Citadelle Laferriere is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Haiti, including the Palace of Sans Souci and Ramiers structures. It’s the largest fortress in the western hemisphere, built to protect Haiti from a possible French invasion. The fortress has over 350 cannons, and its walls are over 130 feet high. It covers an enclosed area of about 108,000 square feet and is equipped with warehouses and cisterns to hold enough food and drink for over 5,000 people for an entire year. It’s a popular historical attraction and has become something of a national icon.
Citadelle Laferriere is a huge fortress on top of a mountain in Haiti. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1982. The site is located a few kilometers from the city of Milot in northern Haiti. The World Heritage Site also includes the Palace of Sans Souci and the Ramiers structures.
Citadelle Laferriere is the largest fortress in the western hemisphere and is a site worth visiting, even if it is a little out of the way. Citadelle Laferriere stands atop Bonnet a L’Eveque, a 3000-foot (900m) mountain, miles off the coast. From this peak, much of Haiti is visible. The city of Cap-Haitien, more than 17 km away, can be seen, as well as the ocean. In fact, it is said that on a clear day, the coast of Cuba, more than 27 miles (90 km) away, can be seen from the Citadelle Laferriere.
During the French Revolution, Haiti experienced a great deal of political and social upheaval. The nation rebelled against its French rulers in the late 18th century. When Napoleon took over, he tried to reconquer the island, ultimately failing. Independence was declared on New Year’s Day the 18th and slavery was abolished, making it the first nation in the Western Hemisphere to abolish the practice.
The threat of the French recapture of the island led to the construction of Citadelle Laferriere, as a place to which the government would withdraw in case of need and to spy on any approaching invasion force. More than 20,000 workers undertook its construction, which took more than a decade. The Citadelle Laferriere was one of several structures built at the time to protect Haiti from a possible French invasion, which also included Fort Alexandre and Fort Jacques. Citadelle Laferriere’s effectiveness was never tested, however, as a French attack never came, and a treaty was in fact signed between France and Haiti in 1825.
The fortress itself is equipped with more than 350 cannons, and copious amounts of cannonballs are stacked in gigantic pyramids around the complex. The walls are more than 130 feet (40 m) high and Citadelle Laferriere covers an enclosed area of about 108,000 square feet (10,000 m2) or about two and a half acres. The foundations of Citadelle Laferriere are set directly into the stone of the mountain, deep beneath the earth.
In the event of an invasion, the theory behind Citadelle Laferriere was that Haitians would burn the surrounding farmland and flee to the citadel for protection. The warehouses and cisterns within the Citadelle Laferriere are built to hold enough food and drink for over 5,000 people for an entire year.
The Citadelle Laferriere is arguably Haiti’s most popular historical attraction and has become something of a national icon. Guides can be hired in the nearby town and mules can also be hired to help with the arduous climb to the top of the mountain. These days, Citadelle Laferriere is also often nearly empty, due to unrest in central Haiti, but the surrounding region and the citadel itself are relatively quiet.
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