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The distinctively bright Georgian Clock Tower , a solitary landmark sitting at the top of George Street beside the path up to the Citadel, looks somewhat confused, its dainty balustraded tower set on top of the dreariest of rectangular shacks. Completed in 1803, the tower is a tribute to the architectural tastes of its sponsor, Edward, Duke of Kent and father of Queen Victoria, who was sent here as military commandant in 1794. The Duke insisted on having a clock on each of the tower's four faces so none of the garrison had an excuse for being late, a preoccupation typical of this unforgiving martinet. Up above the Clock Tower, the present fortifications of the Citadel National Historic Site (daily: July-Aug 9am-6pm; Sept-June 9am-5pm; $6 June to mid-Sept, $3.75 in shoulder season, otherwise $1.50) were completed in 1856, the fourth in a series dating from Edward Cornwallis's stockade of 1749. The star-shaped fortress, constructed flush with the crest of the hill to protect it from artillery fire, seems insignificant until you reach the massive double stone and earth walls flanking the deep encircling ditch, a forbidding approach to one of Britain's most important imperial strongholds. Despite their apparent strength, however, the walls, faced with granite and ironstone, were a source of worry to a succession of British engineers. The sunken design simply didn't suit the climate - in winter the water in the mortar and earth froze and the spring melt came with regular collapses. A slender footbridge spans the ditch and leads into the fort, whose expansive parade ground is flanked by stone walls and dominated by the three-storey general barracks , whose long, columned galleries now mostly house offices, though one particular barrack room has been returned to its appearance as of 1869. Here also is an Army Museum (recommended donation $1), which adopts an earthy soldier's outlook in the labelling of its wide collection of small arms. Ancient and sometimes rare photos track the Canadian army through its various imperial entanglements - from the Boer War onwards - and there's an interesting section tracing Canadian involvement with the Anglo-French attack on Bolshevik Russia after World War I. The walls themselves contain a string of storehouses stuffed with military bric-a-brac. Here you'll find a couple of reconstructed powder magazines, the former garrison school room and several exhibits exploring the Citadel's history, including a small theatre where an hour-long film, The Tides of History , details the development of Halifax. Also of interest is the Communications Exhibit , which explains the niceties of the Admiralty's signalling system - a complicated affair with, for instance, different flags for different types of ship and whether they had been sighted or had actually arrived. Free and entertaining half-hour guided tours (May to late Oct) of the Citadel depart from the information office in the barracks building every hour or so. Throughout the summer, bagpipe bands and marching "soldiers" perform on the parade ground in period uniform and one of the cannons is ceremoniously fired every day at noon. If militarism leaves you cold, the Citadel is still worth a visit for the grand view from its ramparts over the city and harbour.
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