The Citadelle de Lille, built by order of Louis XIV following his conquest of the city, was designed by Sébastien Leprestre, Marquis de Vauban. Construction lasted three years, from 1667 to 1670.
Originally, it was a small town surrounded by five bastions forming a star (a 2,200-meter circumvolution), for which sixty million bricks had to be baked, three million blocks of stone and seventy thousand feet of sandstone extracted from quarries. Established on the border with Flanders, it formed part of a double line of strongholds between Gravelines, Dunkirk and Maubeuge. This was the famous "Pré Carré", designed by Vauban and comprising 28 fortified towns, whose relief plans are on display at the Palais des Beaux-Arts.
The royal gate at the entrance bears a Latin inscription praising the glory of the Sun King.
As the site is under military control, visits to the heart of the Citadelle can only be booked through the Lille Tourist Office.
Originally, it was a small town surrounded by five bastions forming a star (a 2,200-meter circumvolution), for which sixty million bricks had to be baked, three million blocks of stone and seventy thousand feet of sandstone extracted from quarries. Established on the border with Flanders, it formed part of a double line of strongholds between Gravelines, Dunkirk and Maubeuge. This was the famous "Pré Carré", designed by Vauban and comprising 28 fortified towns, whose relief plans are on display at the Palais des Beaux-Arts.
The royal gate at the entrance bears a Latin inscription praising the glory of the Sun King.
As the site is under military control, visits to the heart of the Citadelle can only be booked through the Lille Tourist Office.
