The Citadelle Laferrière (Haitian Creole: Sitadèl-Laferyè), commonly known as La Citadelle (English: "The Citadel"), is a large early-19th-century fortress located in Milot in Nord, Haiti. It is situated on the Bonnet à l'Evêque mountaintop located approximately 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) uphill from the town of Milot, 27 kilometres (17 mi) south of the city of Cap-Haïtien, and 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) southwest of the Three Bays Protected Area.
Independence and defensive planning
The Citadelle was commissioned in 1805 by Henri Christophe and completed in 1820. The fortress was built as part of a system of fortifications designed to thwart potential foreign invaders, especially from France. Haiti had been under French rule until 1803, when the Haitians defeated the French. The fortress proved needless, for Napoleon, occupied with his European campaigns, never tried to regain Haiti.
A fortress in the mountains
The colossal physical dimensions of the fortress have made it a Haitian national symbol, featured on currency, stamps, and tourist-ministry posters. The fortress walls rise 40 metres (130 ft) from the mountaintop and the entire complex, including cannonball stocks but excluding the surrounding grounds, covers an area of 10,000 square metres (110,000 sq ft). Workers laid the large foundation stones of the fortress directly into the stone of the mountaintop, using a mortar mixture that included quicklime, molasses, the blood of local cows and goats, and cows' hooves that were cooked to a glue and added to the mix to give the mortar added strength and bonding power.
Large cisterns and storehouses in the fortress's interior were designed to store enough food and water for 5,000 defenders for up to one year. The fortress included palace quarters for the king and his family, in the event that they needed to take refuge within its walls. Other facilities included dungeons, bathing quarters, and bakery ovens. Also visible is the tomb of Christophe's brother-in-law, killed when the gunpowder room he was in exploded. The Citadelle's appearance from the trail leading up to its base has been likened to the prow of a great stone ship, jutting out from the mountainside. The structure is angular and assumes different angular forms based on the viewer's orientation.
Some of the angles on the Citadelle were intentionally put there by Christophe to deflect cannonballs. The Epaulette is an example of a feature that incorporates such angles. Though most of the fortress has no roof as such, with the interior top being a latticework of stone walkways, some slanted portions are adorned with bright red tiles. The fortress has been repaired and refurbished several times since its construction, including in the 1980s with help from UNESCO and the World Monuments Fund, though little of it has been replaced and its design remains the same.
Defensive strategy and the king's fate
The Haitians outfitted the fortress with 365 cannons of varying size, assembled from munitions left behind by European forces that formerly occupied the island. The enormous stockpiles of cannonballs still sit in pyramidal stacks at the base of the fortress walls. Since its construction, the fortress has withstood numerous earthquakes, though a French attack never came. The fortress was eventually abandoned. In 1982, the Citadelle became part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site together with the Palace of Sans Souci and the buildings at Ramiers. The three monuments commemorate the early years of Haitian independence.