Antwerp
Encyclopedia

Antwerp (ˈæntwɜrp; , ˈɑntˌʋɛrpə(n); , ɑ̃vɛʁs) is a city and municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...

 in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 and the capital of the Antwerp province
Antwerp (province)
Antwerp 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...

 of Flanders
Flanders
Flanders 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. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...

. Antwerp's total population is 472,071 (as of 1 January 2008), making it the largest municipality in both Flanders and Belgium in terms of its population. Its total area is 204.51 km² (79 sq mi), giving a population density of 2,308 inhabitants per km². The metropolitan area
Metropolitan areas in Belgium
National statistics differ between five Metropolitan areas in Belgium. These five metropolitan areas are also covered by Eurostat statistics as separate Larger Urban Zones .- Metropolitan areas :...

, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of 1449 km² (559.5 sq mi) with a total of 1,190,769 inhabitants as of 1 January 2008. The nickname of inhabitants of Antwerp is Sinjoren, after the Spanish word señor, which means 'mister' or 'gent'. It refers to the leading Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 noblemen who ruled the city during the 17th century.

Antwerp has long been an important city in the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....

 both economically and culturally, especially before the Spanish Fury
Sack of Antwerp
The sack of Antwerp or the Spanish Fury at Antwerp was an episode of the Eighty Years' War.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...

 of the Dutch Revolt
Dutch Revolt
The Dutch Revolt or the Revolt of the Netherlands This article adopts 1568 as the starting date of the war, as this was the year of the first battles between armies. However, since there is a long period of Protestant vs...

. It is located on the right (eastern) bank of the river Scheldt
Scheldt
The 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 Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...

 by the estuary Westerschelde
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 Westerschelde as its only direct way to the sea. It is an important shipping route...

. The city has one of the largest seaports
Port of Antwerp
The port of Antwerp, in Belgium, is a port in the heart of Europe accessible to capesize ships. 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. The inland location means that the port...

 in Europe.

Origin of the name

According to folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...

, and as celebrated by the statue
Statue
A statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, an idea 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 legend
Legend
A 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 giant
Giant (mythology)
The 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 Antigoon
Druon Antigoon
Druon Antigoon was a mythical giant who lived in Antwerp.Guarding a bridge on the river Scheldt, he exacted a toll from those crossing the river. For those who refused, he severed one of their hands and threw it into the river...

 who lived near the river Scheldt
Scheldt
The 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 Brabo
Silvius Brabo
Silvius 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 the bridge over...

, who cut off the giant's own hand and flung it into the river. Hence the name Antwerpen, from Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

 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 Motley
John Lothrop Motley
John Lothrop Motley was an American historian and diplomat.-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 polder
Polder
A 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

Historical Antwerp had its origins in a Gallo-Roman vicus
Vicus (Rome)
In ancient Rome, the vicus was a neighborhood. During the Republican era, the four regiones of the city of Rome were subdivided into vici. In the 1st century BC, Augustus reorganized the city for administrative purposes into 14 regions, comprising 265 vici. Each vicus had its own board of...

civilization. Excavations carried out in the oldest section near the Scheldt, 1952-1961 (ref. Princeton), produced pottery shards and fragments of glass from mid-2nd century to the end of the 3rd century.

In the 4th century, Antwerp was first named, having been settled by the Germanic
Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples are an Indo-European ethno-linguistic group of Northern European origin, identified by their use of the Indo-European Germanic languages which diversified out of Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age.Originating about 1800 BCE from the Corded Ware Culture on the North...

 Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD 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. Only the Salian Franks formed a...

. The name was reputed to have been derived from "anda" (at) and "werpum" (wharf).

The Merovingian
Merovingian dynasty
The 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 5th century. Their politics involved frequent civil warfare among branches of the family...

 Antwerp, now fortified, was evangelized by Saint Amand
Saint Amand
Saint Amand or Amandus was a French Christian saint, one of the great Christian Saints of Flanders.-Biography:...

 in the 7th century. At the end of the 10th century, the Scheldt became the boundary of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...

. Antwerp became a margraviate
Margrave
A margrave or margravine 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...

, a border province facing the County of Flanders
County of Flanders
The County of Flanders was one of the territories constituting the Low Countries. The county existed from 862 to 1795. It was one of the original secular fiefs of France and for centuries was one of the most affluent regions in Europe....

.

