Walking through the white town of Thorn

The History of Thorns
Thorn's history dates back to the 10th century. A few centuries later, the town had developed into a small principality with its own currency and jurisdiction. In 1794, the French took power in Thorn and levied taxes based on the size of a house's windows. A large part of the population could not pay the taxes on their large houses, so they bricked up many windows. To camouflage the traces of this, they painted their houses white. This is how the iconic white houses in Thorn came about. During this walk you will see many of these houses and you will also pass the Gemeentemuseum Het Land van Thorn, Kasteel Groenenberg, the Sint-Michaëlskerk and the Zeldenrust mill hull.

St Michael's Church
In the middle of Thorn you will find the Sint-Michaëlskerk. This church has served as a Roman Catholic parish church for two centuries, but before that the church belonged to Thorn Abbey. Thorn Abbey was founded around the year 975 as a Benedictine monastery. The current church was mostly built in the 14th century as a replacement for an older structure. The crypt of that building has been preserved.