Description : Arlon (Luxembourgish: Arel; Dutch: Aarlen; German: Arel; Walloon: Årlon; Latin: Orolaunum) is a Walloon municipality of Belgium located in and capital of the province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes. Before the Roman conquests of Gaul, the territory of Arlon and a vast area to the southeast were settled by the Treveri, a Celtic tribe. The local population adapted relatively easily to Roman culture. The number and quality of sculpted stones and monuments that have been unearthed in the area demonstrate that the vicus of Orolaunum quickly became a commercial and administrative centre of Roman civilization. The Germanic invasions of the 3rd century destroyed most of these early advances, despite the defensive walls that had been built on the Knipchen hill to protect the vicus. During most of the Middle Ages, the population still used the earlier buildings such as the thermae. In 1060, Waleran I of Limburg, Count of Arlon, built a castle on the Knipchen hill. In the 13th century, the only women's Cistercian abbey known to date was built in Clairefontaine.
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