In the 11th century Godfrey of Bouillon
Godfrey of Bouillon
Godfrey of Bouillon was a medieval Frankish 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 known as the marquis
Marquess
A marquess or marquis is a nobleman of hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The term is also used to translate equivalent oriental styles, as in imperial China, Japan, and Vietnam...

 of Antwerp. In the 12th century, Norbert of Xanten
Norbert of Xanten
Saint Norbert of Xanten was a Christian saint and founder of the Norbertine or Premonstratensian order of canons regular.- Life and work :...

 established a community of his Premonstratensian canons
Premonstratensian
The 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 also the headquarters of Edward III
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...

 during his early negotiations with Jacob van Artevelde
Jacob van Artevelde
Jacob 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 Cambridge
Earl of Cambridge
The 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 silting up of the Zwin
Zwin
The Zwin is a nature reserve at the North Sea coast, on the Belgian-Dutch border. It consists of the entrace area of a former tidal inlet which during the Middle Ages connected the North Sea with the ports of Sluis and Bruges inland....

 and the consequent decline of Bruges
Bruges
Bruges 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 Brabant
Duchy of Brabant
The Duchy of Brabant was a historical region in the Low Countries. Its territory consisted essentially of the three modern-day Belgian provinces of Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant and Antwerp, the Brussels-Capital Region and most of the present-day Dutch province of North Brabant.The Flag of...

, became of importance. At the end of the 15th century the foreign trading houses were transferred from Bruges to Antwerp, and the building assigned to the English nation is specifically mentioned in 1510. Antwerp became the sugar capital of Europe, importing product from Portuguese and Spanish plantations. The city attracted Italian and German sugar refiners by 1550, and shipped their refined product to Germany, especially Cologne. Moneylenders and financiers did a large business loaning money to the English government in the 1544-1574 period. London bankers were too small to operate on that scale, and Antwerp had a highly efficient bourse that itself attracted rich bankers from around Europe. After 1570s the city's banking business declined; England ended its borrowing in Antwerp in 1574.

Fernand Braudel
Fernand Braudel
Fernand Braudel was a French historian and a leader of the Annales School. His scholarship focused on three main projects, each representing several decades of intense study: The Mediterranean , Civilization and Capitalism , and the unfinished Identity of France...

 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
Golden Age
The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology and legend and refers to the first in a sequence of four or five Ages of Man, in which the Golden Age is first, followed in sequence, by the Silver, Bronze, and Iron Ages, and then the present, a period of decline...

 is tightly linked to the "Age of Exploration
Age of Discovery
The Age of Discovery, also known as the Age of Exploration and the Great Navigations , was a period in history starting in the early 15th century and continuing into the early 17th century during which Europeans engaged in intensive exploration of the world, establishing direct contacts with...

". Over the first half of the 16th century Antwerp grew to become the second-largest European city north of the Alps
Alps
The Alps is 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 Guicciardini
Francesco Guicciardini
Francesco 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 pepper
Black pepper
Black 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 approximately in diameter, dark red when fully mature, and, like all drupes, contains a single seed...

 and cinnamon
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...

 would unload their cargo. According to Luc-Normand Tellier "It is estimated that the port of Antwerp was earning the Spanish crown seven times more revenues than the Americas
Spanish colonization of the Americas
Colonial expansion under the Spanish Empire was initiated by the Spanish conquistadores and developed by the Monarchy of Spain through its administrators and missionaries. The motivations for colonial expansion were trade and the spread of the Christian faith through indigenous conversions...

."

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 cosmopolitan, with merchants and traders from Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

, Ragusa
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast, 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. Its total population is 42,641...

, Spain and Portugal. Antwerp had a policy of toleration, which attracted a large orthodox Jewish community. Antwerp was not a "free" city though, since it had been reabsorbed into the Duchy of Brabant in 1406 and was controlled from Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

.

Antwerp experienced three booms during its golden age: The first based on the pepper market, a second launched by American silver coming from Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...

 (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. At the beginning of the 16th century Antwerp accounted for 40% of world trade. The boom-and-bust cycles and inflationary cost-of-living squeezed less-skilled workers. In the century after 1541, however, the city's economy and population declined dramatically, while rival Amsterdam experienced massive growth.

The religious revolution of the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...

 erupted in violent riots in August 1566, as in other parts of the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....

