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Rennes-le-Chateau
Rennes-le-Chateau is the village of mystery where a young priest, Berenger Sauniere, was posted in the late nineteenth century. Bored with his station in life he began to excavate the local church and cemetery and stumbled upon secrets that have so far remained a mystery. The secrets led him to St. Sulpice in Paris and a fortune received, many believe, in exchange for his silence. Whatever the secret was that he carried to the grave, it allowed him to spend the equivalent of millions in today's dollars. Funds were used for public improvements and to construct the Tower Magdala, a bizarre church that featured pagan symbols and demons.
Nearby is the ruins of Montsegur Castle where the pure ones, the Cathars, held out against the armies of the Pope in 1244. After months of siege the faithful asked to surrender. They were given a brief respite during which a handful of their number scaled down the mountain walls in the dark of night. The next day the Cathars surrendered en masse, and were told if they renounced their heresy they would be spared. They choose death by fire instead and 200 went to the stake.
The surrounding countryside is littered with mystery. Locations and landmarks bear names like the Devil's Armchair, Cardou (the Heart of God), Valdieu (the Vale or Valley of God). Others places like Bezu and Blanchefort were once were home to Templar castles. Remarkably, the principle landmarks form a pentagram, that Henry Lincoln, the author of Holy Blood, Holy Grail covers in the Key to the Sacred Pattern.