Logo Musée du Patrimoine

All French heritage classified by regions, departments and cities

  2. Patrimoine
  3. Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
  4. Territoire de Belfort
  5. 90000 Belfort

  6. Belfort citadel

 Belfort citadel en Territoire de Belfort

Patrimoine classé
Patrimoine défensif
Citadelles
Territoire

Belfort citadel

    Allée du Souvenir Français
    90000 Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Citadelle de Belfort
Crédit photo : Thomas Bresson - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Moyen Âge central
Bas Moyen Âge
Renaissance
Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1200
1300
…
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
1226
First attestation of the medieval castle
1674
French conquest of Franche-Comté
1687–1703
Works by Vauban
1817–1842
Changes by Haxo
1870–1873
Belfort Headquarters and Resistance
2020
French favorite monument
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Porte Brisach proper, excluding the military dovecoier who overcomes it: classification by order of 23 October 1907, amended by order of 20 August 1913 - Advanced works as delimited on the plane annexed to the decree and comprising : 1 ) advanced bastion B, with its drawbridge door and the drawbridge connecting it to the drawbridge of the Brisach gate ; 2 ) Outside walls and the cover of bastion C ; 3 ) Wall of the rampart and its cover from bastion B to the Brisach gate ; 4 ) Wall of the rampart and its cover from the Brisach gate to the castle. 5 ) Fossés which complete the 17th century defence system : classification by decree of 6 March 1923 - Former milling canal, now covered, following the route indicated on the plan attached to the decree: inscription by order of 13 August 1993 - All the structures constituting the castle and its fortifications, including the three bastioned enclosures, ditches, covered and glazed paths, to the east; front of the Brisach Gate, in full, including 19th century works; Water front, i.e. the wall of the rampart, Tower 27, Tower 41 (except for the 20th century) , Counterguard 28 , the remains of Counterguard 42 and a strip of land corresponding to the grip of the old ditch up to and including the counterscarp and covered road ; work at Horn of Hope; Water front, comprising tower 46 (except for 20th century developments), the remaining parts of the 17th century rampart, the works joining the rampart with the castle cliff and the half moon 49; a strip of land comprising towers 41 and 46, corresponding to the former court of the front of the gate of France (Box BH 1, 41, 43; BI 7-10, 22, 23, 122, 123, 288, 259; BK 93, 94, 276, 339, 344, 345, 351; BI non-cadastre, public domain between plots BI 122 and BK 351): classification by order of 29 April 1997

Key figures

Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban - Military engineer Modernizes the citadel (1687–1703).
Gaspard de Champagne, comte de la Suze - 16th century engineer Creates the bastioned "crown".
François Nicolas Benoît Haxo - General of Engineering Strengthens the citadel (1817–38).
Pierre Philippe Denfert-Rochereau - Colonel and defender Resist during the siege of 1870.
Raymond Adolphe Séré de Rivières - General and Engineer Designs the belt of forts (1970s).
Auguste Bartholdi - Sculptor Author of the *Lion de Belfort* (1880).

Origin and history

The citadel of Belfort is a military fortress built from the seventeenth century on a limestone rocky promontory, in the heart of the Belfort hole, a strategic corridor between the Vosges and Jura mountains. This site, occupied from the Middle Ages by a strong castle attested in 1226, became a key defensive lock between France and Germanic territories. The Bourgeois tower, a medieval vestige, and a large underground transformed by Vauban are the only testimonies of this period.

In the 17th century, Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, as part of his pre-square, modernized the citadel after the French conquest of Franche-Comté (1674). He applied his second theoretical system: two concentric enclosures separating the distant shooting zones (bastions detached) and close (combats in inner enclosures). Vauban also adapts the terrain by moving the Savoury River and creating advanced works such as the Horn of Hope. These works (1687–1703) transformed Belfort into a royal fortress, integrated into a network including Besançon and Neuf-Brisach.

The Napoleonic wars and the Treaty of Paris (1815) put Belfort in the front line of defence after the dismantling of Huningue. General Haxo (1817–38) strengthened the citadel by adding a protected barracks, powder shops, and a camp cut between the forts of Justice and Miotte. It integrates Vauban's works into a continuous enclosure, giving the citadel its present silhouette. Later, Denfert-Rochereau (1870–71) and Séré de Rivières (1970s) completed the device with strong peripherals, forming an iron belt to counter the progress of Prussian artillery.

The citadel, classified as a historical monument in successive waves (1907 to 1997), now houses a museum of history and heritage routes (medieval, underground). His status as a symbol of resistance — celebrated by the Lion of Belfort (Bartholdi, 1880) and the Monument of the Three Seats — earned him the title of "the favorite monument of the French" in 2020. The site also hosts historical reconstructions and commemorations, such as that of the Scout clan Guy de Larigaudie, decorated for his role in the Resistance.

Architecturally, the citadel illustrates the evolution of military techniques: from medieval walls to Vauban bastions, to Haxo Casemates and the forts diverted from Séré de Rivières. His plan combines natural (westward) and artificial elements (grounded, ramparts), while anecdotes, such as the photograph of the smiling shotgun (1944), recall his role in modern conflicts. The Cornwall tank, exhibited in tribute to Lieutenant Martin (liberation of 1944), still bears witness to this.

External links

Page Wikipedia
Page Monumentum