. The regent Margaret, Duchess of Parma
Margaret of Parma
Margaret, Duchess of Parma , Governor of the Netherlands from 1559 to 1567 and from 1578 to 1582, was the illegitimate daughter of Charles V and Johanna Maria van der Gheynst...

, was swept aside when Philip II
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....

 sent the Duke of Alba
Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba
Don Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, 3rd Duke of Alba was a Spanish general and governor of the Spanish Netherlands , nicknamed "the Iron Duke" in the Low Countries because of his harsh and cruel rule there and his role in the execution of his political opponents and the massacre of several...

 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 Bilbao
Bilbao
Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...

 collapsed and became impossible. On 4 November 1576, Spanish soldiers plundered the city. During the Spanish Fury
Sack of Antwerp
The sack of Antwerp or the Spanish Fury at Antwerp was an episode of the Eighty Years' War.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...

 6,000 citizens were massacred, 800 houses were burnt down, and over 2 million sterling of damage was done.

Antwerp became the capital of the Dutch revolt
Dutch Revolt
The Dutch Revolt or the Revolt of the Netherlands This article adopts 1568 as the starting date of the war, as this was the year of the first battles between armies. However, since there is a long period of Protestant vs...

. In 1585, Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma and Piacenza
Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma
Alexander Farnese 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 Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...

 citizens were given two years to settle their affairs before quitting the city. Most went to the United Provinces
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...

 in the north, starting the Dutch Golden Age
Dutch Golden Age
The Golden Age was a period in Dutch history, roughly spanning the 17th century, in which Dutch trade, science, military and art were among the most acclaimed in the world. The first half is characterised by the Eighty Years' War till 1648...

. Antwerp's banking was controlled for a generation by Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....

, and Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

 became the new trading centre.

17th-19th centuries

The recognition of the independence of the United Provinces
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...

 by the Treaty of Münster
Peace of Münster
The Peace of Münster was a treaty between the Dutch Republic 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 Spanish Crown...

 in 1648 stipulated that the Scheldt
Scheldt
The 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 Netherlands
United Kingdom of the Netherlands
United Kingdom of the Netherlands is the unofficial name used to refer to Kingdom of the Netherlands during the period after it was first created from part of the First French Empire and before the new kingdom of Belgium split out in 1830...

 (1815 to 1830). Antwerp had reached the lowest point of its fortunes in 1800, and its population had sunk under 40,000, when Napoleon
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...

, 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 British growth, but he was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...

 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 Chassé
David Hendrik Chassé
David 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.

Later that century, a ring of fortresses was constructed some 10 kilometers from the city center, as Antwerp was considered vital for the survival of the young Belgian state. And in the last decade Antwerp presented itself to the world via a World's Fair
Exposition Internationale d'Anvers (1894)
Exposition Internationale d'Anvers was a World's Fair held in Antwerp, Belgium between 5 May and 5 November in 1894.It covered , attracted 3 million visits and made a profit-Participating Nations:There were several participating nations:Germany,Austria,...

 attended by 3 million.

20th century

Antwerp was the first city to host the World Gymnastics Championships
World Gymnastics Championships
The Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique organises World Gymnastics Championships for each of the gymnastic disciplines:...

, in 1903. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, the city became the fallback point of the Belgian Army
Belgian Army
The Land Component is organised using the concept of capacities, whereby units are gathered together according to their function and material. Within this framework, there are five capacities: the command capacity, the combat capacity, the support capacity, the services capacity and the training...

 after the defeat at Liège. The Siege of Antwerp
Siege of Antwerp
The Siege of Antwerp was an engagement between the German and the Belgian armies during World War I. A small number of British and Austrian troops took part as well.-Strategic Context:...

 lasted for 11 days, but the city was taken after heavy fighting by the German Army, and the Belgians were forced to retreat westward. Antwerp remained under German occupation until the end of the war.

Antwerp hosted the 1920 Summer Olympics
1920 Summer Olympics
The 1920 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event 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 4 September 1944. After this, the Germans attempted to destroy the Port of Antwerp
Port of Antwerp
The port of Antwerp, in Belgium, is a port in the heart of Europe accessible to capesize ships. 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. The inland location means that the port...

, which was used by the Allies to bring new material ashore. Thousands of V-1
V-1 flying bomb
The V-1 flying bomb, also known as the Buzz Bomb or Doodlebug, was an early pulse-jet-powered predecessor of the cruise missile....

