Citadel Hill

Four forts

Four forts have stood on the hill since Halifax was founded in 1749

Only the third fort, built between 1794 and 1800, was officially named Fort George, after King George III. The others were called the Halifax Citadel. Construction and leveling have lowered the summit by ten to twelve metres.

The third fort

Jamaican Maroons built one bastion of the third fort

Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, inspired much of the third citadel, designed in 1794 and completed by 1800. It had four bastions around a central barracks and magazine. One bastion was constructed by Jamaican Maroons, transported from the Caribbean.

The clock

Prince Edward ordered the Town Clock, which still keeps time

Prince Edward commissioned the Halifax Town Clock in 1800, before he returned to England. It opened on 20 October 1803 on the east slope of Citadel Hill and keeps time for the community in the 21st century.

The star fort

The present star-shaped fort took 28 years to build

Construction began in 1828, and the star-shaped fort was not completed until 1856. It was designed to repel an attack by land or water by United States forces, and inspired by the designs of Vauban. Rifled guns made it obsolete in the 1860s.

28years of construction for the present fort

Never attacked

The Citadel was never attacked but held the defences' explosives

The British Army garrisoned the hill until 1906, and the Canadian Army afterward. The Citadel's two large ammunition magazines served as the central explosive store for Halifax defences. It was never attacked.