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Antwerp ' onMouseout='HidePop("29188")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Dutch_language">Dutch
Dutch is a West Germanic language spoken by over 22 million people as a native language, and over 5 million people as a second language.
"1% of the EU population claims to speak Dutch well enough in order to have a conversation." Outside the European Union the number of second language...
: ,
FrenchFrench is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
:
Anvers) is a city and
municipalityA municipality is an administrative entity composed of a clearly defined territory and its population and commonly denotes a city, town, or village, or a small grouping of them. A municipality is typically governed by a mayor and a city council or municipal council.The notion of municipality...
in
BelgiumThe Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO...
and the capital of the
Antwerp provinceAntwerp is the northernmost province both of the Flemish Region, also called Flanders, and of Belgium. It borders on the Netherlands and the Belgian provinces of Limburg, Flemish Brabant and East Flanders. Its capital is Antwerp which comprises the Port of Antwerp...
in
FlandersFlanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands...
, one of Belgium's three regions. Antwerp's total population is 472,071 (as of 1 January 2008) and its total area is , giving a population density of 2,308 inhabitants per km². The
metropolitan areaA metropolitan area is a large population center consisting of a large metropolis and its adjacent zone of influence, or of more than one closely adjoining neighboring central cities and their zone of influence...
, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of with a total of 1,190,769 inhabitants as of 1 January 2008.
Antwerp has long been an important city in the
nations of theThe Low Countries, the historical region of de Nederlanden, are the countries on low-lying land around the delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers...
BeneluxThe Benelux is a union in Western Europe that comprises three neighboring countries, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg , which lie in the north western European region between France and Germany...
both economically and culturally, especially before the
Spanish FuryThe sack of Antwerp during the Eighty Years' War is known as the Spanish Fury.On 4 November 1576, Spanish tercios began the sack of Antwerp, leading to three days of horror among the population of the city, which was the cultural, economic and financial center of the Netherlands. The principal...
of the
Dutch RevoltThe Dutch Revolt or the Revolt of the Netherlands , was the partially successful revolt of the Seventeen Provinces in the Low Countries against the Spanish Empire. It led to the formation of the independent Dutch state of the Netherlands and marked the beginning of the Eighty Years' War...
. It is located on the right bank of the river
ScheldtThe Scheldt is a 350 km long river in northern France, western Belgium and the southwestern part of the Netherlands...
, which is linked to the
North SeaThe North Sea is a marginal, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf. The Dover Strait and the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Sea in the north connect it to the Atlantic Ocean. It is more than long and wide, with an area of around...
by the estuary
Westerscheldethumb|right|Satellite image of the Scheldt delta showing the Western Scheldt The Western Scheldt in the province Zeeland in the southwestern Netherlands, is the estuary of the Scheldt river. This river once had several estuaries, but the others are disconnected from the Scheldt, leaving the...
.
Origin of the name
According to
folkloreFolklore is the body of expressive culture, including stories, music, dance, legends, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, customs, and so forth within a particular population comprising the traditions of that culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which...
, and as celebrated by the
statueA statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, or an event, normally full-length, as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size, or larger...
in front of the town hall, the city got its name from a
legendA legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
involving a mythical
giantThe mythology and legends of many different cultures include monsters of human appearance but prodigious size and strength. "Giant" is the English word commonly used for such beings, derived from one of the most famed examples: the gigantes of Greek mythology.In various Indo-European mythologies,...
called
AntigoonDruon Antigoon was a mythical giant who lived in Antwerp and who was killed by a Roman soldier called Silvius Brabo....
who lived near the river
ScheldtThe Scheldt is a 350 km long river in northern France, western Belgium and the southwestern part of the Netherlands...
. He exacted a toll from those crossing the river, and for those who refused, he severed one of their hands and threw it into the river Scheldt. Eventually, the giant was slain by a young hero named
BraboSilvius Brabo is a mythical Roman soldier who is said to have killed a giant, and by this would have created the name Brabant.Later this story was also used to explain the name Antwerp . Brabo once killed a giant, called Druon Antigoon, who asked money from people who wanted to pass by the river...
, who cut off the giant's own hand and flung it into the river. Hence the name
Antwerpen, from
DutchDutch is a West Germanic language spoken by over 22 million people as a native language, and over 5 million people as a second language.
"1% of the EU population claims to speak Dutch well enough in order to have a conversation." Outside the European Union the number of second language...
hand werpen—akin to Old English
hand and
wearpan (= to throw), that has changed to today's
warp.
In favour of this folk etymology is the fact that hand-cutting was indeed practised in Europe, the right hand of a man who died without issue being cut off and sent to the feudal lord as proof of
main-morte.
However,
John Lothrop MotleyJohn Lothrop Motley was an American historian.-Biography:...
argues that Antwerp's name derives from
an 't werf (on the wharf).
Aan 't werp (at the warp) is also possible. This 'warp' (thrown ground) would be a man made hill, just high enough to remain dry at high tide, whereupon a farm would be built. Another word for werp is
pol (hence
polderA polder is a low-lying tract of land enclosed by embankments known as dikes, that forms an artificial hydrological entity, meaning it has no connection with outside water other than through manually-operated devices...
s).
The most prevailing theory is that the name originated in the Gallo-Roman period and comes from the Latin
antverpia.
Antverpia would come from
Ante (before)
Verpia (deposition, sedimentation), indicating land that forms by deposition in the inside curve of a river. Note that the river Scheldt, before a transition period between 600 to 750, followed a different track. This must have coincided roughly with the current ringway south of the city, situating the city within a former curve of the river.
Pre-1500
The historical Antwerp had its origins in a Gallo-Roman
vicusVicus can refer to:* Vicus , a culture in Peru from about 1000BC to 300AD* Vicus , a settlement or part of town in Ancient Rome...
civilization. Excavations carried out in the oldest section near the Scheldt, 1952-1961 (ref. Princeton), pottery shards and fragments of glass from mid-second century to the end of the third century.
In the 4th century, Antwerp was first named, having been settled by the
GermanicThe Germanic languages are a group of related languages that constitute a branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all the languages in this branch is Proto-Germanic, spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
FranksThe Franks or Frankish people were a West Germanic tribal confederation first attested in the 3rd century as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul...
. The name was reputed to have been derived from "
anda" (at) and
"werpum" (wharf).
The
MerovingianThe Merovingians were a Salian Frankish dynasty that came to rule the Franks in a region largely corresponding to ancient Gaul from the middle of the fifth century. Their politics involved frequent civil warfare among branches of the family...
Antwerp, now fortified, was evangelized by
Saint AmandSaint Amand or Amandus , was a French Christian saint, one of the great Christian apostles of Flanders.-Biography:...
in the seventh century. At the end of the tenth century, the Scheldt became the boundary of the
Holy Roman EmpireThe Holy Roman Empire was a union of territories in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period under a Holy Roman Emperor. The first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire was Otto I, crowned in 962. The last was Francis II, who abdicated and dissolved the Empire in 1806 during...
. Antwerp became a
margraviateA Margrave was a medieval hereditary nobleman with military responsibilities in a border province of a kingdom. Border provinces usually had more exposure to military incursions from the outside, compared to interior provinces, and thus a margrave usually had larger and more active military forces...
, a border province facing the
County of FlandersThe County of Flanders was a historical region in the Low Countries.It consisted not only of the two actual Belgian provinces of East Flanders and West Flanders but also much of the present-day French département of the Nord , in parts of which there is still a minority speaking the French Flemish...
.
In the eleventh century
Godfrey of BouillonGodfrey of Bouillon was a medieval knight who was one of the leaders of the First Crusade from 1096 until his death. He was the Lord of Bouillon, from which he took his byname, from 1076 and the Duke of Lower Lorraine from 1087...
was for some years best known as
marquisA marquess or marquis is a nobleman of hereditary rank in various European monarchies and some of their colonies. The term is also used to render equivalent oriental styles as in imperial China and Japan. In the British peerage it ranks below a duke and above an earl...
of Antwerp. In the 12th century,
Norbert of XantenSaint Norbert of Xanten is a Christian saint and founder of the Norbertine or Premonstratensian order of canons regular.- Life and work :...
established a community of his
Premonstratensian canonsThe Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré, also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines, or in Britain and Ireland as the White Canons , are a Catholic religious order of canons regular founded at Prémontré near Laon in 1120 by Saint Norbert, who later became Archbishop of Magdeburg...
at St. Michael's Abbey at Caloes.
Antwerp was the headquarters of
Edward IIIEdward III was one of the most successful English monarchs of the Middle Ages. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into the most efficient military power in Europe...
during his early negotiations with
Jacob van ArteveldeJacob van Artevelde , also known as the Wise Man and the Brewer of Ghent, was a Flemish statesman and political leader....
, and his son Lionel, the
earl of CambridgeThe title of Earl of Cambridge was created several times in the Peerage of England, and since 1362 the title has been closely associated with the Royal Family ....
, was born there in 1338.
16th century
After the closing of the
ZwinThe Zwin is a nature reserve at the North Sea coast, on the Belgian-Dutch border. It was founded in 1952. It has an area of 1.25 square kilometres in Knokke-Heist, Belgium and 0.33 square kilometres in Sluis, Netherlands....
and the consequent decline of
BrugesBruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
, the city of Antwerp, then part of the
Duchy of BrabantThe Duchy of Brabant was a historical region in the Low Countries. It consisted of not only the three modern-day Belgian provinces of Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant and Antwerp as well as the Brussels-Capital Region, but also the present-day Dutch province of North Brabant.In Roman times, Brabant...
, became of importance. At the end of the 15th century the foreign trading houses were transferred from
BrugesBruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
to Antwerp, and the building assigned to the English nation is specifically mentioned in 1510.
Fernand BraudelFernand Braudel , was the foremost French historian of the postwar era, and a leader of the Annales School. He organized his scholarship around three great projects, each worth several decades of intense study: "The Mediterranean" , "Civilization and Capitalism" , and the unfinished, "Identity of...
states that Antwerp became "the center of the
entire international economy—something Bruges had never been even at its height." Antwerp was the richest city in Europe at this time. Antwerp's "Golden Age" is tightly linked to the "
Age of ExplorationThe Age of Discovery, also known as the Age of Exploration, was a period in history starting in the 15th century and continuing into the 17th century, during which Europeans and its descendants intensively explored and mapped the world...
". Over the first half of the 16th century Antwerp grew to become the second-largest European city north of the
AlpsThe Alps are one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east; through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany; to France in the west....
by 1560. Many foreign merchants were resident in the city.
Francesco GuicciardiniFrancesco Guicciardini was an Italian historian and statesman. A friend and critic of Niccolò Machiavelli, he is considered one of the major political writers of the Italian Renaissance...