 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 centre of Haredi
Haredi Judaism
Haredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, often referred to as ultra-Orthodox. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi ....

 (and particularly Hasidic
Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...

) Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...

.

Ryckewaert argues for the importance of the Ten-Year Plan for the port of Antwerp (1956-1965). It expanded and modernized the port's infrastructure over a 10-year period with national funding intended to build a set of canal docks. The broader importance was to facilitate the growth of the north-eastern Antwerp metropolitan region, which attracted new industry. Extending the linear layout along the Scheldt River, planners designed further urbanization along the same linear city model. Satellite communities would be connected to the main strip. Ryckewaert, argues that in contrast to the more confused Europoort plan for the port of Rotterdam, the Antwerp approach succeeded because of flexible and strategic implementation of the project as a co-production between various authorities and private parties.

Starting in the 1990s Antwerp successfully rebranded itself as a world-class fashion center. Emphasizing the avant-garde, it tried to compete with London, Milan, New York and Paris. It emerged from organized tourism and mega-cultural events.

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
    Inquisition
    The Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...

    )
  • 1584: 84,000 (after the Spanish Fury
    Sack of Antwerp
    The sack of Antwerp or the Spanish Fury at Antwerp was an episode of the Eighty Years' War.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...

    , the French Fury
    French Fury
    The "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...

     and the Calvinistic republic)
  • 1586 (May): 60,000 (after siege
    Siege of Antwerp (1584-1585)
    This 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
    Twelve Years' Truce
    The Twelve Years' Truce was the name given to the cessation of hostilities between the Habsburg rulers of Spain and the Southern Netherlands and the Dutch Republic as agreed in Antwerp on 9 April 1609. It was a watershed in the Eighty Years' War, marking the point from which the independence of the...

    )
  • 1640: 54,000 (after the Black Death
    Black Death
    The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...

     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):
    1. Antwerp
      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....

    2. Berchem
      Berchem
      The 'Ring', Antwerp's circular motorway which follows the track of the former city defense walls, cuts Berchem in two parts, separating the urban inner city area of Oud-Berchem from the more residential and suburban areas Groenenhoek en Nieuw Kwartier .-Demography:Berchem's total surface is over ,...

    3. Berendrecht-Zandvliet-Lillo
      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...

    4. Borgerhout
      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...

    5. Deurne
    6. Ekeren
      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"....

    7. Hoboken
    8. Merksem
      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...

    9. Wilrijk
      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

    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 League
    Hanseatic League
    The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...

     on the northern quays in 1891. The city also suffered considerable war damage by V-bombs
    Vergeltungswaffe
    V-weapons also, known in the original German as Vergeltungswaffen , were a particular set of long range artillery weapons designed for strategic bombing during World War II, particularly terror bombing and/or aerial bombing of cities. They comprised the V-1 flying bomb, the V-2 rocket and the V-3...

    , and in recent years other noteworthy buildings were demolished for new developments.
    • Antwerp Zoo
      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, and one of the oldest in the world, established on 21 July 1843.- History :...

       was founded in 1843, and is home to more than 6,000 animals (about 769 species). One of the oldest zoos in the world, it is renowned for of its high level of research and conservation.
    • Central Station is a railway station designed by Louis Delacenserie
      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 at...

       that was completed in 1905. It has two monumental neo-baroque façades, a large metal and glass dome (60m/197 ft) and a gilt
      Gilding
      The term gilding covers a number of decorative techniques for applying fine gold leaf or powder to solid surfaces such as wood, stone, or metal to give a thin coating of gold. A gilded object is described as "gilt"...

       and marble
      Marble
      Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...

       interior
    • Cathedral of Our Lady. This church was begun in the 14th century and finished in 1518. The church has four works by Rubens, viz. "The Descent from the Cross
      The Descent from the Cross
      The 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 Cross
      The Elevation of the Cross (Rubens)
      The Elevation of the Cross is a triptych painting by Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens, completed in 1610-1611....

      ", "The Resurrection of Christ
      Resurrection of Jesus
      The Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus states that Jesus returned to bodily life on the third day following his death by crucifixion. It is a key element of Christian faith and theology and part of the Nicene Creed: "On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures"...

      " and "The Assumption
      Assumption of Mary
      According to the belief of Christians of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of the Anglican Communion and Continuing Anglicanism, the Assumption of Mary was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her life...

