After the successful Haitian uprising against the French, the key leader of the slave rebellion, Henri Christophe began to build a massive military fortification. The Haitians were worried about a possible French invasion, and Citadelle Laferrière was supposed to be the last stronghold defending the independence of the country. It cost 15 years of hard work and thousands of lost lives to build a huge stone structure at an altitude of 900 meters /3,000 ft above sea level. The fort was equipped with hundreds of cannons, which are still there. Many of them bear symbols from the eighteenth-century Europe.
This is the largest fortress in the Americas. Fort has an interesting architectural design. From the path leading to the citadel truly impressive defensive feature is visible. The walls facing the road resemble a prow of a gigantic ship. Built at angles, walls could easily deviate cannonballs. This building is not in a traditional geometric shape like most forts from this period. Each side of the fortress is different. The fort contains water cisterns and storage rooms designed to support a crew of 5,000 soldiers during a siege for an entire year.
In the close proximity to Citadelle Laferrière, then new Haitian monarch built Sans-Souci Palace as his royal residence.
