Montaigle Castle Ruins, Onhaye, Belgium

Montaigle Castle was built in the 14th century, and destroyed by Henry II of France in 1554. It stands on a rocky spur overlooking the valleys of the Molignée and of the Flavion. The site was used during the Late Roman period for a Belgo-Roman fortification.

The ruins are open to visitors, convention spaces are also available.

User Reviews

Алёна Vanden Bussche (2 years ago)
Des superbes ruines de château avec la vue magnifique. J'ai adoré ! Juste le temps n'a pas été parfait pour une visite.

Suiram Travel (2 years ago)
Wonderful

alwine P (2 years ago)
De ruïne is mooi. Wij waren er met drie kleine kinderen en dan is het levensgevaarlijk! Nergens hekken, ze kunnen zo 10 meter naar beneden vallen. Het uitzicht is prachtig. Wij zijn er gewoon met de auto heen gereden, dan moet je over een vreemd paadje. Maar je komt voor de ruïne uit. Bij de entree zijn hele leuke cadeaus voor kinderen te koop, voor heel weinig geld. Wij hebben het hier naar onze zin gehad.

Ryan Woods (2 years ago)
Wonderful castle! They've done a great job preserving the ruins here and allow a remarkable amount of freedom to explore and poke around the grounds. Staff is super friendly as well. Well worth a stop and even a decent amount of detour. The small museum has some interesting artifacts as well.

Maureen Henry (2 years ago)
Une magnifique expérience avec une classe de cinquième primaire. Les enfants sont revenus enchantés de la visite et en gardent un fabuleux souvenir . Merci pour votre passion transmise aux enfants et pour la préparation des activités. Bonne continuation !

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Makser

Historic Site of the week

Derbent Fortress

Derbent is the southernmost city in Russia, occupying the narrow gateway between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains connecting the Eurasian steppes to the north and the Iranian Plateau to the south. Derbent claims to be the oldest city in Russia with historical documentation dating to the 8th century BCE. Due to its strategic location, over the course of history, the city changed ownership many times, particularly among the Persian, Arab, Mongol, Timurid, Shirvan and Iranian kingdoms.

Derbent has archaeological structures over 5,000 years old. As a result of this geographic peculiarity, the city developed between two walls, stretching from the mountains to the sea. These fortifications were continuously employed for a millennium and a half, longer than any other extant fortress in the world.

A traditionally and historically Iranian city, the first intensive settlement in the Derbent area dates from the 8th century BC. The site was intermittently controlled by the Persian monarchs, starting from the 6th century BC. Until the 4th century AD, it was part of Caucasian Albania which was a satrap of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. In the 5th century Derbent functioned as a border fortress and the seat of Sassanid Persians. Because of its strategic position on the northern branch of the Silk Route, the fortress was contested by the Khazars in the course of the Khazar-Arab Wars. In 654, Derbent was captured by the Arabs.

The Sassanid fortress does not exist any more, as the famous Derbent fortress as it stands today was built from the 12th century onward. Derbent became a strong military outpost and harbour of the Sassanid empire. During the 5th and 6th centuries, Derbent also became an important center for spreading the Christian faith in the Caucasus.

The site continued to be of great strategic importance until the 19th century. Today the fortifications consist of two parallel defence walls and Naryn-Kala Citadel. The walls are 3.6km long, stretching from the sea up to the mountains. They were built from stone and had 73 defence towers. 9 out of the 14 original gates remain.

In Naryn-Kala Citadel most of the old buildings, including a palace and a church, are now in ruins. It also holds baths and one of the oldest mosques in the former USSR.

In 2003, UNESCO included the old part of Derbent with traditional buildings in the World Heritage List.

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Montaigle Castle Ruins

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