Citadel of Lille, Lille, France - SpottingHistory.com

The Citadel of Lille is a pentagonal citadel built between 1667-1670. It is one of the most notable citadels designed by Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, the famous military engineer. It is remarkable for its size, the quality of the architecture, and the state of preservation today.

This 'Queen of Citadels' is the matrix of most citadels designed by Vauban. Established on the border of Flanders, it was part of a double-line of fortified towns between Gravelines, Dunkirk and Maubeuge-Rocroi. It delineated the famous Pré Carré ('square field') conceived by Vauban comprising 28 fortified cities. From Lille, Vauban supervised the construction of the many citadels and canals of the North, which controlled the border between France and Belgium.

Lille was taken from Spain by French troops in August 1667, and Louis XIV immediately ordered the construction of a fortress. Louis Nicolas de Clerville and Vauban proposed plans. Vauban are those which were chosen by the King. Work was started in 1668 under the direction of Lille"s master mason Simon Vollant. In 1671, the citadel was operational while Vauban continued to shape the city by constructing, a few steps away, a new neighborhood around the Rue Royale. The design of the citadel follows a simple but very effective idea: not one of its walls can be approached by the enemy without that being under fire from a nearby wall.

The citadel was constructed to the west of the city on marshland at the junction of the rivers Deûle and Bucquet. This allowed the use of swamp water and mud as a natural defense to make conditions more difficult for any possible enemy besieging the citadel. Through a system of locks and water gates, 1,700 hectares around the citadel could be flooded to a depth of 55 cm. A wide esplanade interrupted the plans, connecting the fort to the city. In 1750, a canal along the esplanade was drilled according to the plans drawn up by Vauban.

References:

Wikipedia

Castles and fortifications in France

User Reviews

Daniel Mocarski (3 years ago)
Honesty nothing special - just walls, runners and dog walkers around.

Chean Yong (4 years ago)
The citadel itself is ok. The park is nice for a jog not really a walk as a loop around the citadel is at least 2 km with monotonous landscaping. There was also a cheesy funfair whilst i was there and lots of drunk but friendly people at night. Feels like an urban park/wooded area that's been through phases of neglect and care.

木子 (4 years ago)
Green space with tracks. Lots of people running, jogging and walking. Nothing special as the citadel is closed. The funfair might be interesting for kids though.

Martin Smith (4 years ago)
The citadel fortifications are impressive and the park is a great place to take a walk. I wish it was open for tours though, I'd really like to see inside.

Fernando Jiménez Gallardo (5 years ago)
Nice place to have a walk around. A little paradise of nature and history in Lille. Unfortunately it wasn't possible for me and my friends to get inside of the Citadel

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Trinity Sergius Lavra

The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius is a world famous spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church and a popular site of pilgrimage and tourism. It is the most important working Russian monastery and a residence of the Patriarch. This religious and military complex represents an epitome of the growth of Russian architecture and contains some of that architecture’s finest expressions. It exerted a profound influence on architecture in Russia and other parts of Eastern Europe.

The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, was founded in 1337 by the monk Sergius of Radonezh. Sergius achieved great prestige as the spiritual adviser of Dmitri Donskoi, Great Prince of Moscow, who received his blessing to the battle of Kulikov of 1380. The monastery started as a little wooden church on Makovets Hill, and then developed and grew stronger through the ages.

Over the centuries a unique ensemble of more than 50 buildings and constructions of different dates were established. The whole complex was erected according to the architectural concept of the main church, the Trinity Cathedral (1422), where the relics of St. Sergius may be seen.

In 1476 Pskovian masters built a brick belfry east of the cathedral dedicated to the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles. The church combines unique features of early Muscovite and Pskovian architecture. A remarkable feature of this church is a bell tower under its dome without internal interconnection between the belfry and the cathedral itself.

The Cathedral of the Assumption, echoing the Cathedral of the Assumption in the Moscow Kremlin, was erected between 1559 and 1585. The frescoes of the Assumption Cathedral were painted in 1684. At the north-western corner of the Cathedral, on the site of the western porch, in 1780 a vault containing burials of Tsar Boris Godunov and his family was built.

In the 16th century the monastery was surrounded by 6 meters high and 3,5 meters thick defensive walls, which proved their worth during the 16-month siege by Polish-Lithuanian invaders during the Time of Trouble. They were later strengthened and expanded.

After the Upheaval of the 17th century a large-scale building programme was launched. At this time new buildings were erected in the north-western part of the monastery, including infirmaries topped with a tented church dedicated to Saints Zosima and Sawatiy of Solovki (1635-1637). Few such churches are still preserved, so this tented church with a unique tiled roof is an important contribution to the Lavra.

In the late 17th century a number of new buildings in Naryshkin (Moscow) Baroque style were added to the monastery.

Following a devastating fire in 1746, when most of the wooden buildings and structures were destroyed, a major reconstruction campaign was launched, during which the appearance of many of the buildings was changed to a more monumental style. At this time one of the tallest Russian belfries (88 meters high) was built.

In the late 18th century, when many church lands were secularized, the chaotic planning of the settlements and suburbs around the monastery was replaced by a regular layout of the streets and quarters. The town of Sergiev Posad was surrounded by traditional ramparts and walls. In the vicinity of the monastery a number of buildings belonging to it were erected: a stable yard, hotels, a hospice, a poorhouse, as well as guest and merchant houses. Major highways leading to the monastery were straightened and marked by establishing entry squares, the overall urban development being oriented towards the centrepiece - the Ensemble of the Trinity Sergius Lavra.

In 1993, the Trinity Lavra was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

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