The Citadel of Besançon was designed by Vauban, appointed by Louis XIV in March 1668, with Ambrose Precipiano supervising the first construction. The infobox lists the City of Besançon as client, but the text says the royal government commissioned it. Work continued over thirty years, and by 1711 it was among the strongest fortresses of its period.
The site covers 27 acres (11 hectares) on Mount Saint-Étienne. Limestone walls 50 to 65 feet (15 to 20 m) high rise in three bastions, called the Saint Stephen, Royal and Relief fronts, with brick parapets. The well was cut 433 feet (132 m) through rock, though its water was brackish. Vauban demolished a former cathedral on the site.
UNESCO listed it with Fort Griffon in 2008. German firing squads executed about one hundred resistance fighters here from 1941 to 1944. The city acquired it in 1958. It now holds several museums, a zoo, a restaurant and shops. The article gives no hours.
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