, the Venetian envoy, stated that hundreds of ships would pass in a day, and 2,000 carts entered the city each week. Portuguese ships laden with
pepperBlack pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is a small drupe approximately five millimetres in diameter, dark red when fully mature, containing a single...
and
cinnamonCinnamon is a small evergreen tree belonging to the family Lauraceae, native to Sri Lanka, or the spice obtained from the tree's bark...
would unload their cargo.
Without a long-distance merchant fleet, and governed by an oligarchy of banker-aristocrats forbidden to engage in trade, the economy of Antwerp was foreigner-controlled, which made the city very international, with merchants and traders from
VeniceVenice is a city in northern Italy, the capital of the region Veneto, a population of 271,367 . Together with Padua, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area . The city historically was an independent nation...
,
Ragusa||-||-||-||-||-||-||}Dubrovnik , is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast in the extreme south of Dalmatia, positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic, a seaport and the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva county...
, Spain and Portugal. Antwerp had a policy of toleration, which attracted a large orthodox
JewThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
ish community. Antwerp was not a "free" city though, since it had been reabsorbed into the
duchy of BrabantThe Duchy of Brabant was a historical region in the Low Countries. It consisted of not only the three modern-day Belgian provinces of Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant and Antwerp as well as the Brussels-Capital Region, but also the present-day Dutch province of North Brabant.In Roman times, Brabant...
in 1406 and was controlled from
BrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the de facto capital city of the European Union and the largest urban area in Belgium...
.
Antwerp experienced three booms during its
golden ageThe term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology and legend, but can also be found in other ancient cultures . It refers either to the earliest and best age in a sequence of ages, such as the Greek range of Golden, Silver, Bronze, and Iron Ages, or to a time in the beginnings of humanity that was...
, the first based on the pepper market, a second launched by American silver coming from Seville (ending with the bankruptcy of Spain in 1557), and a third boom, after the stabilising Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis, in 1559, based on the textiles industry. The boom-and-bust cycles and inflationary cost-of-living squeezed less-skilled workers.
The religious revolution of the
ReformationThe Protestant Reformation was a Christian reform movement in Europe which is generally deemed to have begun with Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses in 1517 although a number of precursors such as Jan Hus predate that event...
erupted in violent riots in August 1566, as in other parts of the Netherlands. The regent
Margaret, duchess of ParmaMargaret, Duchess of Parma governor of the Netherlands from 1559 to 1567, was the illegitimate daughter of Charles V....
, was swept aside when
Philip IIPhilip II was King of Spain and Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, during his wife Mary Tudor's reign, King of England and Ireland...
sent the
Duke of AlbaFernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, 3rd Duke of Alba, was a Spanish general and governor of the Spanish Netherlands , nicknamed "the Iron Duke" by the Protestants of the Low Countries because of his harsh rule and cruelty...
at the head of an army the following summer. When the Eighty Years' War broke out in 1572, commercial trading between Antwerp and the Spanish port of
BilbaoBilbao is the largest city in the Basque Country in northern Spain and the capital of the province of Biscay ....
was not possible. On November 4, 1576, the Spanish soldiers plundered the city. During the
Spanish FuryThe sack of Antwerp during the Eighty Years' War is known as the Spanish Fury.On 4 November 1576, Spanish tercios began the sack of Antwerp, leading to three days of horror among the population of the city, which was the cultural, economic and financial center of the Netherlands. The principal...
6000 citizens were massacred, 800 houses were burnt down, and over two millions sterling of damage was done.
Antwerp became the capital of the
Dutch revoltThe Dutch Revolt or the Revolt of the Netherlands , was the partially successful revolt of the Seventeen Provinces in the Low Countries against the Spanish Empire. It led to the formation of the independent Dutch state of the Netherlands and marked the beginning of the Eighty Years' War...
. In 1585,
Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma and PiacenzaAlexander Farnese Alexander Farnese Alexander Farnese (Italian: Alessandro Farnese, Spanish: Alejandro Farnesio, (August 27 1545 – December 3 1592), was Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1586 to 1592, and Governor of the Spanish Netherlands from 1578 to 1592.-Biography:...
, captured it after a long siege and as part of the terms of surrender its
ProtestantProtestantism is a branch within Christianity, containing many denominations with some differing practices and doctrines, that principally originated in the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. It is considered to be one of the major divisions within Christianity, together with the Roman...
citizens were given two years to settle their affairs before quitting the city. Most went to the
United ProvincesUnited Provinces may refer to:* United Provinces, another name for the Dutch Republic , now The Netherlands* United Provinces of Agra and Oudh , a former province of British India; now Uttar Pradesh...
in the north. Antwerp's banking was controlled for a generation by
GenoaGenoa is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria. The city has a population of about 610,000 and the urban area has a population of about 900,000...
, and
AmsterdamAmsterdam is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country...
became the new trading centre.
17th-19th centuries
The recognition of the independence of the
United ProvincesThe Republic of the Seven United Netherlands was a European republic between 1581 and 1795, in about the same location as the modern Kingdom of the Netherlands,...
by the
Treaty of MünsterThe Peace of Münster was a treaty between the United Netherlands and Spain signed in 1648. It was a landmark treaty for the Dutch republic and one of the key events in Dutch history; with it, the United Netherlands finally became independent from the Holy Roman Empire...
in 1648 stipulated that the
ScheldtThe Scheldt is a 350 km long river in northern France, western Belgium and the southwestern part of the Netherlands...
should be closed to navigation, which destroyed Antwerp's trading activities. This impediment remained in force until 1863, although the provisions were relaxed during French rule from 1795 to 1814, and also during the time Belgium formed part of the
Kingdom of the United NetherlandsUnited Kingdom of the Netherlands was the unofficial name used to refer to a new unified European state created from part of the First French Empire during the Congress of Vienna in 1815...
(1815 to 1830). Antwerp had reached the lowest point of its fortunes in 1800, and its population had sunk under 40,000, when
NapoleonNapoleon Bonaparte later known as Napoleon I, and previously Napoleone di Buonaparte, was a military and political leader of France whose actions shaped European politics in the early 19th century.Born in Corsica and trained as an artillery officer in mainland France, Bonaparte rose to prominence...
, realizing its strategic importance, assigned two million to enlarge the harbor by constructing two docks and a mole and deepening the Scheldt to allow for larger ships to approach Antwerp. Napoleon hoped that by making Antwerp's harbor the finest in Europe he would be able to counter London's harbor and stint English growth, but he was defeated at the
Battle of WaterlooIn the Battle of Waterloo forces of the French Empire under Napoleon Bonaparte and Michel Ney were defeated by those of the Seventh Coalition, including an Anglo-Allied army under the command of the Duke of Wellington and a Prussian army under the command of Gebhard von Blücher...
before he could see the plan through.
In 1830, the city was captured by the Belgian insurgents, but the citadel continued to be held by a Dutch garrison under General
David Hendrik ChasséDavid Hendrik, Baron Chassé was a Dutch soldier who fought both for and against Napoleon. He commanded the Third Netherlands Division that intervened at a crucial moment in the Battle of Waterloo...
. For a time Chassé subjected the town to periodic bombardment which inflicted much damage, and at the end of 1832 the citadel itself was besieged by a French army. During this attack the town was further damaged. In December 1832, after a gallant defence, Chassé made an honourable surrender.
20th century
Antwerp was the first city to host the
World Gymnastics ChampionshipsThe Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique organises World Gymnastics Championships for each of the gymnastic disciplines:...
, in 1903. During World War I, the city became the fallback point of the Belgian Army after the defeat at
LiègeLiège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the administrative capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium.The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse River, near Belgium's eastern borders...
. It was taken after heavy fighting by the German Army, and the Belgians were forced to retreat westward.
Antwerp hosted the
1920 Summer OlympicsThe 1920 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1920 in Antwerp, Belgium....
. During World War II, the city was an important strategic target because of its port. It was occupied by Germany in May 1940 and liberated by the British 11th Armoured Division on September 4, 1944. After this, the Germans attempted to destroy the
Port of Antwerp||-||-||-||-||}The Port of Antwerp, in Belgium, is a port accessible to capesize ships in the heart of Europe. Antwerp stands at the upper end of the tidal estuary of the Scheldt. The estuary is navigable by ships of more than 100,000 Gross Tons as far as 80 km inland...
, which was used by the Allies to bring new material ashore. Thousands of
V-1The Fieseler Fi 103, better known as V-1 , colloquially know in Britain as the 'Doodlebug', was an early cruise missile used during World War II. The V-1 was developed at Peenemünde by the German Luftwaffe during the Second World War. Between 13 June 1944 and 29 March 1945, it was fired at...
and V-2 missiles battered the city. The city was hit by more V-2s than all other targets during the entire war combined, but the attack did not succeed in destroying the port since many of the missiles fell upon other parts of the city. As a result, the city itself was severely damaged and rebuilt after the war in a modern style. After the war, Antwerp, which had already had a sizable Jewish population before the war, once again became a major European center of
HarediHaredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism, sometimes referred to as Ultra-Orthodox Judaism, though the term is considered pejorative by some, is the most theologically conservative form of Orthodox Judaism...
(and particularly
HasidicHasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew: , Hasidut, meaning "piety") is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith. The majority of Hasidic Jews are ultra-orthodox....
)
Orthodox JudaismOrthodox Judaism is a formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmudic texts and as subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and Acharonim.Orthodox...
.
Historical population
This is the population of the city of Antwerp only, not of the larger current municipality of the same name.
- 1374: 18,000
- 1486: 40,000
- 1500: around 44/49,000 inhabitants
- 1526: 50,000
- 1567: 105,000 (90,000 permanent residents and 15,000 "floating population", including foreign merchants and soldiers. At the time only 10 cities in Europe reached this size.)
- 1575: around 100,000 (after the Inquisition
The term Inquisition can apply to any one of several institutions charged with trying and convicting heretics within the Catholic Church...
)
- 1584: 84,000 (after the Spanish Fury
The sack of Antwerp during the Eighty Years' War is known as the Spanish Fury.On 4 November 1576, Spanish tercios began the sack of Antwerp, leading to three days of horror among the population of the city, which was the cultural, economic and financial center of the Netherlands. The principal...
, the French FuryThe "French Fury" was a failed attempt by François, Duke of Anjou to conquer the city of Antwerp by surprise on January 17 1583.During the Eighty Years' War the States-General had asked in 1581 the French Duke to become head of state of the Seventeen Provinces, to obtain French support in expelling...
and the Calvinistic republic)
- 1586 (May): 60,000 (after siege
The Siege of Antwerp took place during the Eighty Years' War from July 1584 until August 1585. At the time Antwerp was not only the largest Dutch city but was also the cultural, economic and financial centre of the Seventeen Provinces and of north-western Europe...
