Top Historic Sights in Lanaken, Belgium
Explore the historic highlights of Lanaken
Aspremont-Lynden Castle
Aspremont-Lynden Castle, on the site of a mediaeval predecessor, was constructed by the noble family of d"Aspremont Lynden, Counts of Rekem, in the early 17th century, in the style of the Maasland Renaissance. The building served during the 19th and 20th centuries as a prison and a psychiatric hospital.Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings
Historic Site of the week
Caerleon Roman Amphitheatre
Built around AD 90 to entertain the legionaries stationed at the fort of Caerleon (Isca), the impressive amphitheatre was the Roman equivalent of today’s multiplex cinema. Wooden benches provided seating for up to 6,000 spectators, who would gather to watch bloodthirsty displays featuring gladiatorial combat and exotic wild animals.
Long after the Romans left, the amphitheatre took on a new life in Arthurian legend. Geoffrey of Monmouth, the somewhat imaginative 12th-century scholar, wrote in his History of the Kings of Britain that Arthur was crowned in Caerleon and that the ruined amphitheatre was actually the remains of King Arthur’s Round Table.
Today it is the most complete Roman amphitheatre in Britain.