Antwerp Citadel


Antwerp Citadel was a pentagonal bastion fort built to defend and dominate the city of Antwerp in the early stages of the Dutch Revolt. It has been described as "doubtlesse the most matchlesse piece of modern Fortification in the World" and as "one of the most studied urban installations of the sixteenth century".

History

The citadel was designed by the Italian engineer Francesco Paciotto and built on the orders of the Duke of Alva. Initial construction was completed in 1572. After the Sack of Antwerp the citizens partially demolished the fortification, but it was reconstructed after the Fall of Antwerp.
The citadel saw action towards the end of the Napoleonic Wars, when it was defended by diehard Bonapartists. The Siege of Antwerp continued for a month after Napoleon's abdication.
After the Belgian Revolution of 1830, Dutch forces remained in control of the citadel until the Siege of Antwerp.
Demolition began in 1874 and was completed in 1881. The site became a new neighbourhood of the city, Zuid, in which the most prominent construction was the new building for the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp.

Governors of the citadel

In Spanish the title of the governor of the citadel was Castellano de Amberes.
In the Sint-Joriskerk there is still a brotherhood called Our Lady of the Citadel.