)
- 1586 (October): 50,000
- 1591: 46,000
- 1612: 54,000
- 1620: 66,000 (Twelve Years' Truce
right|thumb|180px| In the Twelve Years' Truce, Johan van Oldenbarnevelt was the most prominent victim of the religious infighting in Dutch protestantism.The Twelve Years' Truce was the name, given later, to the 12-year period of...
) |
1640: 54,000 (after the Black Death The Black Death was one of the deadliest pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. It is widely thought to have been an outbreak of bubonic plague caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, but this view has recently been challenged...
epidemics)
1700: 66,000
1765: 40,000
1784: 51,000
1800: 45,500
1815: 54,000
1830: 73,500
1856: 111,700
1880: 179,000
1900: 275,100
1925: 308,000
1959: 260,000 |
Municipality
The municipality comprises the city of Antwerp proper and several towns. It is divided into nine entities (districts):
- Antwerp (district)
Antwerp District coincides with the old city of Antwerp. Since the municipality and contemporary city of Antwerp in the Flemish Region of Belgium was decentralized in 2000, this district level of government steadily increased its administrative powers....
- Berchem
-Demography:Berchem's total surface is over 1,500 acres, and it is inhabited by more than 40,000 citizens.-Political structure:After the decentralization of Antwerp in 2000, Berchem became a semi-independent district with its own legislative body, the so-called Districtsraad , and its own executive...
- Berendrecht-Zandvliet-Lillo
Berendrecht, Zandvliet and Lillo are three towns along the seaport docks north of the old city of Antwerp in Flanders, Belgium. The substantial 1983 merger with former municipalities, led in 2000 to the decentralisation of this enlarged municipality of Antwerp while these three towns merged into...
- Borgerhout
Borgerhout is a district of the municipality and city of Antwerp in the Flemish Region of Belgium. The district houses 41,614 inhabitants reflecting 90 nationalities...
- Deurne
- Ekeren
Ekeren is a northern district of the municipality of Antwerp in the Flemish Region of Belgium. The suburb celebrated its 850th birthday in 2005; the name of the town was first mentioned in 1155, as "Hecerna"....
- Hoboken
Hoboken is a southern district of the arrondissement and city of Antwerp, in the Flemish Region of Belgium.-Name:A local children's story says that the name "Hoboken" is derived from a little boy who accidentally dropped his sandwich in the Schelde river, which flows near Hoboken...
- Merksem
Merksem is a district of the municipality and city of Antwerp in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It has almost 41,000 inhabitants.-History:The history of Merksem goes back to Gallo-Roman times. During that period the region was mentioned as Merk and Heim being part of the diocese Kamerijk...
- Wilrijk
Wilrijk is a district of the municipality and city of Antwerp in the Flemish Region of Belgium. Wilrijk had been a separate municipality before January 1, 1983; the enlarged municipality of Antwerp was decentralized in 2000 and Wilrijk became one the city's nine districts.This suburb is also known...
Buildings, landmarks and museums
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In the 16th century, Antwerp was noted for the wealth of its citizens ("Antwerpia nummis"); the houses of these wealthy merchants and manufacturers have been preserved throughout the city. However fire has destroyed several old buildings, such as the house of the
Hanseatic LeagueThe Hanseatic League was an alliance of trading cities and their guilds that established and maintained a trade monopoly along the coast of Northern Europe, from the Baltic to the North Sea and inland, during the Late Middle Ages and early modern period...
on the northern quays in 1891. The city also suffered considerable war damage by
V-bombsVergeltungswaffen was a particular set of Wunderwaffen of Nazi Germany designed for long-range strategic bombing during World War II, particularly terror bombing and/or aerial bombing of cities....
, and in recent years other noteworthy buildings were demolished for new developments.
- Antwerp Zoo
Antwerp Zoo is a zoo in the centre of Antwerp, Belgium located right next to the Antwerpen-Centraal railway station. It is the oldest animal park in the country, established on July 21, 1843.- History :...
was founded in 1843, and is home to more than 6,000 animals (about 769 species). It's one of the oldest zoos in the world and is high ranked because of its high level of research and conservation.
- Central Station is a railway station designed by Louis Delacenserie
Louis Delacenserie was a Belgian architect from Bruges. The spelling of his name differs greatly; De la Censerie, Delasencerie, Dela Censerie or Dela Sencerie are the most common alternative forms. His father was a merchant and building contractor from Tournai.Delacenserie studied architecture...
that was completed in 1905. It has two monumental neo-baroque facades, a large metal and glass dome (60m/197ft) and a giltGilding is the technique of applying a thin layer of gold to a surface. Gilding is performed through mechanical processes, such as leafing, or using one of many chemical processes.-Ancient techniques:...
and marbleMarble is a non foliated metamorphic rock resulting from the metamorphism of limestone, composed mostly of calcite . It is extensively used for sculpture, as a building material, and in many other applications...
interior
- Cathedral of Our Lady. This church was begun in the 14th century and finished in 1518. The church has four works by Rubens
Sir Peter Paul Rubens was a prolific seventeenth-century Flemish Baroque painter, and a proponent of an exuberant Baroque style that emphasized movement, color, and sensuality...
, viz. "The Descent from the CrossThe Descent from the Cross is the central panel of a triptych painting by Peter Paul Rubens in 1612-1614. The painting is the second of Rubens's great altarpieces for the Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp, Belgium, along with The Elevation of the Cross. The subject was one Rubens returned to again and...
", "The Elevation of the CrossThe Elevation of the Cross is a triptych painting by Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens, completed in 1610-1611....
", "The Resurrection of Christ" and "The AssumptionThe Assumption of Mary is a belief held by Christians of the Catholic Church as well as some Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Anglicans, that the Virgin Mary, at the end of her life, was physically taken up into heaven...
"
- church
Saint James' Church in Antwerp, Belgium is built on the site of a hostel for pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela. The present building is the work of the Waghemakere family with Rombout Keldermans, in Brabantine Gothic style. The church contains the grave of Rubens in the eastern chapel...
, named for St JamesSaint-James is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.Saint-James is on the border between Normandy and Brittany.-Demographics:-World War II:...
, is more ornate than the cathedral. It contains the tomb of RubensSir Peter Paul Rubens was a prolific seventeenth-century Flemish Baroque painter, and a proponent of an exuberant Baroque style that emphasized movement, color, and sensuality...
- Church of St Paul, has a beautiful baroque interior. It is a few hundred yards north of the Grote Markt
- Plantin-Moretus Museum
The Plantin-Moretus Museum is a museum in Antwerp, Belgium honouring the famous printers Christoffel Plantijn and Jan Moretus. It is located in their former residence and printing establishment, Plantin Press, at the Friday Market.- History :...
preserves the house of the printer Christoffel PlantijnChristophe Plantin was an influential Renaissance humanist and book printer and publisher.-Life:...
and his successor Jan MoretusJan Moretus was a Flemish printer. Moretus married the second daughter of the famous Antwerp publisher Christoffel Plantijn in 1570. He had been working for Plantijn since 1557, and after his death, Jan Moretus would became the owner of his printing company. Nowadays there still exists a...
- Boerentoren
The Boerentoren or KBC Tower is the second tallest building of Antwerp . It measures 97 meters and was the first skyscraper of the European continent, remaining the highest until the 1950s. The construction of the building was completed in 1931 and was 87.5 meters high back then. Due to...
(Farmers' Tower) or KBC Tower, a 26-storey building built in 1932, is the oldest skyscraperA skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building. There is no official definition or height above which a building may clearly be classified as a skyscraper...
in Europe
- Royal Museum of Fine Arts, close to the southern quays, has a collection of old masters (Rubens
Sir Peter Paul Rubens was a prolific seventeenth-century Flemish Baroque painter, and a proponent of an exuberant Baroque style that emphasized movement, color, and sensuality...
, Van DyckSir Anthony van Dyck was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England. He is most famous for his portraits of King Charles I of England and Scotland and his family and court, painted with a relaxed elegance that was to be the dominant influence on English...
, Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio, born 1473/1490 , died 27 August 1576, better known as Titian , was the leading painter of the 16th-century Venetian school of the Italian Renaissance. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno , in the Republic of Venice...
) and the leading Dutch masters.
- Rubenshuis
The Rubenshuis is the former home and studio of Peter Paul Rubens in Antwerp. It is now a museum.- Rubens's house during his lifetime :...
is the former home and studio of Peter Paul RubensSir Peter Paul Rubens was a prolific seventeenth-century Flemish Baroque painter, and a proponent of an exuberant Baroque style that emphasized movement, color, and sensuality...
(1577-1640) in Antwerp. It is now a museum.
- exchange
An exchange is a highly organized market where tradable securities, commodities, foreign exchange, futures, and options contracts are sold and bought...
or BourseAn exchange is a highly organized market where tradable securities, commodities, foreign exchange, futures, and options contracts are sold and bought...
, one of the earliest institutions in Europe with that title, was built in 1872.
- law courts
A court is a body, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes and dispense civil, criminal, or administrative justice in accordance with rules of law....
, designed by the Richard RogersRichard George Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside, CH, FRIBA, FCSD, is a British architect noted for his modernist and functionalist designs...
Partnership, Arup and VK Studio, and opened by King Albert in April 2006. This building is the antithesis of the heavy, dark court buildingThe Law Courts of Brussels or Brussels Palace of Justice is the most important Court building in Belgium and is a notable landmark of Brussels. It was built between 1866 and 1883 in the eclectic style by architect Joseph Poelaert...
designed by Joseph PoelaertJoseph Poelaert was a Belgian architect.His most important creations were the monumental Law Courts of Brussels , the Congress Column and the Churches Sainte-Cathérine/Kathelijnkerk in Brussels, and Onze-Lieve Vrouw/Notre-Dame in Laeken.He also led the restoration works of the Théatre Royal de la...
that dominates the skylineA skyline is best described as the overall or partial view of a city's tall buildings and structures consisting of many skyscrapers in front of the sky in the background. It can also be described as the artificial horizon that a city's overall structure creates. Skylines serve as a kind of...
of BrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the de facto capital city of the European Union and the largest urban area in Belgium...
