Parc de la Citadelle

The five-sided star shape of the Parc de la Citadelle defines its layout, mirroring the star-shaped fortress at its center. Designed by Vauban under orders from Louis the Fourteenth in the late seventeenth century, the fort served to secure the newly conquered city of Lille against Spanish forces. Construction forced the relocation of thousands of residents to clear space for defensive moats and thick brick walls. It remains a functioning military base, occupied today by the rapid reaction corps of the French Army.