Wednesday, May 26, 2010

5.21.2010 Milot: Sans-Souci Palace

On our big trip up north, Dom and I made sure to schedule a day to go to the Palace and the Citadel. Here is a little bit of Haitian History.

The Sans-Souci Palace was the royal residence of King Henri Christophe, Queen Marie-Louise and their twin daughters. Construction of the palace started in 1810 and was completed in 1813. It is located in the town of Milot. Its name means "without worry." Crippled by a stroke, King Henri I committed suicide on the grounds of the palace on October 8, 1820. According to Haitian legend, he shot himself with a silver bullet. He was subsequently buried in the Citadelle. His nephew and heir, Jacques-Victor Henry was bayoneted to death by revolutionaries at the Palace on October 18, 1820. A severe earthquake in 1842 destroyed a considerable part of the palace and devastated the nearby city of Cap-Hatien; the palace was never rebuilt. The palace (before its destruction) was acknowledged by many to be the Caribbean equivalent of the Palace of Versailles in France.


Sans-Souci Palace

This should give you some idea of the scale of this place!


Dom picked up a tour guide or two, they were amazed that he spoke Kreyol.


After a quick camera lesson we got a shot together.


See more photos on my website in the Haiti Gallery: www.crystalinephoto.com

© Crystaline Randazzo Photography - All images are copyright of Crystaline Randazzo and in no way are to be used by Google, Google Advertisers or any third party. These are not your pictures. Steal them and I will sue you.


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