. The courtrooms sit on top of six fingers that radiate from an airy central hall, and are surmounted by spireA spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from Anglo-Saxon, so it is related to "spear," rather than the Romance languages and "spirit."...
s which provide north light and resemble oast houseAn oast or oast house is an example of vernacular architecture in England, especially Kent and Sussex.They are farm buildings used for drying hops in preparation for the brewing process. They consist of two or three storeys on which the hops were spread out to be dried by hot air from a wood or...
s or the sailA sail is any type of surface intended to generate thrust by being placed in a wind—in essence a vertically-oriented wing. Sails are used in sailing.-History of sails:...
s of bargeA barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
s on the nearby River Scheldt. It is built on the site of the old Zuid ("South") station, at the end of a magnificent 1.5 km perspective at the southern end of Amerikalei. The road neatly disappears into an underpassA tunnel is an underground passageway. The definition of what constitutes a tunnel is not universally agreed upon. However, in general tunnels are at least twice as long as they are wide. In addition, they should be completely enclosed on all sides, save for the openings at each end...
under ovalAn oval is any curve resembling an egg or an ellipse but may also refer to:* A sporting arena of oval shape** a cricket field** an Australian rules football field** a Oval track used mainly in American auto racing...
Bolivarplaats to join the motorwayThe OECD has defined a motorway as:Motorways are identical to freeways as a road type, and comparable to the United States's Interstate Highways as a classification....
ring. This leaves peaceful surface access by foot, bicycleA bicycle, also known as a bike, push bike or cycle, is a pedal-driven, human-powered vehicle with two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist or a bicyclist....
or tramA tram, tramcar, trolley, trolleycar, or streetcar is a railborne vehicle, of lighter weight and construction than a conventional train, designed for the transport of passengers within, close to, or between villages, towns and/or cities, on tracks running primarily on streets...
(routes 8 & 12). The building's highest 'sail' is 51 m high, has a floor area of 77,000 m², and cost €130m.
Fortifications
Although Antwerp was formerly a fortified city, nothing remains of the former
enceinteEnceinte , is a French term used technically in fortification for the inner ring of fortifications surrounding a town.Strictly, the term was applied to the continuous line of bastions and curtains forming the body of the...
or of the old
citadelA citadel is a fortress for protecting a town, sometimes incorporating a castle. The term derives from the same Latin root as the word "city", civis, meaning citizen....
defended by
General ChasséDavid Hendrik, Baron Chassé was a Dutch soldier who fought both for and against Napoleon. He commanded the Third Netherlands Division that intervened at a crucial moment in the Battle of Waterloo...
in 1832, except for the
SteenHet Steen is a historic medieval castle in the old city center of Antwerp, Belgium, one of Europe's biggest ports. Built in 1200 - 1225, Het Steen is Antwerp's oldest building....
, which has been restored. Modern Antwerp's broad avenues mark the position of the original fortifications. After the establishment of Belgian independence, Antwerp was defended by the citadel and an enceinte around the city. In 1859, seventeen of the twenty-two fortresses constructed under
WellingtonField Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, KP, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Anglo-Irish soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the nineteenth century....
's supervision in 1815–1818 were dismantled and the old citadel and enceinte were removed. A new enceinte long was constructed, and the villages of
Berchem-Demography:Berchem's total surface is over 1,500 acres, and it is inhabited by more than 40,000 citizens.-Political structure:After the decentralization of Antwerp in 2000, Berchem became a semi-independent district with its own legislative body, the so-called Districtsraad , and its own executive...
and
BorgerhoutBorgerhout is a district of the municipality and city of Antwerp in the Flemish Region of Belgium. The district houses 41,614 inhabitants reflecting 90 nationalities...
, now boroughs of Antwerp, were absorbed within the city.
This enceinte is protected by a broad wet ditch, and in the
caponierA Caponier is a type of fortification structure. The word originates from the French word "caponnière" - which strictly means capon-cote i.e. chickenhouse.The fire coming from the feature A Caponier is a type of fortification structure. The word originates from the French word "caponnière" -...
s are the magazines and store chambers of the fortress. The enceinte has nineteen openings or gateways, but of these seven are not used by the public. As soon as the enceinte was finished eight detached forts from 2 to 2-½ miles from the enceinte were constructed. They begin on the north near
WijnegemWijnegem is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the town of Wijnegem proper. On January 1 2006 Wijnegem had a total population of 8,816. The total area is 7.86 km² which gives a population density of 1,122 inhabitants per km²....
and the zone of inundation, and terminate on the south at
HobokenHoboken is a southern district of the arrondissement and city of Antwerp, in the Flemish Region of Belgium.-Name:A local children's story says that the name "Hoboken" is derived from a little boy who accidentally dropped his sandwich in the Schelde river, which flows near Hoboken...
. In 1870 Fort
MerksemMerksem is a district of the municipality and city of Antwerp in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It has almost 41,000 inhabitants.-History:The history of Merksem goes back to Gallo-Roman times. During that period the region was mentioned as Merk and Heim being part of the diocese Kamerijk...
and the redoubts of
BerendrechtBerendrecht is a village in Antwerp province in Belgium. Its name means "dike of the bear", according to the area's dialect, or "dike of a man called Bear", or "passage by the marsh"...
and
OorderenOorderen was a small Belgian village near the city of Antwerp until 1965. It was demolished because of the extension of the Port of Antwerp.The village was first mentioned in 1116 and merged into the city of Antwerp in 1927....
were built for the defence of the area to be inundated north of Antwerp.
In the 1870s, the fortifications of Antwerp were deemed to be out of date, given the increased range and power of artillery and explosives. Antwerp was transformed into a fortified position by constructing an outer line of forts and batteries 6 to from the enceinte.
Commerce
According to the
American Association of Port AuthoritiesThe American Association of Port Authorities ' is a trade association, founded in 1912, that represents over 150 port authority organizations throughout the Western Hemisphere....
(AAPA), the
port of Antwerp||-||-||-||-||}The Port of Antwerp, in Belgium, is a port accessible to capesize ships in the heart of Europe. Antwerp stands at the upper end of the tidal estuary of the Scheldt. The estuary is navigable by ships of more than 100,000 Gross Tons as far as 80 km inland...
was the seventeenth largest (by tonnage)
port||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-|}A port is a facility for receiving ships and/or transferring cargo. It is usually found at the edge of an ocean, sea, river, or lake. The best ports have deep water in channels or berths, and protection from the wind and waves...
in the world in 2005 and second only to
RotterdamThe Port of Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe, located in the city of Rotterdam, South Holland, the Netherlands. From 1962 until 1986 it was the world's busiest port, now overtaken by Asian ports like Singapore and Shanghai...
in Europe. Importantly it handles high volumes of economically attractive
generalCargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.- Marine Cargo Types :...
and
project cargo- Definition :The transportation, handling and installation of heavy items which are indivisible, and of weights generally accepted to be in the range of 1 ton to over 1000 tons and of widths/heights of more than 100 meters that are too large to fit into normal containers or onto conventional...
, as well as
bulk cargoBulk cargo is commodity cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities. These cargos are usually dropped or poured, with a spout or shovel bucket, as a liquid or as a mass of relatively small solids , into a bulk carrier ship's hold, railroad car, or tanker truck/trailer/semi-trailer body...
. Antwerp's docklands, with five
oil refineriesAn oil refinery is an industrial process plant where crude oil is processed and refined into more useful petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt base, heating oil, kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas...
, are home to a massive concentration of
petrochemicalPetrochemicals are chemical products made from raw materials of petroleum or other hydrocarbon origin. Although some of the chemical compounds that originate from petroleum may also be derived from coal and natural gas, petroleum is the major source...
industries, second only to the petrochemical cluster in Houston,
TexasTexas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States.The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies"...
.
Electricity generationElectricity generation is the process of creating electricity from other forms of energy.The fundamental principles of electricity generation were discovered during the 1820s and early 1830s by the British scientist Michael Faraday...
is also an important activity, with four
nuclear powerNuclear power is power produced from controlled nuclear reactions. Commercial plants in use to date use nuclear fission reactions....
plants at
DoelDoel is a subdivision of the municipality of Beveren in the Flemish province of Oost-Vlaanderen. It is located near the river the Scheldt, in a polder of the Waasland....
, a conventional power station in Kallo, as well as several smaller
combined cycleA combined cycle is characteristic of a power producing engine or plant that employs more than one thermodynamic cycle. Heat engines are only able to use a portion of the energy their fuel generates . The remaining heat from combustion is generally wasted...
plants. There are plans for a
wind farmA wind farm is a group of wind turbines in the same location used for production of electric power. Individual turbines are interconnected with a medium voltage power collection system and communications network...
in a disused area of the docklands.
The old Belgian
bluestoneBluestone is the name given to several stones:# a feldspathic sandstone in the U.S.,# a form of limestone native to the Shenandoah Valley in the U.S.# a form of dolerite which appears blue when wet or freshly broken in Britain,...
quayA quay is a wharf or bank where ships and other vessels are loaded. A quay may be constructed parallel or perpendicular to the bank of a waterway. In the United Kingdom and Commonwealth nations, the word is commonly used, while Americans typically use "wharf." Similar words are found in many...
s bordering the
ScheldtThe Scheldt is a 350 km long river in northern France, western Belgium and the southwestern part of the Netherlands...
for a distance of to the north and south of the city centre have been retained for their sentimental value and are used mainly by
cruise shipA cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience. Cruising has become a major part of the tourism industry, with millions of passengers each year...
s and short-sea shipping.
Antwerp's other great mainstay is the
diamondIn mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is the second most stable form of carbon, after graphite; however, the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is...
trade. The city has four diamond bourses: one for
bortBort or boart is a term used in the diamond industry to refer to shards of gem-grade/quality diamonds. In the manufacturing and heavy industries, "bort" is used to describe dark, imperfectly formed/crystallized diamonds of varying levels of opacity. The lowest grade, "crushing bort", is crushed by...
and three for gem quality goods. Since
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
families of the large
Hasidic Jewish communityThe Jewish community of Antwerp consists of around 15,000 Jews. The majority of those who choose to identify themselves as Jewish belong to the traditional or orthodox streams, although levels of practice vary. The charedi, or Orthodox Jews, tend to live, concentrated, in the city center in an area...
have dominated Antwerp's diamond trading industry, although the last two decades have seen
IndianThere are about 7,000 persons of Indian origin residing in Belgium.Indians are employed mainly in the software and diamond industries as well as other local industries in major cities...
and
ArmenianArmenian-Belgians are citizens of Belgium of Armenian ancestry. The exact number of Armenians in the country is unknown, but is unofficially estimated to be about 10,000....
traders become increasingly important.
Antwerp World Diamond Centre, the successor to the
Hoge Raad voor Diamant, plays an important role in setting standards, regulating professional ethics, training and promoting the interests of Antwerp as a centre of the diamond industry.
Road
A motorway bypass encircles much of the city centre. Known locally as the "Ring" it offers motorway connections to
BrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the de facto capital city of the European Union and the largest urban area in Belgium...
