Citadel

The city's stronghold, the Citadel dominates the Casbah and the port and was, from the 16th century, the guarantor of peace and a safe haven in times of war. Although there was a Berber stronghold here from early times, the present massive structure was begun in 1516 by Aroudj, the brother of Kheireddin Barbarossa. With its walls lined with batteries of canon, 188m above sea level, it dominated the port, the lower town and the surrounding countryside.

Canons were placed facing inland as well as out to sea, for the ruler of Algiers was never free of threats from Berber and Bedouin tribes. The citadel was little more than military barracks until 1816, when the British bombardment of Algiers persuaded the ruler, Dey Ali, to move up from his palace by the port. It took 76 mules to move his gold and silver up with him. It was here, in 1830, that Dey Hussein slapped the French consul and gave France a pretext for invasion.