John Reps Bastides Collection

Cordes-sur-Ciel

Founded in 1222 by Raymond VII in the first year of his reign as count of Toulouse, Cordes is now included among the bastides although Raymond's charter did not use this word nor was it so referred to in any other documents of the period. Nor does Cordes have the regular grid plan that is so commonplace among the bastides. Its spectacular site atop and along the slopes of an elongated mountain made such a plan impossible. More