,
Hasselt||-||-||}Hasselt is a Belgian city and municipality, and capital of the Flemish province of Limburg. The Hasselt municipality includes the city of Hasselt and the old communes of Sint-Lambrechts-Herk, Wimmertingen, Kermt, Spalbeek, Kuringen, Stokrooie, Stevoort and Runkst.On 31 December, 2007...
and
LiègeLiège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the administrative capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium.The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse River, near Belgium's eastern borders...
,
GhentGhent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
,
LilleLille is a city in northern France. It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
and
BrugesBruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
and
BredaBreda is a municipality and a city in the southern part of the Netherlands. The name Breda derived from brede Aa and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. As a fortified city, the city was a strategic military and political significance...
and
Bergen op ZoomBergen op Zoom is a municipality and a city in the south of the Netherlands.-History:Bergen op Zoom was granted city status probably in 1266. In 1287 the city and its surroundings became a lordship as it was separated from the lordship of Breda. The lordship was elevated to a margraviate in 1559...
(Netherlands). The banks of the Scheldt are linked by three road
tunnelA tunnel is an underground passageway. The definition of what constitutes a tunnel is not universally agreed upon. However, in general tunnels are at least twice as long as they are wide. In addition, they should be completely enclosed on all sides, save for the openings at each end...
s (in order of construction): the Waasland Tunnel (1934), the Kennedy Tunnel (1967) and the Liefkenshoek Tunnel (1991). Currently a fourth high volume highway link called "
Oosterweelconnectionthumb|270px|Location Oosterweelconnection in greenThe "Oosterweelconnection" is a controversial planned highway that will make the inner ring-road around Antwerp complete. The connection will consist of a cable-stayed bridge over a harbor area called "Het Eilandje" and a tunnel under the Scheldt...
" is in the tendering stage. It will entail the construction of a long viaduct and bridge (the Lange Wapper Bridge) over the Scheldt on the north side of the city. The completion date is as yet uncertain. The cost of the connection is estimated at 2.2 billion euro.
Rail
Antwerp is the focus of lines to the north to Essen and the Netherlands, east to Turnhout, south to Mechelen, Brussels and Charleroi via
LuttreLuttre is a small village in Wallonia, Belgium, about 50km south of Brussels along the Charleroi-Brussels Canal, railway line and motorway. Its name means crystal clear water...
, and southwest to Ghent and Ostend.
It is served by international trains to
AmsterdamAmsterdam is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country...
and Paris, and national trains to
GhentGhent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
,
BrugesBruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
,
Ostend||-||-||}Ostend is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....
,
BrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the de facto capital city of the European Union and the largest urban area in Belgium...
,
CharleroiCharleroi is the largest city and municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. On 1 January 2008, Charleroi had a total population of 201,593. The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of and has a total population of 522,522 as of 1...
,
Hasselt||-||-||}Hasselt is a Belgian city and municipality, and capital of the Flemish province of Limburg. The Hasselt municipality includes the city of Hasselt and the old communes of Sint-Lambrechts-Herk, Wimmertingen, Kermt, Spalbeek, Kuringen, Stokrooie, Stevoort and Runkst.On 31 December, 2007...
,
LiègeLiège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the administrative capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium.The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse River, near Belgium's eastern borders...
and
TurnhoutTurnhout is a Belgian municipality located in the Flemish province of Antwerp. The city is also known as the Capital of the Campine. The municipality comprises only the city of Turnhout proper. On January 1 2006 Turnhout had a total population of 39,791...
.
Its Central station is an architectural monument in itself, and is mentioned in
W G SebaldW. G. Maximilian Sebald was a German writer and academic...
's haunting novel
AusterlitzAusterlitz is the final novel of W. G. Sebald, published in 2001. It is one of the most significant German language works of fiction for the period since the Second World War.-Plot summary:...
. Prior to the completion in 2007 of a tunnel that runs northwards under the city centre to emerge at the old Antwerp Dam station, Centraal was a terminus. Trains to the Netherlands either had to reverse at Centraal or call only at Berchem station, 2 km to the south, and then describe a semicircle to the east, round the Singel.
City transportation
The city has a web of tram and bus lines operated by
De Lijn||-||-||}Vlaamse Vervoersmaatschappij De Lijn - usually known as De Lijn - is a company run by the Flemish government in Belgium to provide public transportation, similar to the way in which Belgian railroads or the postal system is run. It runs 2,251 buses and 359 trams...
and providing access to the city centre, suburbs and the Left Bank. The
tramA tram, tramcar, trolley, trolleycar, or streetcar is a railborne vehicle, of lighter weight and construction than a conventional train, designed for the transport of passengers within, close to, or between villages, towns and/or cities, on tracks running primarily on streets...
network has 12 lines, of which the underground section is called the "
premetroThe Antwerp Premetro is a network, consisting of lines 2, 3, 5, 6 and 15 of the Antwerp tram system. It is a 1000 mm rail gauge system, which runs underground in the city centre and further out on surface lines, which are separated from motor traffic...
" and includes a tunnel under the river.
Air
Antwerp International AirportAntwerpen International Airport is located 2 km from the City of Antwerp, Belgium. It has a maintenance hangar of VLM Airlines. In 2005 it served as many as about 105,937 passengers...
is in the district of Deurne.
VLM AirlinesVLM Airlines is a Belgian business airline.- History :VLM Airlines started operations in May 1993 with a scheduled service between Antwerp Airport and London City Airport. The airline employs over 400 people, and carried 745,781 passengers in 2007...
flies to London (City Airport) and
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. In 2007, the population of the city was estimated to be 458,100...
in England. VLM is the only airline with scheduled air services to and from Antwerp International Airport. The airport is connected by bus to the city center.
Brussels AirportBrussels Airport is an international airport located in Zaventem, northeast of Brussels, Belgium....
is about 45 km from the city of Antwerp, and connects the city worldwide. The airport is connected by bus and by train to the city centre of Antwerp
Culture
Antwerp had an artistic reputation in the 17th century, based on its
school of paintingThe Antwerp School is a term for the artists active in Antwerp, first during the sixteenth century when the city was the economic center of the Low Countries, and then during the seventeenth century when it became the artistic stronghold of the Flemish Baroque under Peter Paul...
, which included
RubensSir Peter Paul Rubens was a prolific seventeenth-century Flemish Baroque painter, and a proponent of an exuberant Baroque style that emphasized movement, color, and sensuality...
,
Van DyckSir Anthony van Dyck was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England. He is most famous for his portraits of King Charles I of England and Scotland and his family and court, painted with a relaxed elegance that was to be the dominant influence on English...
,
JordaensJacob Jordaens , was one of three Flemish Baroque painters, along with Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck, to bring prestige to the Antwerp school of painting. Unlike those contemporaries he never traveled abroad to study Italian painting, and his career is marked by an indifference to their...
, the two
TeniersTeniers was a family of celebrated Flemish painters that included:*David Teniers the Elder *David Teniers the Younger *David Teniers III...
and many others. Informally, most Antverpians (in Dutch
Antwerpenaren, people from Antwerp) daily speak Antverpian (in Dutch
Antwerps), a dialect that Dutch-speakers know as distinctive from other
BrabanticBrabantian or Brabantish, also: Brabantic is a dialect group of the Dutch language. It is named after the historical Duchy of Brabant which corresponded mainly to the Dutch province of North Brabant, the Belgian provinces of Antwerp and Flemish Brabant, as well as the institutional Region of...
dialects through its typical vowel pronunciations: approximating the vowel sound in 'bore'— for one of its long 'a'-sounds while other short 'a's are very sharp like the vowel sound in 'hat'. The
Echt Antwaarps Teater ("Authentic Antverpian Theatre") brings the dialect on stage.
Fashion
Antwerp is a rising fashion city, and has produced designers such as the
Antwerp SixThe Antwerp Six refers to a group of influential avantgarde fashion designers graduating from Antwerp's Royal Academy of Fine Arts between 1980-1981. At the academy they were taught by Linda Loppa. The fashion collective presented a distinct radical vision for fashion during the 1980s that...
. The city has a cult status in the fashion world, due to the
Royal Academy of Fine ArtsThe Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp is one of the oldest of its kind in Europe. It was founded in 1663 by David Teniers the Younger, painter to the Archduke Leopold Wilhelm and Don Juan of Austria...
, one of the most important fashion academies in Europe. It has served as the learning centre for a large number of Belgian
fashion designFashion design is the applied art dedicated to clothing and lifestyle accessories created within the cultural and social influences of a specific time.It is considered to have a built in obsolescence usually of one to two seasons...
ers. Since the 1980s, several graduates of the Belgian Royal Academy of Fine Arts have become internationally successful fashion designers in Antwerp.
Local products
Antwerp is famous for its local products and in August every year the
Bollekesfeest takes place. The Bollekesfeest is a showcase for such local products as beer from the
De Koninck BreweryDe Koninck Brewery is a Belgian brewery based in Antwerp. The glass in which De Koninck's flagship beer is served is called a bolleke, although this term is most colloquially used to refer to a glass filled with the beer itself...
, better known in Antwerp as a "
Bolleke", the
Mokatine sweets made by
Confiserie RoodthooftConfiserie Roodthooft was founded by Louis Roodthooft and Johanna Stoops in 1925. He was in charge of sales whilst she took care of the everyday running of the factory, which was not a usual thing for a Belgian woman to do back then. Based in Antwerp, the third-generation family company still...
, Elixir D'Anvers, a locally-made liqueur, locally roasted coffee from
Koffie Verheyen, sugar from
Candico,
Poolster pickled herring,
Equinox horse meat, and others. The local products are represented by a non-profit making organisation,
Streekproducten Provincie Antwerpen vzw.
Sports
The major
sport clubA sports club, athletics club or sports association is an eclectic institution oriented to multiple sports, which fields many teams and in several sports, working under the same umbrella organization. In a larger sense, it may also refer to any sports institution, even those that have only one...
s are
K.F.C. Germinal BeerschotK.F.C. Germinal Beerschot is a Belgian football club based in Antwerp. This club was established in 1999 as a result of the merger between K.F.C. Germinal Ekeren and K. Beerschot V.A.C..- History :...
and R. Antwerp F.C. (football) and
Antwerp Diamond GiantsAntwerp Giants is a Belgian professional basketball club based in Antwerp. Their home arena is Lotto Arena.Antwerpse, Zaziko, Brabo, Oxaco, Tunnel and more Antwerp basketball teams formed an union called SOBABEE which fusionated with Racing Mechelen BC. The club was called Racing Basket Antwerpen...
(
basketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of 5 players try to score points against one another by placing a ball through a
10 foot high hoop under organized rules...