      "
    • St. James' Church, is more ornate than the cathedral. It contains the tomb of Rubens
    • The Church of St. Paul has a beautiful baroque interior. It is a few hundred yards north of the Grote Markt
    • Plantin-Moretus Museum
      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 Plantijn
      Christophe Plantin
      Christophe Plantin was an influential Renaissance humanist and book printer and publisher.-Life:...

       and his successor Jan Moretus
      Jan Moretus
      Jan Moretus, also Johann Moerentorf or Joannes 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...

    • The Saint-Boniface Church is an Anglican church and headseat of the archdeanery North-West Europe.
    • Boerentoren
      Boerentoren
      The Boerentoren or KBC Tower is the tallest building and the second tallest structure in Antwerp, Belgium . The building was constructed between 1929 and 1932 and was originally high...

       (Farmers' Tower) or KBC Tower, a 26-storey building built in 1932, is the oldest skyscraper
      Skyscraper
      A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...

       in Europe
    • Royal Museum of Fine Arts, close to the southern quays, has a collection of old masters (Rubens, Van Dyck
      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 Charles I of England and his family and court, painted with a relaxed elegance that was to be the dominant influence on English portrait-painting for the next...

      , Titian
      Titian
      Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio (c. 1488/1490 – 27 August 1576 better known as Titian was an Italian painter, the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near...

      ) and the leading Dutch masters.
    • Rubenshuis
      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 Rubens (1577–1640) in Antwerp. It is now a museum.
    • Exchange
      Exchange (organized market)
      An exchange is a highly organized market where tradable securities, commodities, foreign exchange, futures, and options contracts are sold and bought.-Description:...

       or Bourse
      Exchange (organized market)
      An exchange is a highly organized market where tradable securities, commodities, foreign exchange, futures, and options contracts are sold and bought.-Description:...

      , one of the earliest institutions in Europe with that title, was built in 1872.
    • Law Courts
      Court
      A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...

      , designed by the Richard Rogers
      Richard Rogers
      Richard George Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside CH Kt 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 building
      Law Courts of Brussels
      The 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 Poelaert
      Joseph Poelaert
      Joseph Poelaert was a Belgian architect.- Life :Born in Brussels to Philip Poelaert , a former architecture student at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, Poelaert also trained there under Tilman-François Suys, and then in Paris under Louis Visconti and Jean-Nicolas Huyot.Poelaert...

       that dominates the skyline
      Skyline
      A skyline is 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 fingerprint of a city, as...

       of Brussels
      Brussels
      Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

      . The courtrooms sit on top of six fingers that radiate from an airy central hall, and are surmounted by spire
      Spire
      A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....

      s which provide north light and resemble oast house
      Oast house
      An oast, oast house or hop kiln is a building designed for kilning hops as part of the brewing process. They can be found in most hop-growing areas and are often good examples of vernacular architecture...

      s or the sail
      Sail
      A sail is any type of surface intended to move a vessel, vehicle or rotor by being placed in a wind—in essence a propulsion wing. Sails are used in sailing.-History of sails:...

      s of barge
      Barge
      A 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 underpass
      Tunnel
      A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...

       under oval
      Oval
      An oval is any curve resembling an egg or an ellipse, such as a Cassini oval. The term does not have a precise mathematical definition except in one area oval , but it may also refer to:* A sporting arena of oval shape** a cricket field...

       Bolivarplaats to join the motorway ring. This leaves peaceful surface access by foot, bicycle
      Bicycle
      A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....

       or tram
      Tram
      A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...

       (routes 8 & 12). The building's highest 'sail' is 51 m (167.32 ft) high, has a floor area of 77000 m² (92,091.23 sq yd), and cost €130 million.

    Fortifications

    Although Antwerp was formerly a fortified city, nothing remains of the former enceinte
    Enceinte
    Enceinte , is a French term used technically in fortification for the inner ring of fortifications surrounding a town or a concentric castle....

     or of the old citadel
    Citadel
    A 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 Chassé
    David Hendrik Chassé
    David 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 Steen
    Het Steen
    Het Steen is medieval fortress in the old city centre of Antwerp, Belgium, one of Europe's biggest ports. Built after the Viking incursions in the early Middle Ages as the first stone fortress of Antwerp, Het Steen is Antwerp's oldest building and used to be its oldest urban centre.Previously known...

