Guided tour of the Citadelle Haute de Verdun

Name: Visite guidée de la Citadelle Haute
Start: 2022-09-17T14:00:00+02:00
End: 2022-09-18T17:30:00+02:00
Location: Citadelle Haute

Although the lower citadel, known as the underground citadel, has been open to the public for a long time, the upper part of the citadel has only been accessible to the public since 2009!

17 et 18 septembre 2022Passé

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©Cécile Thouvenin / Tourisme Grand Verdun

Although the lower citadel, known as the underground citadel, has been open to the public for a long time, the upper part of the citadel has only been accessible to the public since 2009!

In this secret place, it is possible to trace the history of the site, from the Middle Ages to the present day.
At the foot of this hill flows the Meuse. The ramparts, which stand around it, known to be the cradle of a thousand-year-old city, seem to want to jealously guard their mysteries. A remarkable military heritage, the Citadel extends over an area of 20 hectares in the immediate vicinity of the heart of Verdun.

À propos du lieu

Citadelle Haute

Place de la Roche, 55100 Verdun

Meuse
Grand Est

The Citadel extends over a nearby immediate 20 hectare area of the heart of Verdun. The high citadel is built from 1567 till 1634, on the site of the old(former) abbey Saint gate(crack). From 1624, the engineers of the king and mathematicians Pierre de Conty d' Argencour, Jacques Aleaume and Claude Chastillon manage construction according to the plans of the military barisien engineer Jean Errard. Four new bastions are done up from 1624 till 1635, under the direction of marshal de Marillac, then governor of the city. During the 4th quarter of the XVIIth century, Vauban improves its defence system. With the conception(design) of the system Séré of Rivers from 1875, it is from now on since the nearby hills which(where) makes the defence of Verdun. The last spectacular arrangements(developments) are made from 1887 till 1894, with the digging of the underground galleries under the authority of the commander(major) Guinot.
Its role of underground city during the World War I, confers on it a national and international prestige which the choice(selection) of the unknown soldier in 1920 will come sit(base) definitely. «Powerful cubbyhole covered with heavy masses of earth(ground), the Citadel of Verdun is more than a barracks, it is one redoubt, it is a point of contact between the Front and the Back. It is there that all successions succeed, it is there that they all leave. It is the station of sorting between War and Peace», wrote Gaston Gras in Douaumont October 24th, 1916\. On February 21st, 1916 at 8 h 15, the first German shells fall on the citadel.
As planned, the top management(general staff) of the place(square) finds refuge in these galleries dug(accentuated) under sixteen metres of rock. From then on, the citadel gets organised as a small underground city in the uninterrupted activity which turns out essential to 2 000 men(people) in transit during the battle of The Citadel extends over a nearby immediate 20 hectare area of the heart of Verdun. The first large-scale constructions date of 1570\. Four new bastions are done up from 1624 till 1635, under the direction of marshal de Marillac, then governor of the city. With the conception(design) of the system Séré of Rivers from 1875, it is from now on since the nearby hills which(where) makes the defence of Verdun. The last spectacular arrangements(developments) are made from 1887 till 1894, with the digging of the underground galleries under the authority of the commander(major) Guinot.
Its role of underground city during the World War I, confers on it a national and international prestige which the choice(selection) of the unknown soldier in 1920 will come sit(base) definitely.