The village of Cubières sur Cinoble is located at the east end of the Canton of Couiza, at the crossing former roads gathering Rennes les bains and Tuchan . It is nestled between the valley of Agly's river and the famous Pic of Bugarach ( highest point of the Corbières 1231 m), and the Gorges of Galamus, and the Castles of Pays Cathare ( Puylaurens, Peyrepertuse et Quéribus)

This country is particularly preserved nature area, with original & wild landscape and overall an heritage of different historical period  .

as most of the rural villages still a little "antiquated", Cubieres can transport  spontaneously  at the time of our grandfather and it is the natural stage set for the village festival called " Fête d'Antan"  ( demonstration of old occupation in former days) organised each year at the end of July .

its atmosphere, sweet and nice to live, and its  authentic disposition give it all its fetching aspect.

dolmens

an intriguing church axed south/North?

a defensive house ( 17th century)

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Short   history

The place of Cubieres,  (Cupiera < ?latin cupa = coupe), basin where 3 rivers  le Cinoble, l'Embourdier et le Saouzé, rejoin the Agly's river, has been probably an  attractive and natural area installation for the primitive human being .

most of fossils, different caves around, its  Dolmens, vestiges of Gallic-roman and medieval building   can attest that  successive civilisations  have been there and we can find several sign of them  walking around .

what  only we know about the history of Cubières  come for the essential from archives of the abbey of 9th century (we have lost all information of it after 1639) or from the inquisition questioning which reveal some part of medieval story of the last perfect cathare, BELIBASTE , born in 1280 in Cubieres.

It wasn't exiting lord's castle in Cubières but a large defensive house looking like a manor house and called " the castle" ,it is an example of these gentleman's houses, defended by strong doors, windows with protection and narrow  openings for shooting, this kind of house appears in 16th century and was called " stronghold". This of Cubieres seems to be built after the destruction of the abbey in the middle of 17th century.

The  style of this stronghold, the disappearance of the abbey, burning signs of destruction, the main axis south/north of the rebuilt church, could be the indication of protestant  occupation of the village around 16th or 17th century

The village was built on the old place of an Abbey and his present Name was appeared around 1781.its inhabitants are called ' cubiérols & cubiéroles'

The village counted near than 300 inhabitants during 19thcentury, today they are 73 . ( 64 in 1999)

the limits of the village are large  ( about 1500 ha) and include hamlet like the  Baillessats (?< vails= de la vallée, ou < valat = fossé)  with nearly 30 persons living there; some isolated housing indicate that probably farm were built there which would have prosperous activities around the abbey using the  large grazing land ( wooden place today). 

The connection roads were essentially on the axe east/west, using the old road gethering Tuchan to Peyrolles crossing cubieres & Rennes les Bains.

To the north the only way to Fourtou  is now a hiking track

To the south it was a very narrow mule track through the Gorges of Galamus , transformed in circulation  way  only at the end of the 19th century to join St Paul de Fenouillet.

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