Mainz Citadel

Jakobsberg Hill, where the citadel stands, was home to a Benedictine monastery as early as 1050. Between 1620 and 1629, under the direction of Cathedral Capitular Adolph von Waldenburg, the “Schweickhardtsburg” was constructed. This pentagonal defensive structure closed a strategic gap in the city's defenses. Around 1655, Elector Johann Philipp von Schönborn initiated the expansion of the city's fortifications in the French style. In the course of this, the Schweickhardtsburg was transformed into the quadrangular citadel known today. The Jakobskloster and the Roman Drusus Stone remained within the complex. A building for the fortress commander was erected in 1696 above the gate facing the city. The Jakobskloster was largely destroyed during the Siege of Mainz in 1793.