Citadel Hill (Fort George)

Halifax Citadel
Fort George (1796–1828)
Aerial view of Citadel Hill
Location	Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Coordinates	44°38′51″N 63°34′49″W / 44.64750°N 63.58028°W / 44.64750; -63.58028
Built	1749 (first Citadel) 1828–56 (present Citadel)
National Historic Site of Canada
Official name	Halifax Citadel National Historic Site of Canada
Designated	29 May 1935

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Citadel Hill is a hill that is a National Historic Site in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Four fortifications have been constructed on Citadel Hill since the city was founded by the English in 1749, and were referred to as Fort George—but only the third fort (built between 1794 and 1800) was officially named Fort George. According to General Orders of October 20, 1798, it was named after King George III. The first two and the fourth and current fort, were officially called the Halifax Citadel. The last is a concrete star fort.

The Citadel is the fortified summit of Citadel Hill. The hill was first fortified in 1749, the year that Edward Cornwallis oversaw the development of the town of Halifax. Those fortifications were successively rebuilt to defend the town from various enemies. Construction and leveling have lowered the summit by ten to twelve metres. While never attacked, the Citadel was long the keystone to defence of the strategically important Halifax Harbour and its Royal Navy Dockyard.

Today, Parks Canada operates the site as the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site of Canada. It has restored the fort to its appearance when built in the Victorian era.^[1]