    , 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 Wellington
    Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
    Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...

    's supervision in 1815–1818 were dismantled and the old citadel and enceinte were removed. A new enceinte 8 miles (12.9 km) long was constructed, and the villages of Berchem
    Berchem
    The 'Ring', Antwerp's circular motorway which follows the track of the former city defense walls, cuts Berchem in two parts, separating the urban inner city area of Oud-Berchem from the more residential and suburban areas Groenenhoek en Nieuw Kwartier .-Demography:Berchem's total surface is over ,...

     and Borgerhout
    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...

    , now boroughs of Antwerp, were absorbed within the city.

    This enceinte is protected by a broad wet ditch, and in the caponier
    Caponier
    A 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 Wijnegem
    Wijnegem
    Wijnegem is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the town of Wijnegem proper. WIjnegem is one of the most expensive municipality of the Flanders. On January 1, 2006 Wijnegem had a total population of 8,816. The total area is 7.86 km² which gives...

     and the zone of inundation, and terminate on the south at Hoboken. In 1870 Fort Merksem
    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...

     and the redoubts of Berendrecht
    Berendrecht
    Berendrecht 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 Oorderen
    Oorderen
    Oorderen 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 9 miles (14.5 km) from the enceinte.

    Economy

    According to the American Association of Port Authorities
    American Association of Port Authorities
    The 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
    Port of Antwerp
    The port of Antwerp, in Belgium, is a port in the heart of Europe accessible to capesize ships. 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. The inland location means that the port...

     was the seventeenth largest (by tonnage) port
    Port
    A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....

     in the world in 2005 and second only to Rotterdam
    Port of Rotterdam
    The Port of Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe, located in the city of Rotterdam, Netherlands. From 1962 until 2004 it was the world's busiest port, now overtaken by first Shanghai and then Singapore...

     in Europe. Importantly it handles high volumes of economically attractive general
    Cargo
    Cargo 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:...

     and project cargo
    Heavy lift
    - 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 cargo
    Bulk cargo
    Bulk cargo is commodity cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities. This cargo is 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 refineries
    Oil refinery
    An oil refinery or petroleum 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 petrochemical
    Petrochemical
    Petrochemicals are chemical products derived from petroleum. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable sources such as corn or sugar cane....

     industries, second only to the petrochemical cluster in Houston, Texas
    Texas
    Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

    . Electricity generation
    Electricity generation
    Electricity generation is the process of generating electric energy 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 power
    Nuclear power
    Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...

     plants at Doel
    Doel
    Doel 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 cycle
    Combined cycle
    In electric power generation a combined cycle is an assembly of heat engines that work in tandem off the same source of heat, converting it into mechanical energy, which in turn usually drives electrical generators...

     plants. There are plans for a wind farm
    Wind farm
    A wind farm is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electric power. A large wind farm may consist of several hundred individual wind turbines, and cover an extended area of hundreds of square miles, but the land between the turbines may be used for agricultural or other...

     in a disused area of the docklands.

    The old Belgian bluestone
    Bluestone
    Bluestone is a cultural or commercial name for a number of dimension or building stone varieties, including:*a feldspathic sandstone in the U.S. and Canada;*limestone in the Shenandoah Valley in the U.S...

     quays bordering the Scheldt
    Scheldt
    The Scheldt is a 350 km long river in northern France, western Belgium and the southwestern part of the Netherlands...

     for a distance of 3.5 miles (5.6 km) to the north and south of the city centre have been retained for their sentimental value and are used mainly by cruise ship
    Cruise ship
    A 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, as well as the different destinations along the way...

    s and short-sea shipping.

    Antwerp's other great mainstay is the diamond
    Diamond
    In 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 less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...

     trade that takes place largely within the diamond district
    Antwerp diamond district
    Antwerp's diamond district, also known as the Diamond Quarter , and dubbed the Square Mile is an area within the city of Antwerp, Belgium. It consists of several square blocks covering an area of about one square mile. Over 12,000 gemcutters and polishers work within the district...

    . The city has four diamond bourses: one for bort
    Bort
    Bort 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 II families of the large Hasidic Jewish community
    Jewish Community of Antwerp
    The history of the Jews in Antwerp, Belgium goes back at least eight hundred years. Presently, The Jewish community of Antwerp consists of around 15,000 Jews.- History :...

     have dominated Antwerp's diamond trading industry, although the last two decades have seen Indian
    Indians in Belgium
    There 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...

