The Citadelle de Belfort, also known as the Citadel of Liberty, is the most imposing of all Vauban's designs. Affixed to the city's rock face, the citadel was built near the Medieval fortress. Geographically, at the time, it was actually located between France and the German Empire. It was Vauban's defensive system, completed by General Haxo, that allowed the soldiers within the edifice to hold off a 103-day siege in 1870. A monumental sculpture of a Lion, signed Auguste Bartholdi, commemorates the city's resistance during the famed siege.
Book and prepare your itinerary