Arras citadel, Military fortress in Arras, France.

Arras citadel is a pentagon-shaped fortress with five ramparts and bastions built to house hundreds of soldiers. Inside sit powder magazines, barracks, and other military structures arranged within stone walls.

The fortress was built under King Louis XIV as part of France's defense strategy for the north. Architect Vauban designed it between 1668 and 1672 as one of his major fortification projects.

The Mur des Fusillés at the citadel bears 218 plaques, one for each person shot in the ditches between August 1941 and July 1944; the youngest was 16, the oldest 69. The names were funded by public subscription and the wall was inaugurated on 18 September 1949, when the communist affiliation of about 90 of the dead was disputed before being inscribed. A plaque at the entrance asks visitors to keep their memory.

Visitors enter through Boulevard du Général de Gaulle, where guided tours and walking paths around the fortification are available. The best time to visit is during dry weather, as many paths along the ramparts are open to the elements.

The nickname 'la belle inutile' is explained by Charles de Lalleau through the absence of any servitude between Arras and its citadel, and the ramparts were demolished late, so the esplanade was never formed. The gatehouse, the Porte Royale, carries an inscription with the year 1670, when the citadel was inaugurated.