Fonds-Saint-Denis is a small Martinican municipality of 680 inhabitants located inland and away from the major communication routes on the slopes of the Pitons du Carbet near Mount Pelée. The locality, which extends over 6,000 acres (2,428 ha) between 423 and 3,802 ft (129 and 1,159 m) above sea level, has no access to the coast. The village was built in the 17th century on a line of ridges linking Saint-Pierre and Fort-Royal. The church and the surprising war memorial bearing the effigy of the smallest (by size) soldier in France dominate the dwellings and public services (school, post office, dispensary, canteen) that contrast with the surrounding luxuriant vegetation. The vulcano-seismic observatory of Morne des Cadets, responsible for permanently monitoring the activity of Mount Pelée, is located in Fonds-Saint-Denis, which would also have hosted the first windmill in Martinique.