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All French heritage classified by regions, departments and cities

  2. Patrimoine
  3. Hauts-de-France
  4. Pas-de-Calais
  5. 62000 Arras

  6. Citadelle d'Arras

 Citadelle d'Arras dans le Pas-de-Calais

Patrimoine classé
Patrimoine défensif
Citadelles
Fortification de Vauban

Citadelle d'Arras

    Avenue du Général-de-Gaulle
    62000 Arras
Museums of France
All dungeons, towers, citadels and bastions of France Fortification of Vauban
Photo de Citadelle d'Arras

Timeline

Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1700
1800
1900
2000
1668-1672
Construction by Vauban
1715
Underground prison
1941-1944
Resistant rockets
1949
Inauguration of the Mur des shootées
2008
UNESCO classification
2010
Demilitarization
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Key figures

Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban - Military engineer Manufacturer of the citadel.
Julien Hapiot - Communist Resistant Rocketed in 1943, figure of the mine strike.
Alfred Touny - Resistant Rocketed in April 1944.
Auguste Lecoeur - Trade unionist CGT Controversy speech in 1949.
Édouard Herriot - Politician Hue at the inauguration of 1949.
Guy Mollet - Socialist politician Criticism of the 1949 speech.

Origin and history

The citadel of Arras, designed by military engineer Vauban between 1668 and 1672, was designed to strengthen the city's defence as part of its pre-square, a strategic line against invasions. Five locations were considered before choosing a right angle between the city and the city, close to the gates of Amiens and Hagerue. Nicknamed "the beautiful useless" because never attacked, it was criticized for its lack of servitude with Arras, its walls destroyed late and its unformed esplanade. As early as 1715, his undergrounds were used as a prison, and in 1830 his delabated temple was transformed into a store after the constitutional charter.

During the Second World War, the citadel became a tragic place: between August 1941 and July 1944, 218 resistors of 9 nationalities (including French, Belgian or Soviet, aged 16 to 69) were shot in its ditches. Their names are engraved on the Wall of the Shots, inaugurated in 1949 after debates on the display of their political affiliation, notably communist. A commemorative plaque recalls their sacrifice, while the inauguration was marked by tensions, reflecting the political divisions of the time, between homage to the victims and denunciation of German rearmament.

Ranked a historic monument in 1920 and 1929, and in 2012 as a whole, the citadel was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008 as one of the fortifications of Vauban. Demilitarized in 2010, it is now managed by the urban community of Arras and hosts leisure, housing and economic hubs. It also houses the Main Square Festival and served as a decor for the film La Liste de mes envies (2014), mixing heritage and modernity.

Its history reflects both its initial military role, its status as a memory of the Resistance, and its contemporary conversion into a cultural and urban space. The debates around its memorial wall illustrate the memorial and political issues related to the Second World War, while its preservation bears witness to Vauban's architectural heritage.

Future

It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

External links

Page Wikipedia