History Main / CitadelCity

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* In ''Series/DoctorWho'', Gallifrey's two greatest cities: Capitol (sometimes called Citadel) and Arcadia were protected by hundreds of [[DeflectorShield sky trenches]]. Prior to the end of the Last Great Time War, nothing has been able to breach even two sky trenches. Then a large Dalek force manages to break through all 400 sky trenches over Arcadia and ravages the city. On the other hand, despite having fewer sky trenches, the Capitol's defenses are never breached.
* The City of Atlantis from ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' might count, due to its shield which was powerful enough to resist bombardment from the Wraith for years and then protect it against the pressure of the ocean for 10,000 more years once the Ancients decided to sink the city. Plus, at its height, it had satellites and drone weapons to provide more defensive capabilities. Finally, when the Atlantis Expedition arrived, they reinforced the defences with railguns.

* ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'' lets you go the "planetary citadel" route if you build a lot of Strongholds or Fortresses on your worlds. Indeed, this is a great way to take advantage of a chokepoint in the galaxy's HyperspaceLanes - the [[NoWarpingZone FTL Inhibitors]] technology means that hostile fleets won't be able to move past a system with at least one active planetary Fortress, so building multiple Fortresses on a planet, combined with a Planetary Shield Generator, means that an invading enemy will have to commit to a long planetary bombardment or grueling invasion to neutralize your fortress world and move deeper into your space.

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' has both Stormwind and Orgrimmar, both of which are walled up and heavily fortified. (Not that it did much good for either one when it came to stopping [[DragonsAreDemonic Deathwing]]...) Stormwind is a traditional medieval castle-style citadel, while Orgrimmar is amongst a mountain range with only a few walls built between them.
** Not to mention Ironforge (carved into a mountain with gates that could, and did, hold off the entire Horde) Thunder Bluff (built on top of a collection of mesas), Undercity (built underneath the ruins of Lordaeron, and only accessible through a maze of tunnels), Darnasus (built inside a hollow tree stump larger than most mountains), and The Exodar (a crashed and largely buried spaceship).

* ''WesternAnimation/AThousandAndOneAmericas'': In the thirteenth episode, Chris and Lon are guided by a Chimu girl in a tour to the city of Chan Chan, an imposing location that features several ramparts made of adobe. Chris notes that every house has its own rampart, making it look like the city was made of several mini-cities. A local Chimu man passes by and tells Chris that the city has this structure to make a potential invasion more difficult, as the enemies would have to penetrate all the ramparts in order to conquer the full city.

* ''WebVideo/CriticalRole'': Vasselheim, the ancient city of faith, is extremely well fortified.

* Ba Sing Se from ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' has a series of ''four'' walls. An outer wall to protect the farmland, an inner wall to protect the city itself, and two more inner walls [[UrbanSegregation to divide the urban areas by class]].

If these defenses are put to the test (and [[TheLawOfConservationOfDetail they usually will be]]), the results will vary, depending on the work. These can range from the city being destroyed to showcase how prepared/numerous/tough the armies of the villain(s) are, to pretty much holding up to whatever gets thrown at them with little effort.

** In almost all cases where the city's defenses failed it's major weak point was the city's harbor and the walls facing towards the sea, which were by far the shortest and easily overrun.

** After these failures, King Jeongjo constructed the Suwon Fortress, a fortified city that used a lot of techniques deemed inovative at that time. However the city was never invaded.

* The anime of ''Literature/SentouYouseiYukikaze'' shows the main base of the Faery Air Force (FAF). After 30 years of existence, it has gone from being merely a military base to full blown city under special U.N. jurisdiction. Domed to protect against the [[DeathWorld hostile environment]] of the Faery world, FAF base is safe from enemy attack with its autocannons and bleeding-edge combat planes. The much smaller forward bases aren't so lucky and vulnerable to enemy infiltration or assault.