).
Orthodox Jewish population
After the
HolocaustThe Holocaust , also known as The Shoah is the term generally used to describe the genocide of approximately six million European Jews during World War II, a program of systematic state-sponsored extermination by Nazi Germany,...
and the destruction of its many semi-assimilated Jews, Antwerp became a major centre for Orthodox Jews. At present, about 15,000
HarediHaredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism, sometimes referred to as Ultra-Orthodox Judaism, though the term is considered pejorative by some, is the most theologically conservative form of Orthodox Judaism...
Jews, mostly
HasidicHasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew: , Hasidut, meaning "piety") is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith. The majority of Hasidic Jews are ultra-orthodox....
, live in Antwerp. The city has three official Jewish Congregations: Shomrei Hadass, headed by Rabbi Dovid Moishe Lieberman, Machsike Hadass, headed by Rabbi Eliyahu Sternbuch (formerly Chief Rabbi Chaïm Kreiswirth) and the Portuguese Community Bne Moshe. Antwerp has an extensive network of synagogues, shops, schools and organizations, within the Machsike Hadas community. Significant Hasidic movements in Antwerp include
PshevorskPshevorsk is a small Hasidic movement based in Antwerp, Belgium, led by the Leiser rabbinical dynasty, originating in the Polish town of Przeworsk.-History:...
, based in Antwerp, as well as branches of
SatmarSatmar is a Hasidic movement comprised mostly of Hungarian and Romanian Hasidic Jewish Holocaust survivors and their descendents. It was founded and led by the late Hungarian-born Grand Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum , who was the rabbi of Szatmárnémeti, Hungary...
,
BelzBelz is a Hasidic dynasty named for the town of Belz, a small town in Western Ukraine. The town has existed since at least the 10th century with the Jewish community being established during the 14th century. In 1665 Jews in Belz obtained equal rights and duties. The town became home to Hasidim in...
,
BobovBobov, is a Hasidic group within Haredi Judaism originating in Bobowa, Galicia in Southern Poland and now headquartered in the neighborhood of Borough Park in Brooklyn, New York. Bobov has branches in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn; Monsey, New York; Miami; Montreal; Toronto; Antwerp and...
,
GerGer, or Gur is a Hasidic dynasty originating from Ger, the Yiddish name of Góra Kalwaria, a small town in Poland....
,
SkverSkver is the name of a Hasidic dynasty founded by Rebbe Yitzchok Twerski in the city of Skver . Followers of the rebbes of Skver are called Skverer hasidim....
,
KlausenburgThis article below discusses the Sanz-Klausenburger dynasty that began with Rabbi Yekusiel Yehudah Halberstam and presently the two movements in Israel and America...
and several others. Rabbi
Chaim KreiswirthRabbi Chaim Kreiswirth was an Orthodox rabbi who served as the longtime Chief Rabbi of Antwerp, Belgium. He was the founder and rosh yeshiva of the Mercaz HaTorah yeshiva in Jerusalem. He was a highly regarded Torah scholar.-Early years:...
, chief rabbi of the Machsike Hadas community, who died in 2003, was arguably one of the better known personalities to have been based in Antwerp. An attempt to have a street named after him has received the support of the Town Hall and is in the process of being implemented.
Missions to seafarers
A number of Christian missions to seafarers are based in Antwerp, notably on the Italiëlei. These include the
Mission to SeafarersThe Mission to Seafarers is an international Anglican mission serving mariners and sailors in over 230 ports around the world...
,
British & International Sailors’ SocietySailors’ Society is an inter-denominational Christian organisation providing pastoral care to seafarers.The Society was formed in 1818 as the Port of London Society. Following mergers with two other societies, the name was changed to The British & Foreign Sailors’ Society. In 1925 it was changed to...
, the
Finnish Seamen's MissionThe Finnish Seamen's Mission was established in 1875. In Finland's two official languages it is known as Suomen Merimieskirkko ry in Finnish and Finlands Sjömanskyrka rf in Swedish. It was established to help Finns travelling abroad, particularly seafarers and migrant workers...
, the Norwegian Sjømannskirken and the
Apostleship of the SeaThe Apostleship of the Sea is an agency of the Catholic Church. It is also sometimes known as Stella Maris , and its patron is the Virgin Mary as Our Lady, Star of the Sea...
. They provide cafeterias, cultural and social activities as well as religious services.
Twin towns — Sister cities
The following places are twinned with or sister cities to Antwerp:
RotterdamRotterdam ; city and municipality in the Dutch province of South Holland, situated in the west of the Netherlands. The municipality is the second largest in the country, with a population of 584,046 as of January 2007...
, The NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
, 1940 MulhouseMulhouse is a city and commune in eastern France, close to the Swiss and German borders. With 271,000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area in 2007 it is the largest city in the Haut-Rhin department, and the second largest in the Alsace region after Strasbourg...
, France, 1954 Saint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city's other names were Petrograd and Leningrad...
, Russia, 1958 RostockRostock is the largest city in the north German state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Rostock is located on the Warnow river; the quarter of Warnemünde 12 km north of the city centre lies directly on the coast of the Baltic Sea.-Geography:Rostock is located nearly centrally on...
, Germany,1963 ShanghaiShanghai is the largest city in China, and one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world, with over 20 million people. Located on China's central eastern coast at the mouth of the Yangtze River, the city is administered as a municipality of the People's Republic of China with province-level...
, ChinaThe People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
, 1984 |
AkhisarAkhisar is a county district and its town center in Manisa Province in the Aegean region of Western Turkey...
, TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
, 1988 HaifaHaifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 264,900. Haifa has a mixed population of Jews and Arabs giving an example for peaceful co-existence. The Arab population used to be predominantly Christian, while some of the Jewish...
, IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
, 1995 Cape TownCape Town is the second most populous city in South Africa, and the largest in land area, forming part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality. It is the provincial capital of the Western Cape, as well as the legislative capital of South Africa, where the National Parliament and many...
, South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
, 1996 BarcelonaBarcelona is the capital, most populous city of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain, with a population of 1,615,908 in 2008. It is the 11th-most populous municipality in the European Union and sixth-most populous urban area in the European Union after Paris,...
, Spain, 1997 Ludwigshafen, Germany, 1998 |
Partnerships
Within the context of development cooperation, Antwerp is also linked to:
ParamariboParamaribo is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 250,000 people...
,
SurinameSuriname , officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America....
DurbanDurban is the third most populous city in South Africa, forming part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. It is the largest city in KwaZulu-Natal and is famous as the busiest port in Africa. It is also a major centre of tourism due to the city's warm subtropical climate and...
,
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
Born in Antwerp
- Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence
Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence was the third son, but the second son to survive infancy, of Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. He was so called because he was born at Antwerp.-First marriage:...
, son of Edward III of EnglandEdward III was one of the most successful English monarchs of the Middle Ages. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into the most efficient military power in Europe...
(1338–1368)
- Samuel Blommaert
Samuel Blommaert was a Flemish director of the Dutch West India Company from 1622 to 1629 and again from 1636 to 1642...
, Director of the Dutch West India CompanyDutch West India Company was a chartered company of Dutch merchants. Among its founding fathers was Willem Usselincx . On June 3, 1621, it was granted a charter for a trade monopoly in the West Indies by the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands and given jurisdiction over the African slave...
(1583 – 1654)
- Frans Floris
Frans Floris, or more correctly Frans de Vriendt, called Floris , Flemish painter, was one of a large family trained to the study of art in Flanders....
, painterPainting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . In art, the term describes both the act and the result, which is called a painting. Paintings may have for their support such surfaces as walls, paper, canvas, wood, glass, lacquer, clay or concrete...
(1520–1570)
- Abraham Ortelius
thumb|180px|right|Abraham Ortelius.Abraham Ortelius was a Flemish cartographer and geographer, generally recognised as the creator of the first modern atlas.-Life:...
, cartographerCartography is the study and practice of making geographical maps. Combining science, aesthetics, and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively.The fundamental problems of cartography are to:*Set the map's...
and geographerA geographer is a scientist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's physical environment and human habitat.Though geographers are historically known as people who make maps, map making is actually the field of study of cartography, a subset of geography...
(1527–1598)
- Gillis van Coninxloo
Gillis van Coninxloo was a Dutch painter of forest landscapes, the most famous member of a large family of artists. He travelled through France, and lived in Germany for several years to avoid religious persecution....
, painter of forest landscapes (1544–1607)
- Bartholomeus Spranger
Bartholomeus Spranger was a Flemish Northern Mannerist painter, draughtsman, and etcher. He was born in Antwerp....
, painter, draughtsmanDrawing is a visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoals, chalk, pastels, markers, stylus, or various metals like silverpoint...
, and etcherEtching is the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio in the metal...
(1546–1611)
- Paul and Mattheus Brill
Paul and Mattheus Brill were brothers, both born in Antwerp, who were landscape painters who worked in Rome after earning papal favor. They are also described as painters of capricci or vedute ideate or veduta di fantasia, with typical rustic hills with a few ruins...
, landscape painters (1554-1626, 1550-1583, resp.)
- Abraham Janssens
Abraham Janssens van Nuyssen was a Flemish Baroque painter.He was born at Antwerp, in a year variously reported between 1567 and 1576. He studied under Jan Snellinck, was a master in 1602, and in 1607 was dean of the master-painters...
, painter (c. 1570-1632)
- Rodrigo Calderón, Count of Oliva
Don Rodrigo Calderón, Conde de la Oliva de Plasencia, Marqués de Siete Iglesias was a favorite minister of the Duke of Lerma, while the latter was valido or valued minister of King Philip III of Spain...
, SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
favourite and adventurer (d. 1621)
- Frans Snyders, still life
A still life is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be either natural or man-made in an artificial setting...
and animal painter (1579–1657)
- Frans Hals
Frans Hals was a Dutch Golden Age painter especially famous for portraiture. He is notable for his loose painterly brushwork, and helped introduce this lively style of painting into Dutch art. Hals was also instrumental in the evolution of 17th century group portraiture.-Biography:Hals was born in...
, painter (1580–1666)
- Caspar de Crayer
Gaspar de Crayer sometimes called Gaspard or Caspar de Crayer was a Flemish painter.He learned the art of painting from Michael Coxcie. He matriculated in the Guild of St Luke at Brussels in 1607, resided in the capital of Brabant till after 1660, and finally settled at Ghent...
, painter (1582–1669)
- David Teniers the Elder
David Teniers the Elder , Flemish painter was born at Antwerp.Having received his first training in the painter's art from his brother Juliaen, he studied under Rubens in Antwerp, and subsequently under Elsheimer in Rome; he became a member of the Antwerp gild of painters in 1606.Though his...
