Built in 1855 by Louis Léon César Faidherbe, an officer in the French army, Fort Medina is the first device in the military conquest of French Sudan.
Fort Medina includes a large two-storey building (the Mess) and related structures (store of munitions, prison and the School of Hostages), all surrounded by an imposing wall stone.
Fort Medina is ranked in the national cultural heritage of Mali by Decree No. 92-240 / P-RM 1 December 1992. The defensive structure is also included on the Tentative List of Mali to UNESCO.