     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.

    VLM Airlines
    VLM Airlines
    VLM Airlines is a Belgian airline whose head office is in Airport Building B50 at Antwerp International Airport in Deurne, Antwerp...

     has its head office on the grounds of Antwerp International Airport
    Antwerp International Airport
    Antwerpen International Airport is located 2 km from the city of Antwerp, Belgium. It is home to a maintenance hangar for CityJet. In 2005 it served about 105,937 passengers . In 2010, the airport served 162,840 passengers...

     in Deurne, Antwerp; the office is also CityJet
    Cityjet
    CityJet Limited is an Irish regional airline headquartered in the Swords Business Campus in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland. It operates at London City Airport, and flies franchise services on behalf of its parent company Air France from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. Since the take over of VLM...

    's Antwerp office. When VG Airlines
    VG Airlines
    VG Airlines, later Delsey Airlines, was an airline with its head office in Merksem, Antwerp, Belgium.-History:...

     (Delsey Airlines) existed, its head office was in Merksem
    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...

    , Antwerp.

    Road

    A motorway bypass encircles much of the city centre. Known locally as the "Ring" it offers motorway connections to Brussels
    Brussels
    Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

    , Hasselt
    Hasselt
    Hasselt is a Belgian city and municipality, and capital of the Flemish province of Limburg...

     and Liège, Ghent
    Ghent
    Ghent 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...

    , Lille
    Lille
    Lille 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 Bruges
    Bruges
    Bruges 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 Breda
    Breda
    Breda 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 of strategic military and political significance...

     and Bergen op Zoom
    Bergen op Zoom
    Bergen op Zoom is a municipality and a city located 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...

     (Netherlands). The banks of the Scheldt are linked by three road tunnel
    Tunnel
    A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...

    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 "Oosterweelconnection
    Oosterweelconnection
    The Oosterweelconnection is a long running proposed construction project intended to complete the Antwerp Ring Road.Beheersmaatschappij Antwerpen Mobiel , a Flemish Government controlled body has, since 2001, proposed to connect the Expressweg near Blokkersdijk via a toll tunnel underneath the...

    " was in the tendering stage. It would entail the construction of a long viaduct and bridge (the Lange Wapper Bridge) over the docks on the north side of the city. However the plans were rejected in a public referendum in 2009. In September 2010 the Flemish Government
    Flemish government
    The Flemish Government is the executive branch of the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region. It consists of up to a maximum of eleven ministers, chosen by the Flemish Parliament...

     decided to replace the bridge by a series of tunnels.

    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 Luttre
    Luttre
    Luttre is a small village in Wallonia, Belgium, about 50 km 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 Amsterdam
    Amsterdam
    Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

     and Paris, and national trains to Ghent
    Ghent
    Ghent 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...

    , Bruges
    Bruges
    Bruges 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
    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....

    , Brussels
    Brussels
    Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

    , Charleroi
    Charleroi
    Charleroi is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. , the total population of Charleroi was 201,593. The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of and had a total population of 522,522 as of 1 January 2008, ranking it as...

    , Hasselt
    Hasselt
    Hasselt is a Belgian city and municipality, and capital of the Flemish province of Limburg...

    , Liège, Leuven
    Leuven
    Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...

     and Turnhout.

    Antwerp Central station is an architectural monument in itself, and is mentioned in W G Sebald
    W. G. Sebald
    W. G. Maximilian Sebald was a German writer and academic. At the time of his death at the age of 57, he was being cited by many literary critics as one of the greatest living authors and had been tipped as a possible future winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature...

    's haunting novel Austerlitz
    Austerlitz (novel)
    Austerlitz is the final novel of W. G. Sebald, published in 2001. The book received the National Book Critics Circle Award.-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 from Brussels to the Netherlands had to either 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. Now, they call at the new lower level of the station before continuing in the same direction.

    Antwerp is also home to Antwerpen-Noord, the largest classification yard for freight in Belgium and second largest in Europe. The majority of freight trains in Belgium depart from or arrive here. It has two classification humps and over a hundred tracks.

