The Citadelle is a tremendous statement about Haiti. It is a massive fort, with 375 cannons, built atop a mountain, by a Haitian King, Henri Cristophe. The Citadelle Laferriere fortress and the Sans Souci palace make up Haiti's World Heritage Site Henri Cristophe's thinking was very French in creating something so much like the Maginot Line. He was trying to protect his newly-independent nation from being recaptured by Napolean. When Haiti was a colony, forty-percent of the French Gross National Product came from the nearby agricultural lowlands. Napolean planned to retake Haiti to re-gain the agricultural income, and then use Haiti as a launch point to send his troops on to America and re-take the Louisiana Purchase. The original Citadelle would be a glimpse of what Haiti could have become if it stayed on the path set by the French. Somewhere the path veered and the story of the Citadelle mirrors Haiti’s fortunes. Locals loot it periodically and foreign organizations restore it periodically, but today it is so far gone that I was the only tourist registered by noon. The Citadelle gift shop was out of the dingy, under-sized picture books they used to sell for an outrageous $50. First rule of business, if something sells, re-order it. The only book they had for sale was a book of Japanese haikus written about the Citadelle. My guess is the demand for haikus is so small they never have to re-order. The walk up the mountain was the best part for me. From the town below, it is about a 2,500-foot climb. Afterwards it felt like running a half-marathon. The locals wanted to rent me a horse for $15. They acted like a foreigner would die if he tried walking the whole way. At least the horse was happy I walked.
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