Narbonne, June 2002

Narbonne peaked long ago. It was once a great port, when the river Aude still flowed by the city, and its lagoon was connected to the sea. It was important in Roman times: the capital of "Gallia Narbonensis", and an important stop on the Via Domitia. It became the capital of the Visigoths after they sacked Rome in 410. Under Charlemagne, Narbonne was the capital of the duchy of Gothie. The 14th century marked the decline of Narbonne, what with a change in the course of the Aude that caused the port to silt up, the Black Death, the devastating raids of Edward, the Black Prince, and the departure of the Jews. By the time of the French Revolution, in the late 18th century, there were only a few thousand inhabitants. It started to recover somewhat in the 19th century, with the renewed wine business, and now has about 45,000 inhabitants.