Did some major updating on the photos page.

- Added photos to the Rennes-le-Château section
- Added photos to the Rennes-les-Bains sections
- Added a dedicated section to old postcards from Rennes-les-Bains, most I got from Marcus Williamson, who is an expert on the region’s history and, runs an art gallery in the village. Thanks Marcus!
- Added an Alet-les-Bains section
- Added a Montazels section
- Added a Notre Dame-de-Marceille section
- Added a Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet section
- Added a Niort-de-Sault section

Nicolas Pavillon (1597-1677)

It was during the reign of Pavillon as bishop of Alet-les-Bains that allegedly the Shepherd Paris fell into a hole while chasing a sheep and found gold. It is in this story that the mystery of Rennes-le-Château finds his historical roots. According to French researcher and author Franck Daffos, the shepherd discovered the hiding place of the material and spiritual treasure of Jerusalem. What followed was a fierce legal battle between, Blaise d’Hautpoul on whose land the gold had been discovered, King Louis VIX, the brothers Nicolas and François Fouquet and Pavillon. According to some researchers it was no coincidence Pavillon was sent to the Languedoc. It is claimed that he was sent there with the specific purpose to recover the treasures and relics of Jerusalem by the secret society Compagnie du Saint Sacrament. If you want to understand the mystery of Rennes-le-Château and, what the stakes could really be, you should start investigating this corner of French history.

Pavillon,, a follower of Saint Vincent de Paul,, made history as, the French icon of Jansenism. Some time after he had been sent to Alet by Richelieu to become the new bishop he converted to Jansenism and became a fierce advocate of orthodox catholicism. Jansenism took a stand against, France portraying itself as the ‘most christian nation’, while at the same time allying with the protestant Netherlands and Germany for the sole purpose of bringing down the Austrian House of Habsburg. This was no small thing. By choosing Jansenism the bishop not only allienated himself from his King and Country but also from pope Alexander VII.

According to Daffos, Pavillon had much of the treasure hidden in a specially made vault below the sanctuary of Notre-Dame de Marceille in Limoux. It was this money that was used to build Saunière’s estate and to code and record the nature and location of what has become known as the treasure of Rennes-le-Château.

The whole story is explained (in French) by Franck Daffos in this video I made for Radio Rennessence:

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Salza is a tiny village, some 35 kilometres from Rennes-le-Château. It litterally lies at the end of a narrow mountain road. There are perhaps 10 houses and a small church. The interesting thing about the church is that it has an upside-down wooden pentacle over the front porch. Inside the church looks just like many of the other old chapels in the area. It makes one wonder what the people who built this church wanted to say.

Is it perhaps a reference to any sacred geometry in the surrounding landscape or is there another perhaps more mundane meaning? If anyone has an idea, I’d be very interested to hear it so don’t hesitate to post your comments.

,©2007-2009 rlcresearch.com, all rights reserved

Early 2000, Dutch bestselling author and researcher Klaas van Urk discovered a narrow shaft hidden high on Mount Cardou. He had been led to the location using, the Rennes-le-Château, parchments, the Coumesourde stone and the enigmatic text of La Serpent Rouge. Some 15 metres down in the shaft, that is located on a difficult location high on Mount Cardou, he discovered an engraved Templar emblem, an eight-pointed star.

Van Urk (1958) has so far been known to the public only in the Netherlands and Belgium as well as in a small but exquisite, predominantly French circle of long time researchers. His book Search for the Holy Grail and the Ark of the Covenant was a bestseller in the Netherlands. In his 10-year quest for the Ark of the Covenant he followed the trail of its whereabouts across Israel, Ethiopia and the South of France. Like no other, he knitted all the known and lesser known facts together in a compelling and believable account of what really happened to the Ark and its contents.

In February 2008, a combined team of Belgian and Dutch researchers returned to Mount Cardou to, let an infrared camera down the shaft on a 100 metres long rope. Objective was to see how deep the shaft is and where it ends. You can now see the Templar engraving for yourself.

The discovery of the shaft and the rest of Klaas’ adventures in search of the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail were discussed in English in the interview he gave to Radio Rennessence in July 2007 and in his (Dutch) book Search of the Holy Grail and the Ark of the Covenant. Klaas is preparing a much awaited English translation of his book and is preparing a second one.

,©2007-2009 rlcresearch.com, all rights reserved

Les Roches Tremblantes (Trembling Rocks), sometimes called Dancing Rocks are a prominent landmark around Rennes-les-Bains. Actually, they were until two of them were destroyed by a lunatic vandal. For centuries these stones stood swinging in the wind. Abbé Henri Boudet‘s brother Edmond drew a picture of them for his enigmatic book La Vraie Langue Celtique et le Cromleck de Rennes-les Bains (the True Celtic Language and the Cromleck of Rennes-les- Bains).

It is with sadness in my heart that I learnt of the destruction of this historic landmark on the Pla de la Côte in Rennes-les-Bains. This reeks like yet another mindless crime in the name of treasure hunting. Needless to say, nothing was found beneath the rock but stone and sand.

There is no greater treasure in Rennes-les-Bains than its historical heritage. We need to cherish and protect it for our children and future generations.

Les Roches Tremblantes in 2006

Les Roches Tremblantes in February 2008

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,©2007-2009 rlcresearch.com, all rights reserved