, painter (1582–1649)
- Jacob Jordaens
Jacob Jordaens , was one of three Flemish Baroque painters, along with Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck, to bring prestige to the Antwerp school of painting. Unlike those contemporaries he never traveled abroad to study Italian painting, and his career is marked by an indifference to their...
, painter (1593–1678)
- Anthony van Dyck
Sir Anthony van Dyck was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England. He is most famous for his portraits of King Charles I of England and Scotland and his family and court, painted with a relaxed elegance that was to be the dominant influence on English...
, painter (1599–1641)
- David Teniers the Younger
David Teniers the Younger , a Flemish artist born in Antwerp, was the more celebrated son of David Teniers the Elder, almost ranking in celebrity with Rubens and Van Dyck. His son David Teniers III and his grandson David Teniers IV were also painters...
, painter (1610–1690)
- Jan Fyt
Jan Fyt was a Flemish Baroque animal painter and etcher.Born in Antwerp, where he was baptized on 15 June 1611, he was registered in 1621 as apprentice to Hans van den Berghe, who was a restorer of old pictures rather than a painter of new ones...
, animal painter (1611–1661)
- Nicolaes Maes
Nicolaes Maes, also known as Nicolaes Maas was a Dutch Baroque painter of genre and portraits....
, BaroqueBaroque is an artistic style prevalent from the late 16th century to the early 18th century. The popularity and success of the Baroque style was encouraged by the Roman Catholic Church, which had decided at the time of the Council of Trent that the arts should communicate religious themes in...
painter (1634–1693)
- Gerard Edelinck
Gerard Edelinck , Flemish copper-plate engraver, was born at Antwerp, Belgium....
, copper-plate engraver (1649–1707)
- Peter Tillemans
Peter Tillemans was a Flemish painter, best known for his works on sporting and topographical subjects. Alongside John Wootton and James Seymour, he was one of the founders of the English school of sporting painting....
, painter (c. 1684–1734)
- John Michael Rysbrack
Johannes Michel or John Michael Rysbrack was an 18th-century Flemish sculptor. His birth-year is sometimes given as 1693 or 1684....
, sculptorSculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard and/or plastic material, sound, and/or text and or light, commonly stone , metal, glass, or wood. Some sculptures are created directly by finding or carving; others are assembled, built together and fired, welded, molded,...
(1694–1770)
- Hendrik Conscience
Henri "Hendrik" Conscience was a Flemish writer. He was a pioneer in writing in Dutch after the secession from the Netherlands in 1830 left Belgium a mostly French speaking country....
, writer and author of De Leeuw van Vlaanderen ("The Lion of Flanders") (1812–1883)
- Georges Eekhoud
Georges Eekhoud was a Belgian novelist of Flemish descent, but writing in French.Eekhoud was a regionalist best known for his ability to represent scenes from rural and urban daily life...
, novelist (1854–1927)
- Hippolyte Delehaye
Hippolyte Delehaye was a Belgian Jesuit who was a hagiographic scholar and an outstanding member of the Bollandists, who established critical editions of texts relating to the Christian saints and martyrs that were based on applying the critical method of sound archaeological and documentary...
, JesuitThe Society of Jesus is a Catholic religious order of clerks regular whose members are called Jesuits.Jesuits are the largest male religious order in the Catholic Church, with 18,815 members—13,305 priests, 2,295 scholastic students, 1,758 brothers and 827 novices—as of January 2008, although the...
Priest and hagiographicHagiography is the study of saints. A hagiography, from the Greek and , refers literally to writings on the subject of such holy people, and specifically to the biographies of ecclesiastical and secular leaders. The term hagiology, the study of hagiography, is also current in English, though...
scholarScholarly method or scholarship — is the body of principles and practices used by scholars to make their claims about the world as valid and trustworthy as possible, and to make them known to the scholarly public.-Methods:...
(1859–1941)
- Willem Elsschot
Willem Elsschot , was a Flemish writer and poet . A few of his works have been translated into English.- Life :...
, writer and poet (1882–1960)
- Constant Permeke
Constant Permeke was a Belgian painter and sculptor who is considered the leading figure of Flemish expressionism....
, expressionistExpressionism was a cultural movement originating in Germany at the start of the 20th-century as a reaction to positivism and other artistic movements such as naturalism and impressionism. It sought to express the meaning of "being alive" and emotional experience rather than physical reality...
painter (1886–1952)
- Paul van Ostaijen
Paul van Ostaijen was a Flemish poet and writer.Van Ostaijen was born in Antwerp. His nickname was Mister 1830, because of his habit of walking along the streets of Antwerp clothed as a dandy from that year....
, poet and writer (1896–1928)
- Albert Lilar
Albert Jean Julien François, Baron Lilar was a Belgian politician of the Liberal Party and a Minister of Justice....
, Minister of Justice (1900–1976)
- Maurice Gilliams
Maurice, Baron Gilliams was a Flemish writer and poet. He was the son of printer Frans Gilliams, and he learned to be a typographer. On 27 August 1935, he married Gabriëlle Baelemans, but they separated soon thereafter, although a divorce would not take place until 1976 due to the resistance of...
, writer (1900–1982)
- Antoinette Feuerwerker
Antoinette Feuerwerker was a French jurist and an active fighter in the French Resistance during the Second World War.-Biography:...
, French jurist and member of the Resistance (1912-2003)
- Paul Buysse
Baron Paul Buysse is a Belgian businessman. He is the main author of the Belgian Code for Corporate Governance and chairman of the board of directors of Flanders in Action.-Education:...
, businessman (1945 -)
- Evi Goffin
Evi Goffin was the vocalist of the Belgian musical group Lasgo. Also she was the vocalist for another Belgian group called Medusa, and featured on songs by Fiocco and 2 Fabiola....
, vocalist (1981- )
- Jessica Van Der Steen
Jessica Van Der Steen is a Belgian fashion model.Van Der Steen was first featured on the cover of the April 2000 edition of Ché magazine at age 16. In September 2003, she was also featured in the Dutch edition of ELLE. She then appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition in both 2004 and...
, Model (1984 -)
- Karl Gotch
Karl Istaz was a professional wrestler and trainer born in Antwerp, Belgium, best known by his ring name Karl Gotch. The German suplex is named after Gotch....
, professional wrestler (1924–2007)
- Tom Barman
Tom Barman is a Belgian musician and film director.Barman studied at the film school of St.-Lucas but didn't finish his studies because of his other passion: music. He preferred to begin a music career with his rock band dEUS formed in 1989...
, Belgian musician and film director.
- Willem Usselincx
Willem Usselincx was a Flemish merchant, investor and diplomat who was instrumental in drawing both Dutch and Swedish attention to the importance of the New World. Usselincx was one of the founding fathers of the Dutch West India Company...
, Flemish merchant and investor, one of the founders of the Dutch West India CompanyDutch West India Company was a chartered company of Dutch merchants. Among its founding fathers was Willem Usselincx . On June 3, 1621, it was granted a charter for a trade monopoly in the West Indies by the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands and given jurisdiction over the African slave...
(1567-1647)
Lived in Antwerp
- Quentin Matsys
Quentin Matsys was a painter in the Flemish tradition and a founder of the Antwerp school. He was born at Leuven, where he was trained as an ironsmith...
, RenaissanceThe Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Florence in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe...
painter, founder of the Antwerp school (1466–1530)
- Jan Mabuse
Jan Mabuse was the name adopted by the Flemish painter Jan Gossaert; or Jennyn van Hennegouwe , as he called himself when he matriculated in the guild of St Luke, at Antwerp, in 1503.Nothing is known of his early life, but his works suggest that he stood in his first period under the influence of...
, painter (c. 1478-1532)
- Joachim Patinir
Joachim Patinir, also called de Patiner , was a Flemish Northern Renaissance history and landscape painter from the area of modern Wallonia...
, landscape and religious painter (c. 1480-1524)
- John Rogers, minister of religion, Bible translator and commentator, and martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce a belief, usually religious.-Meaning:...
(c. 1500-1555)
- Joos van Cleve
Joos van Cleve , was a Netherlandish painter who was active in Antwerp from 1511 to 1540. He died between November 1540 and April 1541....
, painter (c. 1500-1540/41)
- Damião de Góis
Damiao de Góis born in Alenquer, Portugal, was an important Portuguese humanist philosopher. He was a friend and student of Erasmus. He was appointed secretary to a Portuguese trading post in Antwerp in 1523 by King John III of Portugal...
, PortuguesePortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
humanistHumanism is a perspective common to a wide range of ethical stances that attaches importance to human dignity, concerns, and capabilities, particularly rationality. Although the word has many senses, its meaning comes into focus when contrasted to the supernatural or to appeals to authority...
philosopherPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing these questions by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on reasoned...
(1502–1574)
- Sir Thomas Gresham
Sir Thomas Gresham was an English merchant and financier who worked for King Edward VI of England and for Edward's half-sister Queen Elizabeth I of England.-Family and Childhood:...
, English merchantA merchant is a businessman who trades in commodities that they do not produce themselves, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
and financierFinancier is a term for a person who handles typically large sums of money, usually involving money lending, financing projects, large-scale investing, or large-scale money management. The term is French, and derives from finance or payment...
(c. 1519-1579)
- Sir Anthony More, portrait
A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this reason, in photography a portrait is generally not a...
painter (1520- c. 1577)
- Christoffel Plantijn
Christophe Plantin was an influential Renaissance humanist and book printer and publisher.-Life:...
, humanist, book printerA printer is a company that provides commercial printing services, often also offering typesetting and book-binding services. The term can also refer to people who operate printing presses, or who run printing companies....
and publisherPublishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information – the activity of making information available for public view...
(c. 1520-1589)
- Pieter Brueghel the Elder, painter and printmaker
Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. Printmaking normally covers only the process of creating prints with an element of originality, rather than just being a photographic reproduction of a painting. Except in the case of monotyping, the process is capable...
(1525–1569)
- Philip van Marnix, writer and statesman
A statesman or stateswoman or statesperson is usually a politician or other notable public figure who has had a long and respected career in politics or government at the national and international level. As a term of respect, it is usually left to supporters or commentators to use the term...
(1538–1598)
- Simon Stevin
Simon Stevin was a Flemish mathematician and engineer. He was active in a great many areas of science and engineering, both theoretical and practical...
, mathematicianA mathematician is a person whose primary area of study and/or research is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with particular problems related to logic, space, transformations, numbers and more general ideas which encompass these concepts...
and engineerEngineers are concerned with developing economical and safe solutions to practical problems, by applying mathematics and scientific knowledge while considering technical constraints. The term is derived from the Latin root "ingenium," meaning "cleverness"...
