St. Donat Church

Arlon, Belgium

Waléran, the first Count of Arlon, built a fortified chateau at the top of the town during the 11th century. Along with the town ramparts, this was completely destroyed in 1558 when Arlon was pillaged by the troops of the Duc de Guise. When the Capuchin monks arrivedin Arlon in 1621, they built their abbey on the ruins of the castle.

In 1681 a Vauban-type fortified wall was built transforming the abbey into a citadel. After being the victim of alightning strike in 1719, it was decided to dedicate the church to Saint Donat. The old religious foundation of the Capuchins was finally abandoned in 1796 - Only the church survived and was then restored and renovated during the 20th century.

References:

Arlon Tourisme

Religious sites in Belgium

Address

Square Elisabeth, Arlon, Belgium

See all sites in Arlon

Details

Founded: 1621
Category: Religious sites in Belgium

Rating

4.4/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

Arlon Archaeological Museum (0,4 km)
Neptune Roman Tower (0,2 km)

Grand Ducal Palace (24,2 km)
Notre-Dame Cathedral (24,2 km)
Petrusse Casemates (24,1 km)
Luxembourg City History Museum (24,3 km)
Saint Michael's Church (24,3 km)
Monument of Remembrance (24,1 km)
Bock Fortifications (24,5 km)
Trinity Church (24,3 km)
Neumünster Abbey (24,5 km)

User Reviews

Punit Sarda (3 years ago)
The church was closed

Stefano Mione (4 years ago)
Materiality tranformed in Spirituality !

Leonardo Gelsleichter. (4 years ago)
The best view of Arlon.

Nizar Alrazihy (5 years ago)
amazing

João Manuel (6 years ago)
Beautiful place to see the view of Arlon. I recommend to visit the tower

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Photo from Flickr, copyright missbutterflies

Historic Site of the week

Saint-Émilion Old Town

Saint-Émilion is a picturesque medieval village renowned for its well-preserved architecture and vineyards. The town and surrounding vineyards was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999, owing to its long, living history of wine-making, Romanesque churches and ruins stretching all along steep and narrow streets.

An oppidum was built on the hill overlooking the present-day city in Gaulish times, before the regions was annexed by Augustus in 27 BC. The Romans planted vineyards in what was to become Saint-Émilion as early as the 2nd century. In the 4th century, the Latin poet Ausonius lauded the fruit of the bountiful vine.

Because the region was located on the route of the Camino de Santiago, many monasteries and churches were built during the Middle Ages, and in 1199, while under Plantagenet rule, the town was granted full rights.