Citadel of La Ferrière

The fortress on the mountain Chaine Bonnet l'Eveque

The fortress from the helicopter

Memorial plaque in the courtyard

The Citadelle Laferrière is a fortress on Haiti that the 1982 UNESCO - World Heritage Site was appointed.

history

At the beginning of the 19th century , Haiti was still under the colonial power of France . There was a slave revolt that broke out in 1791 and developed more and more into a war `` everyone against everyone '', in which the French loyal to the king, French republicans, Africans (slaves), as well as the intervening English and Spanish fought each other . The slaves were ultimately able to win the war, and they were also able to defeat another army of Napoleon. In 1804, Saint-Domingue declared its independence from France under the name Haiti. Since the French threatened to return after the defeat and to place Haiti under their colonial power again, the then General Henri Christophe ordered a fortress to be built in 1805, which was to protect the population from enemy attacks in the future. The citadel took 15 years to build. By the year of completion in 1820, around 20,000 workers were employed.

However, since the French stopped attacking, the fortress never had to be used seriously. It has been well preserved to this day and even defied the forces of nature such as earthquakes and storms.

construction

The fortress is located on the 950 m high Chaine Bonnet l'Eveque mountain .

The walls are up to 43 meters high and up to 4 meters thick. In the case of an emergency, the approximately 10,000 m² citadel could accommodate up to 15,000 people. Originally there were around 600 cannons of various sizes, but today only 365 remain. These were taken from the French in the slave war and posted in the new fortress. In addition, there are 45,000 cannon balls, which are piled up in the shape of a pyramid on the fortress walls. On the roof, which was rather unusual for a fortress, there are large cisterns that should supply the system with rainwater.

The fort's storehouses provide enough food and water to support 5,000 defenders for a year in the event of a siege. The royal quarters was an additionally protected palace to which the royal family could withdraw. Other parts of the building were bathrooms, dungeons and ovens.

The fortress was also used for defense as a vantage point, as you can see all of the nearby valleys from there. From the roof you can observe both the northern Cap-Haïtien with the Atlantic and, on a clear day, the east coast of Cuba , 140 km away .

Despite the enormous size and the strong armament of the citadel, it was only part of several fortifications, including Fort Jacques and Fort Alexandre . Together they formed Haiti's defense system.

After the death of King Henri I, who was not very popular with the people, he was brought to the fortress by loyal supporters, where he was covered with quicklime and buried in the courtyard so that the body could not be desecrated.

tourism

Ascent to the fortress on horseback

The citadel is one of the most popular attractions in Haiti. In Milot there are many self-appointed tour guides who offer tourists to take them to the fortress. The route should be covered by horse, since halfway through the path is no longer manageable for off-road vehicles. The interiors as well as the stairs and the roof of the fortress are freely accessible to visitors.

Due to the political situation in Haiti, the number of tourists has decreased significantly in recent years.