel of food and a pig. Dame Carcas fed all the food to the pig then threw it over the walls. When the pig hit the ground it immediately split open. Charlemagne's troops, seeing all of the food contained in the pig's stomach, were immediately discouraged, believing the town had abundant supplies. At that point the Franks lifted the siege and retreated. The church bells began pealing in celebration and the town's people began cheering "Carcas...sonne(Ring,Carcas)".
While it is a great story it is believed by some to be pure fantasy mainly bacause the Saracens were Muslims and would have never kept a pig inside the city walls. Also, in the early 9th century when this supposedly took place, the inhabitants spoke mainly Latin, not French.
This is a more romantic story than the decidedly truer version which says the name came from Occitan roots. "Carac" means rock and "sonne" means wood (there were many forests around the town).