 The design was chosen by the one-time Abbot of St Vaast, the Cardinal de Rohan, and is stark in its simplicity, employing a vast number of perpendicular angles.There is a fine collection of statuary within the church and it houses a number of religious relics.Built by Vauban between 1667 and 1672, the Citadel has been nicknamed "La belle inutile" (the beautiful useless one) by residents as it has never been directly involved in heavy fighting and didn't prevent the Germans from occupying the city in either World War.