The best running trails around Gruissan

Gruissan has another remarkable peculiarity: its old village is built in a 'circulade', with houses and alleys winding around the rock and its ancient fortress. This organization, which appeared in the Middle Ages in Languedoc, responded in particular to defensive imperatives. An anecdote accompanies the famous Tour Barberousse: contrary to what its name might suggest, the famous Ottoman corsair Khayr ad-Dîn Barbarossa never came to Gruissan. The tower, built in the 13th century, predates him by several centuries. Its name would rather be associated with a local character Gaspard Dot, a corsair active in the Gulf of Lion at the end of the 16th century, known as 'Barbe Roussette' or 'Barberousse'.

Dominating the old village, the Tour Barberousse is the main vestige of the former fortified castle of Gruissan. A first fortification is attested as early as 1084, but the current tower belongs to the development of the castle in the 13th century: a document from 1247 mentions the construction of a tower near the entrance, which would be the one preserved today. The name "Barberousse" is, however, more recent and its origin remains uncertain. One should not see in it the trace of a passage of the famous Ottoman corsair Khayr ad-Dîn Barberousse, who died in 1546, long after the construction of the tower. The Heritage Inventory rather suggests a possible confusion with Gaspard Dot, known as "Barbe Roussette" or "Barberousse", a corsair active in the Gulf of Lion at the end of the 16th century.

With an average depth of only 55 cm, the Étang de Gruissan is more of a lagoon than a true "lake". Its brackish waters depend on exchanges between the sea, canals, and watershed, while winds can significantly alter its functioning. It is part of the six lagoons of the Narbonne complex, protected notably for the richness of their wetlands and their importance for birds. A few kilometers away, the remains of Île Saint-Martin recall another era: between the 2nd century BC and Roman antiquity, these lagoons were part of Narbonne's vast port system.

Here, we reach the spot where the Canal Sainte-Marie flows into the Gruissan pond. The waters of the canal then mix with those of the lagoon, which have a higher salinity due to the exchange with the sea. On the other side of the pond, the Barberousse Tower reveals itself on its limestone promontory. Built between 1245 and 1247 by the Archbishop of Narbonne, Guillaume de Broa, this tower is the main remnant of the medieval castle that guarded the maritime access to the Narbonne area.

Here, the path runs along the Sainte-Marie canal and the Gruissan pond. This narrow strip of land offers a remarkable immersion in the lagoon environment. In the distance, the Barberousse Tower stands out on its limestone promontory.

From this narrow strip of land, the Gruissan lagoon landscape reads almost like a succession of parallel bands: the wetlands and secondary ponds to the south, the path on which we are, the Sainte-Marie canal, then the Gruissan pond to the north. The Sainte-Marie canal bears witness to the old hydraulic development of this coastal plain. Integrated into a network of canals intended to manage its waters, it notably contributed to the draining of the old salt pond. Today, it contributes to the freshwater supply of the Gruissan pond and thus participates in the salinity variations of the lagoon.

It's really special to walk here.

"Lord, it's time. The summer was very long. Cast your shadow on the sundials, and let the winds loose in the fields. Command the last fruits to be full; give them two more southerly days, push them toward perfection, and chase the last sweetness into the heavy wine." (Rainer Maria Rilke, 1875–1926)