Sans-Souci Palace
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| National History Park - Citadel, Sans Souci, Ramiers* | |
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| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
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| State Party |  Haiti |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | iv, vi |
| Reference | 180 |
| Region† | Latin America and the Caribbean |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 1982 (6th Session) |
| * Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. † Region as classified by UNESCO. |
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The Sans-Souci Palace was the royal residence of King Henri I (better known as Henri Christophe) of Haiti. Construction of the palace started in 1810 and was completed in 1813. It is located in the town of Milot, Nord Department. Its name translated from French means "without care."
Close to the Palace is the renowned Citadelle Laferrière, built by Henri Christophe to repell a feared French invasion. France, the former colonial ruler of Haiti, did not recognize Haiti's independence before the 1820s.
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. Because of this action, the palace ruins are said to be haunted and the locals are very superstitious when it comes to the actions made there. He was buried in the Citadelle.
His son and heir, Jacques-Victor Henry, Prince Royal of Haiti was bayoneted to death by revolutionaries at the Palace on October 18, 1820.
An 1842 earthquake destroyed the palace and the nearby city of Cap-Haïtien; the palace was never rebuilt.
UNESCO designated it—and the Citadelle—World Heritage Sites in 1982.
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