Huy Citadel

Huy Citadel, locally known as Citadelle de Huy, lies above the town of the same name, in the province of Liège in the Wallonia region in Belgium. It is one of the 4 Meuse Citadels: Dinant, Huy, Liège, and Namur.

The Huy Citadel was built on the site of an earlier medieval castle named "Li Tchestia," first mentioned in the 9th century. That castle was besieged and captured by the Dutch in 1525, but was quickly retaken by the Prince-Bishop of Liège with Spanish support. The castle was completely dismantled in 1715 as a result of the Barrier Treaty, which established a buffer zone between the Dutch Republic and the Kingdom of France. The strategic rocky outcrop next to a bend in the Meuse River then remained unoccupied for a century.

The current citadel was constructed between 1818 and 1823 for the United Kingdom of the Netherlands by Lieutenant Colonel H. Kamerlingh. It was a formidable fortress that housed 600 soldiers. After the Belgian Revolution in 1831, it became Belgian property. Belgium used the Huy Citadel to detain political prisoners until 1876.

In 1914, the Belgian government incorporated the citadel into a defensive system along the Meuse River, but it fell into German hands. The Germans also used it as a prison. After World War I, it was used to hold Russian prisoners and, for a brief period, as a military school. From 1932 onward, it was demilitarized and turned into a tourist site.

However, due to the threat of another war, it was re-garrisoned in 1937. German forces captured the citadel in 1940 and once again used it as a prison. Until 1944, it held thousands of prisoners who were transported to concentration camps, mainly Neuengamme.

After World War II, Huy Citadel was repurposed for tourism and, since 1992, houses a museum dedicated to World War II victims.

Today, Huy Citadel is open for visits for a fee. Visitors can reach it via a very long staircase from the riverside. Until 2012, a cable car from the other side of the river was available, but it was discontinued after a helicopter accident severed one of its cables, which was never repaired. An impressive fortress.

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