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Origin and history

The citadel of Strasbourg was built between 1681 and 1685 after the annexation of the city by the Kingdom of France, in a strategic context of control of the Rhine and Lower Alsace. Designed by Vauban, it is part of a regular pentagon with five bastions and a first line of defence reinforced by half moons, horned structures and ice. More than 3,000 workers participated in its construction, while a canal, the Bruche canal, was dug to power the construction site. The citadel included barracks, an arsenal, a church (Saint-Louis), and powder shops, reflecting its defensive and logistical role.

The citadel was separated from Strasbourg by an esplanade, forcing any assailant to attack in the open, and connected to the city by two walls of voluntarily weakened communication on the citadel side to prevent them from serving the enemy. His outer defences included glasses, dreads and a double glaze on the eastern forehead, facing Kehl. Two main gates allowed access: one towards the city, the other towards the Rhine, around which today the Citadel Park is organized.

During the Franco-German war of 1870, the citadel sustained extensive damage during the siege of Strasbourg, partially destroyed by the German bombings of August and September. After 1870, some of its remains were preserved despite urbanization, with rankings as historical monuments in 1922 and 1932. Since the 1960s, the site has been set up as a public park, keeping the traces of its original fortifications, while a plaque pays tribute to the 3rd Regiment of Algerian Shooters for its defence of Strasbourg in 1945.

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