Citadel of Arras
The citadel of Arras is a fortress built between 1668 and 1672 based on a design by Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban to defend the city of Arras in France . It has been classified as a Monument historique since 1920 . Since 2008 it has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage together with other fortresses under the title Fortifications of Vauban .
history
The citadel belongs to the second line of the fortress line called Pré carré against the Spanish Netherlands , which Vauban conceived in the 17th century after the annexation of what is now Département Nord and to which the fixed place Béthune was connected to the west and the fixed place Douai to the east . The fortress, which was never attacked, was referred to as "the beautiful useless" ( la belle inutile ). During the Second World War , 240 members of the Resistance were executed in the citadel by the German occupiers . In 2010, the military use was ended and the citadel came to the community association Communauté urbaine d'Arras .
investment
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The area of the elongated pentagonal citadel, located in the southwest of downtown Arras in the heart of the agglomeration, covers an area of 70 hectares.
Web links
- Chapel of the Citadel of Arras Description as a monument historique in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French text)
Coordinates: 50 ° 16 ′ 57 " N , 2 ° 45 ′ 33" E