Top Historic Sights in Torhout, Belgium
Explore the historic highlights of Torhout
Wijnendale Castle
Wijnendale Castle is a historic residence in Wijnendale, which was once a medieval castle. The present buildings largely date to a nineteenth century restoration, though parts of the north wing still date to the fifteenth century. One wing is currently inhabited by the present owners of the castle, while another is open to the public as a museum. The first castle was built by Robert I, Count of Flanders, at the end of th ...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.