The Gallo-Roman amphitheater in Grand, Vosges, was one of the largest amphitheaters in the Roman Empire with 17,000 seats. Located on the outskirts of the town, the amphitheater was built outside the ramparts of Grand in the 1st century AD. The builders of the day took advantage of the natural slopes of the valley when constructing this semi-elliptical theater. We were able to have a real sense of what the Grand Amphitheater looked like originally as the seating has been constructed over one-half of the original stone supports. The seating has been built to the original dimensions and height so that you have a real sn understanding of the size of the amphitheater.
The amphitheater was built in the was abandoned in the 4th century with the rise of Christianity. The inhabitants of Grand then used the amphitheater as a quarry and for years to come they removed many of the structure’s stones to use for other purposes.
There was also an important sanctuary dedicated to Apollo Grannus, the god of healing. You can still see the remains of the rampart that surrounded the sacred enclosure.
Doune Castle was originally built in the thirteenth century, then probably damaged in the Scottish Wars of Independence, before being rebuilt in its present form in the late 14th century by Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany (c. 1340–1420), the son of King Robert II of Scots, and Regent of Scotland from 1388 until his death. Duke Robert"s stronghold has survived relatively unchanged and complete, and the whole castle was traditionally thought of as the result of a single period of construction at this time. The castle passed to the crown in 1425, when Albany"s son was executed, and was used as a royal hunting lodge and dower house.
In the later 16th century, Doune became the property of the Earls of Moray. The castle saw military action during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and Glencairn"s rising in the mid-17th century, and during the Jacobite risings of the late 17th century and 18th century.