Rosemary Festival of Dourgne

The Rosemary Festival: 700 years of living history in Dourgne

Some traditions are so old they seem to have always existed. The Rosemary Festival of Dourgne is one of them. Organized every year for over 700 years, it is one of the oldest and most continuously practiced popular events in France. In 2025, the village celebrated its 724th edition.

Origins linked to the Albigensian Crusade

The history of the Rosemary Festival dates back to the heart of the medieval wars that ravaged Languedoc. In 1212, during the crusade against the Albigensians (Cathars), the troops of Simon de Montfort devastated the village of Dourgne, then a fortified castrum on the heights of the Montagne Noire. The inhabitants found themselves homeless.

Nearly a century later, in 1301, the inhabitants of Dourgne obtained permission from Philip IV the Fair to rebuild their village in the plain, away from the heights. Legend has it that the king granted this favor after being touched by the delegation sent by the inhabitants: the most beautiful young girls and young men of the village, all carrying rosemary branches. Since then, Dourgne has commemorated this founding event every year.

The symbolism of rosemary

In Languedoc, rosemary was more than just an aromatic plant. It symbolized new love and youth, linked to spring and the awakening of nature. "Offering rosemary was equivalent to offering one's heart, or at least revealing one's feelings." Young people used to ritually steal it from gardens the night before the celebration, which gave it an additional value of festive transgression and a rite of passage for lovers.

Festival traditions

The Rosemary Festival takes place every year in February, around the Sunday of Septuagesima (or Sexagesima depending on the year), on the village's Place des Promenades. The day is marked by living traditions:

• Parade in medieval costumes — inhabitants, children, and elected officials don period attire to parade through the village streets in a solemn procession
• Distribution of rosemary — fresh rosemary bouquets are distributed to visitors and carried during the parade, perpetuating the original gesture
• Curbelets — making and tasting these small, crispy rolled waffles, a traditional sweet specialty prepared for the festival and distributed on the Place des Promenades
• Candy catapult — a medieval nod to the younger ones, in the tradition of harmless projectiles thrown during popular festivals
• Fire show — the Compagnie du Goupil entertains the Place des Promenades with fiery juggling and luminous parades
• Traditional dances — the Compagnons du Chêne Ardent liven up the festivities with Occitan dances and popular round dances
• Musical entertainment — medieval and Occitan music sets the rhythm of the day in the streets and squares
• Events at the abbeys — children's dances and shows at the abbeys of En Calcat and Sainte-Scholastique, which enrich the day with a spiritual dimension

A timeless village at the foot of the Montagne Noire

Dourgne is a peaceful town in the Tarn, nestled at the foot of the Montagne Noire, on the edge of the Haut-Languedoc Regional Natural Park. Its narrow streets, Romanesque church, and two Benedictine abbeys — the abbey of En Calcat for the monks and the abbey of Sainte-Scholastique for the nuns — give it a serene and authentic atmosphere. The Rosemary Festival finds a perfect setting here, between medieval memory and living spirituality.

A festival inscribed in collective memory

More than seven centuries of continuity is not just a record; it is proof that some communities keep their collective memory alive with remarkable tenacity and affection. The Rosemary Festival is a common good, passed down from generation to generation, which unites the inhabitants of Dourgne around the same history every winter.