After taking Lille, Louis XIV built a citadel, entrusting the plans to Vauban, while 2,000 men were given shovels and pickaxes. It is made up of five bastions and five semi-circular strongholds. The Royal Gate leads to Place d'Armes, surrounded by sandstone, brick and stone buildings by Simon Volland, in classic Lille style. The Monument aux Fusillés by Felix Desruelles, commemorates Lille's patriots executed here in 1915.