ARLON

(French), Flemish Aarlen capital of Luxembourg province, southeastern Belgium. It lies at the foot of the southern end of the Ardennes Plateau near the source of the Semois River and the border of Luxembourg. It originated as the Roman Orolaunum and is the oldest known settlement in Belgium. It lies on the road from Trier to Reims and was fortified in the 4th century. It became the seat of a countship in the 10th century. From its castle Richard I the Lion-Heart, who was also Marquis d'Arlon, set out for the Third Crusade (1190). With Belgian independence, Arlon became the provisional capital of Luxembourg province (1830, confirmed 1839). Arlon has become an important livestock and agricultural market and a frontier station on the international BrusselsNamurLuxembourg railway. There is some manufacturing, and part of its population is employed in steel plants across the borders in Luxembourg and in France. Warfare during the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries destroyed most of the relics of Arlon's past. Chief among the remains are the Roman Tower (from the 4th-century fortifications dismantled by the French in 1670) and the 17th-century Church of St. Donatus. Arlon's archaeological museum contains valuable Roman tomb reliefs. Pop. (1983 est.) mun., 22,201.