The small town of Mirepoix in the Ariège department was originally built on the left bank of the Hers river west of the current city. Around 1000 AD, this first version of the locality was destroyed by the Goths, and Mirepoix was later rebuilt on the right bank of the river only to be largely destroyed by a flood. The current version of the city was finally rebuilt on the left bank of the Hers. Saint-Maurice Cathedral, Mirepoix's original church, was inaugurated in 1298. It later underwent several renovations until the last one, orchestrated by Viollet-le-Duc and Prosper Mérimée in 1860.