Named after the Carthusian monastery of the Ordre des Chartreux, the Fort was originally built in 1817 as a fortification against the neighboring french. After the belgian revolution, the Kingdom of Belgium used the fort as barracks as part of the fortified position of Liége, having built 12 forts in total around the city. 

In 1891, the fort was declared as a heritage site and was then used as barracks and later as a prison by the Germans during WW1 from 1914 to 1980 and later in WW2 from 1940 to 1944. It did not have a major strategic role in WW2 but was used by the Americans as a military hospital from 1944 to 1945. 

The belgian army finally left the fort in 1988 and it has since been left to be reclaimed by the surrounding vegetation. It is now home to many plant and animal species and situated within a park in the Amercoeur quarter of Liége.