* Fortress design used to be considered at the top of intellectual discipline. Michelangelo and Creator/LeonardoDaVinci were famous in their time for their fortresses, and latter play-fortification was a common hobby of the rich. In Italy and elsewhere there were entire dynasties of fortress designers.
* During the [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar US Civil War]], [[UsefulNotes/WashingtonDC Washington D.C.]] was [[http://www.cracked.com/article_19223_6-civil-war-myths-everyone-believes-that-are-total-b.s..html essentially transformed into this]] as the conflict [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington,_D.C.,_in_the_American_Civil_War#Defending_the_capital progressed]]. Although it was on the border between a loyal border state (Maryland) and a Confederate state (Virginia), the Union capital was essentially protected from both land and sea assaults after the Union Army established a multitude of forts, field artillery, trench networks, and garrisons in and around the city. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Stevens Barring one exception]], it was one of the safest cities and most heavily defended cities that existed during that time.
* While Washington D.C. may have been the fortress city of the Civil War, nearby UsefulNotes/{{Baltimore}} has probably the best claim to the Fortress City of the United States. The U.S. National Anthem is about the Battle of Baltimore in the UsefulNotes/WarOf1812, and how the flag over Fort [=McHenry=] was still defiantly waving over the fort the morning following a night of shelling by British warships. During the Civil War, the forts' cannons were actually turned on the city, which had southern sympathies, to which the citizens of Baltimore got the message and never tried anything against the Union.
* [[{{UsefulNotes/Manila}} Intramuros]], the original colonial capital of the {{UsefulNotes/Philippines}} and modelled largely on the Spanish Empire's other colonial capitals in [[LatinLand Latin America]], was built towards the end of the 16th century by the Spanish colonizers to defend itself from invasions, though it was heavily damaged during the Battle of Manila during the last months of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. The walls and defenses were (partially) repaired in 1951 and lasted through the 80s. Nowadays, the side facing Manila Bay hosts the Manila Cathedral, Palacio del Gobernador (headquarters for the Commission on Elections), and Ayuntamiento de Manila (hosts the treasury bureau), while the one facing the city hall plays host to a number of colleges.
* In Classical Greece, polises like Corinth and Megara, built huge walls, called "Long Walls" that connected them to other cities. The most famous of these was Athen's, with connected Athens to its {{Port Town}}s of Piraeus and Phalerum during the Peloponnesian and Corinthian War to withstand the sieges. During the beginning of the Peloponnesian War, the walls withstood Spartan assault but allowed for a plague one of the trading ships picked up to spread through the city. One of the peace conditions imposed on the Athenians at the end of the war called for the demolition of the Long Walls.

[[folder:Film]]

* ''LightNovel/IveBeenKillingSlimesFor300YearsAndMaxedOutMyLevel'': Due to a past war with humankind, the demons built their capital Vanzeld to be heavily fortified both inside and out, with a mazelike interior to give them an advantage in UrbanWarfare and a massive central castle. Moreover, their entire country is enclosed in a vast wall. Then the two species forged a five hundred-year peace before the fighting reached those defenses, leaving it all a wasted effort.

* ''TabletopGame/ObsidianAgeOfJudgement'': The Zone is a massive fortified cityscape 1,280 stories high and 22 miles long and the last major habitat for humanity in North America after a massive [[TheLegionsOfHell demonic invasion]]. The Zone isn't just big, almost every metre of it is studded in artillery cannons that fire thermobaric shells and the Zone can unleash hordes of battle vehicles and bionic soldiers to counter-attack anything Hell can throw, including mountain-sized demons.

* 'VideoGame/JakAndDaxter'' series:

* In the ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxter'' series, Haven City is the last known human holdout on the entire planet during ''VideoGame/JakIIRenegade''. It's a essentially a self-sufficient fortress, surrounded by thick walls and an eco-powered energy shield that protects the city from the [[HordeOfAlienLocusts Metal Heads]], in addition to constant patrols by the city's defense force, the Krimzon Guard. It's essentially impenetrable, and because crops and livestock are produced inside the walls, it can withstand a siege of any duration (and has, in fact, done so for centuries now). The only weak point is the fact that the city, and by extension the shield wall, is powered by eco, which is obtained from mines outside the city that the Metal Heads actually ''can'' {{attack|ItsWeakPoint}}. A looming eco shortage is a frequent concern raised during the game, as without the shield wall the city stands no chance against the Metal Heads.

* ''Toys/{{BIONICLE}}'' has Ta-Koro, basically a walled city inside a volcano with a sea of lava protecting it.
** Though less impressive, Po-Koro is also heavily defended, being built inside a massive hollowed out mesa with only one entrance.