User Reviews
While the site of the Dudelange castle ruins bears traces of Gallo-Roman structures, the first evidence of a castle in the area is in Dudelange itself where a castle belonging to the Lords of Gymnich was destroyed around 1400 by Robert de Bar. At the beginning of the 15th century, work began on building a fortified castle which was completed early in the 16th century with Gothic and Renaissance influences. The finely cut stones and sculptures show how much the lords of Gynmich, Boulay, Neufchâtel, Hunolstein and Isembourg invested in their luxurious fortress. However from 1542 the castle was taken and retaken when Francis I and Henry II of France were at war with Emperor Charles V. In 1552, the castle was destroyed and deprived of any strategic value. Thereafter the ruins were used as a quarry for the surrounding villages.
Since the 1970s, the Amis de l’Histoire de Dudelange et du Mont Saint-Jean (Friends of the History of Dudelange and Mont St. Jean) have explored the ruins, discovering the foundations of several towers, the palace, living quarters, stables and outhouses. Three wells and a reservoir were partly unearthed. The ditches and the entrance to the castle can still be seen.
References:The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.
The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.
The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.