The Romans in Belgium, Oudenburg

In Belgium near the coast their is a village named Oudenburg, which translates to "old Fortress" in English. Around 180-250 DC the fortress was built on the swampy coastland and later in the beginning of the 5th Century the Roman troops returned to Italy and so the military function of the fortress had disappeared.

Fortress

Even now you can still notice the remnants of what was once a Roman fortress. On some streets they have marked where the walls of the fortress used to come. There is also a museum about that shows some of the findings of the local excavations there were in the past. Even now there probably are many treasures still hidden beneath the houses of the villagers.

Arnoldus

Right now you can also enjoy one of the local beers "Arnoldus". The original abbey that produced this beer was partly built with rocks from the wall of the fortress. The legend goes that when Saint Arnoldus was sent to Oudenburg to safeguard the peace between the locals and the count, he founded the abbey and turned water into beer. When building the abbey a terrible plague would have started and the only cure was to drink hot water and since Saint Arnoldus had stirred the water with his staff, it had turned into beer. (I doubt this is scientifically correct :) )

The canal

Oudenburg is situated next to the Plassendale-Nieuwpoort Canal, which is an ideal place to ride your bike while enjoying your surroundings. It also makes it possible to come to Oudenburg by boat. There is a small jetty were you can rest your boat for free. It is not far from the city center and so ideally placed for a visit to this village.