Depending on the historical source you go by, the first manned balloon trip lifted off near Paris, or sometimes sources will say Brussels. Both wrong, it was actually in Leuven, in the year 1783.
(For those who want to know more http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Arenberg). It lifted off from this very lawn.
The boys are with my parents for a week and we took the opportunity to brush up on our trivial knowledge.
The castle is not really a classical castle. The current state was never intended for defense purposes. I guess there was a different castle orginally, but this one was more of a status symbol then a place of refuge, which you can tell by the size of the windows, they would have been shattered immediatly in an attack.
Never the less, there are some slots in the wall by the front entrance which looks like they could be used for shooting arrow/guns, apparently while drinking a cup of coffee.
Like so many old buildings in the Leuven area, this castle is now part of the university and houses the engineering faculty. This is the inner court.
There is stream right in front of the building, it was probably a moat in some earlier days. The water wheels are still there, but no longer used.
1 comment:
Wow! Beautiful!
-cousin Becky Ravert Ruff
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