(c. 1548/49-1620)
- John Bull
John Bull was an English composer, musician, and organ builder. He was a renowned keyboard performer and most of his compositions were written for this medium.-Life:Bull's place of birth is shrouded in uncertainty...
, English/WelshWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
composerA composer is a person who creates music, usually by musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of...
, musician, and organThe organ is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet...
builder (c. 1562-1628)
- Jan Brueghel the Elder
Jan Brueghel the Elder was a Flemish painter, son of Pieter Brueghel the Elder and father of Jan Brueghel the Younger. Nicknamed "Velvet" Brueghel, "Flower" Brueghel, and "Paradise" Brueghel, of which the latter two were derived from favored subjects, while the former may refer to the velveteen...
, also known as "Velvet" Brueghel, painter (1568–1625)
- Pieter Paul Rubens
Sir Peter Paul Rubens was a prolific seventeenth-century Flemish Baroque painter, and a proponent of an exuberant Baroque style that emphasized movement, color, and sensuality...
, painter (1577–1640)
- William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle, English soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
, politicianA politician or political leader is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making. This includes people who hold decision-making positions in government, and people who seek those positions, whether by means of election, coup d'état, appointment, electoral fraud, conquest,...
, and writer (c. 1592-1676)
- Adriaen Brouwer
Adriaen Brouwer was a Flemish genre painter active in Flanders and the Dutch Republic in the seventeenth century.-Biography:...
, painter (1605–1638)
- Jan Davidszoon de Heem
Jan Davidszoon de Heem or short-form Jan Davidsz. de Heem was a still life painter who was active in Utrecht and Antwerp...
, painter (1606–1684)
- Wenceslas Hollar
Václav Hollar , known in England as Wenceslaus and in Germany as Wenzel Hollar , was a Bohemian etcher...
, BohemianA Bohemian is a resident of the former Kingdom of Bohemia, either in a narrow sense as the region or Bohemia proper or in a wider meaning as the whole country, now known as the Czech Republic...
etcher (1607–1677)
- Jan Lievens
Jan Lievens was a Dutch painter, usually associated with Rembrandt, working in a similar style.-Biography:In his early years he was a student of Pieter Lastman in Amsterdam. After two years he began his career as an independent artist at age of fourteen in Leiden.Lievens collaborated and shared a...
, painter (1607–1674)
- Jan Frans Willems
Jan Frans Willems , Flemish writer and father of the Flemish movement.Willems was born in the Belgian city of Boechout, while that was under French occupation. He started his career in the office of a notary in Antwerp....
, writer (1793–1846)
- Henri Alexis Brialmont
Henri Alexis Brialmont was a Dutch-born Belgian military engineer. He was one of the leading fortifications engineers in the 19th century....
, military engineer (1821–1903)
- Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema
Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema , OM, RA was one of the most renowned painters of late nineteenth-century Britain....
, painter (1836–1912)
- Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter whose work had a far reaching influence on 20th century art for its vivid colors and emotional impact. He suffered from anxiety and increasingly frequent bouts of mental illness throughout his life, and died largely unknown, at the age...
, impressionistImpressionism was a 19th-century art movement that began as a loose association of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence in the 1870s and 1880s...
painter, lived in Antwerp for about four months (1853–1890)
- Camille Huysmans
Jean Joseph Camille Huysmans was a Flemish-Belgian politician.Huymans studied German philology at the University of Liege. He was a teacher from 1893 until 1897...
, SocialistSocialism refers to various theories of economic organization advocating public or direct worker ownership and administration of the means of production and allocation of resources, and a society characterized by equal access to resources for all individuals with a method of compensation based on...
politician and former Prime Minister of Belgium (1871–1968)
- Moshe Yitzchok Gewirtzman
Pshevorsk is a small Hasidic movement based in Antwerp, Belgium, led by the Leiser rabbinical dynasty, originating in the Polish town of Przeworsk.-History:...
, leader of the Hasidic Pshevorsk movement based in Antwerp (1881–1976)
- Romi Goldmuntz
Romi Goldmuntz was a Belgian businessman and played an essential role in the survival of the diamond business in Antwerp. In 1920, his diamond company employed about 600 workers. Romi and his brother Léopold were important customers of the Diamond Trading Company...
, businessman (1882–1960)
- Gerard Walschap
Jacob Lodewijk Gerard, Baron Walschap , was a Belgian writer.He went to highschool at the Klein seminarie in Hoogstraten, and later in Asse. His Flemish awareness was in these days encouraged by the priest and poet Jan Hammenecker...
, writer (1898–1989)
- Albert Lilar
Albert Jean Julien François, Baron Lilar was a Belgian politician of the Liberal Party and a Minister of Justice....
, Minister of Justice (1900–1976)
- Suzanne Lilar
Suzanne, Baroness Lilar was a Flemish Belgian essayist, novelist, and playwright writing in French...
, essayist, novelist, and playwright (1901–1992)
- Philip Sessarego
Philip Anthony Sessarego was a former soldier of the British Army, conman, and best-selling author of the book Jihad! The Secret War in Afghanistan that was released prior to the September 11th attacks. Sessarego served in the Royal Artillery for a few years and underwent SAS Selection but failed...
, former British Army soldier, conman, hoaxer, mercenary lived in Antwerp and found dead in a garage (1952-2008)
- Jean Genet
Jean Genet was a prominent and controversial French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. Early in his life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but later took to writing...
, French writer and political activist: lived in Antwerp for short period in 1930s (1909–1986)
- George du Maurier
George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier was a French-born British author and cartoonist.-Biography:He studied art in Paris, and moved to Antwerp, Belgium, where he lost vision in his left eye. He consulted an oculist in Düsseldorf, Germany, where he met his future wife, Emma Wightwick...
, Came to Antwerp to study art and lost the sight in one eye. Cartoonist, author and grandfather of Daphne du MaurierDame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning DBE was an English author and playwright. Many of her works have been adapted into films, including the novels Rebecca, which won the Best Picture Oscar in 1941, Jamaica Inn, and her short stories The Birds and Don't Look Now. The first three were directed by...
(1834–1896)
- Chaim Kreiswirth
Rabbi Chaim Kreiswirth was an Orthodox rabbi who served as the longtime Chief Rabbi of Antwerp, Belgium. He was the founder and rosh yeshiva of the Mercaz HaTorah yeshiva in Jerusalem. He was a highly regarded Torah scholar.-Early years:...
, Talmudist and Rabbi of the Machsike Hadas Community, Antwerp (1918–2001)
- William Tyndale
William Tyndale was a 16th-century Protestant reformer and scholar who, influenced by the work of Desiderius Erasmus and Martin Luther, translated considerable parts of the Bible into the Early Modern English of his day...
, Bible translator, arrested in Antwerp 1535 and burnt at Vilvoorde in 1536 (ca. 1494-1536)
- Akiba Rubinstein
Akiba Kiwelowicz Rubinstein was a famous Polish chess Grandmaster at the beginning of the 20th century.-Biography:...
, Polish grandmaster of chess (1882–1961).
- Veerle Casteleyn
Veerle Casteleyn is a Belgian musical theatre performer and ballerina.-Biography:She trained at the De Koninklijke Balletschool van Antwerpen in Belgium, and during her training she was in various plays such as:...
, Belgian performer
Specific areas in Antwerp
- Den Dam
Den Dam is an area in northern Antwerp.- Location :Den Dam is located in the northern part of Antwerp. On the north side it is bordered by the Slachthuislaan , by an old disused railroad bedding on the south. It stretches all the way from "de Schijnpoort" in the east to "het Eilandje" on the...
– an area in northern Antwerp
- Linkeroever - an area on the left bank of the Scheldt with a lot of apartment buildings
- Meir
Meir is the main shopping street in Antwerp, Belgium. Only the Nieuwstraat / Rue Neuve avenue in Brussels is a more important shopping area in the country.Situated in the centre of Antwerp, Meir connects the Town Hall with the Central Station....
– Antwerp's largest shopping street
- Seefhoek - an area in north-east Antwerp, situated around the Stuyvenbergplein
- Van Wesenbekestraat
Van Wesenbekestraat is the street in Antwerp where the little Chinatown of the city is settled. It contains a lot of Asian restaurants, the biggest Asian supermarket in the country , a Buddhist temple and a school for mastering kungfu.Both at the entrance and the end of the street, two Chinese...
– the Chinatown of Antwerp
- Zuid
The Zuid in Antwerp is a currently fashionable area of Antwerp. Revived in the mid-1980s, it has an attractive street plan and a few Art Nouveau buildings, such as the former Volkshuis on the Volkstraat, but which now houses the Rudolf Steiner school...
– the south of Antwerp
- Zurenborg
Zurenborg is unique in Antwerp in the sense that it is one of the few areas developed according an urbanistic plan in the late 19th century.Zurenborg is an area in south-east Antwerp largely developed between 1894 and 1906 that features a high concentration of townhouses in Art Nouveau and other...
See also
- Antwerp Book Fair
The Antwerp Book Fair Boekenbeurs) is a large trade fair for books, held annually at the beginning of November in Antwerp Expo, Antwerp, Belgium. It is organized by Boek.be.-External links:* *...
- Antwerp lace
Antwerp lace, is a bobbin lace distinguished by stylized flower pot motifs on a six point star ground. It originated in Antwerp, where in the 17th century an estimated 50% of the population of Antwerp was involved in lace making. Antwerp lace is also known, from its familiar repeated motif, as Pot...
- Antwerp Water Works
The Antwerp Water Works or AWW produces water for the city of Antwerp and its surroundings. The AWW has a yearly production of 150 million m3 and a revenue of 100 million euro.-History:...
(AWW)
- Archief en Museum voor het Vlaams Cultuurleven
The Archief en Museum voor het Vlaams Cultuurleven or AMVC is a Belgian non-profit organization located in Antwerp. The AMVC collects and archives information of Flemish writers and artists, and portraits concerning Flemish culture as from 1750...
- Jewish Community of Antwerp
The Jewish community of Antwerp consists of around 15,000 Jews. The majority of those who choose to identify themselves as Jewish belong to the traditional or orthodox streams, although levels of practice vary. The charedi, or Orthodox Jews, tend to live, concentrated, in the city center in an area...
- List of mayors of Antwerp
- Pshevorsk
Pshevorsk is a small Hasidic movement based in Antwerp, Belgium, led by the Leiser rabbinical dynasty, originating in the Polish town of Przeworsk.-History:...
– Hassidic Jewish movement based in Antwerp
- University of Antwerp
The University of Antwerp one of the major universities located in the city of Antwerp, Belgium. The name is sometimes abbreviated as UA.-History:...
External links