    City transportation

    The city has a web of tram and bus lines operated by De Lijn
    De Lijn
    Vlaamse Vervoersmaatschappij De Lijn , usually known as simply 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 about 3650 buses and 359 trams...

     and providing access to the city centre, suburbs and the Left Bank. The tram network
    Antwerp Tram
    The Antwerp Tram is a form of public transport in Antwerp, Belgium. As of 2010 the system features 11 routes, four of which pass partially under the ground ....

     has 12 lines, of which the underground section is called the "premetro
    Antwerp Pre-metro
    The 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 Airport
    Antwerp International Airport
    Antwerpen International Airport is located 2 km from the city of Antwerp, Belgium. It is home to a maintenance hangar for CityJet. In 2005 it served about 105,937 passengers . In 2010, the airport served 162,840 passengers...

     is in the district of Deurne. CityJet flies to London (City Airport) and Manchester
    Manchester
    Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

     in England and remains the only airline with scheduled air services to and from Antwerp International Airport. The airport is connected by bus to the city center. Brussels Airport
    Brussels Airport
    Brussels Airport is an international airport northeast of Brussels, Belgium. The airport is partially in Zaventem and partially in the Diegem area of Machelen, both located in the Flemish Region of Belgium.Brussels Airport currently consists of 54 contact gates, and a total of 109 gates...

     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. There is also direct a rail service between Antwerp and Charleroi
    Charleroi
    Charleroi is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. , the total population of Charleroi was 201,593. The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of and had a total population of 522,522 as of 1 January 2008, ranking it as...

    , home to Brussels South Charleroi Airport, which runs every hour.

    Culture

    Antwerp had an artistic reputation in the 17th century, based on its school of painting
    Antwerp school
    The Antwerp School is a term for the artists active in Antwerp, first during the 16th century when the city was the economic center of the Low Countries, and then during the 17th century when it became the artistic stronghold of the Flemish Baroque under Peter Paul Rubens.-History:Antwerp took over...

    , which included Rubens, Van Dyck
    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 Charles I of England and his family and court, painted with a relaxed elegance that was to be the dominant influence on English portrait-painting for the next...

    , Jordaens
    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...

    , the two Teniers
    Teniers
    Teniers 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 Brabantic
    Brabantian
    Brabantian 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 Six
    Antwerp Six
    The Antwerp Six refers to a group of influential avant garde fashion designers who graduated 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 Arts
    Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp
    The Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp is an art academy located in Antwerp, Belgium. It 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 design
    Fashion design
    Fashion design is the art of the application of design and aesthetics or natural beauty to clothing and accessories. Fashion design is influenced by cultural and social latitudes, and has varied over time and place. Fashion designers work in a number of ways in designing clothing and accessories....

    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. In August every year the Bollekesfeest takes place. The Bollekesfeest is a showcase for such local products as beer from the De Koninck Brewery
    De Koninck Brewery
    De Koninck Brewery is a Belgian brewery based in Antwerp De Koninck Brewery (Brouwerij De Koninck) is a Belgian brewery based in Antwerp De Koninck Brewery (Brouwerij De Koninck) is a Belgian brewery based in Antwerp (De Koninck Brewery (Brouwerij De Koninck) is a [[Beer in Belgium|Belgian]]...

    , better known in Antwerp as a "Bolleke", an amber-coloured beer. The Mokatine sweets made by Confiserie Roodthooft
    Confiserie Roodthooft
    Confiserie Roodthooft is a family company producing Belgian sweets and toffees. The company was founded by Louis Roodthooft and Johanna Stoops in Antwerp, Belgium in 1925...

    , Elixir D'Anvers, a locally made liqueur, locally roasted coffee from Koffie Verheyen, sugar from Candico, Poolster pickled herring and Equinox horse meat, are other examples of local specialties. One of the most known producs of the city, are its biscuits, the Antwerpse Handjes, literally "Antwerp Hands". Usually made out of sanddough with almonds or milkchocolate, they symbolise the Antwerp trademark and folklore. The local products are represented by a non-profit making organisation, Streekproducten Provincie Antwerpen vzw.

    Sports

    The major sport club
    Sports club
    A sports club or sport club, sometimes athletics club or sports association is a club for the purpose of playing one or more sports...

    s are K.F.C. Germinal Beerschot and Royal Antwerp F.C.
    Royal Antwerp F.C.
    Royal Antwerp Football Club, often simply referred to as Antwerp, is a Belgian football club based in the city of Antwerp.Antwerp is the oldest football club to register to the Royal Belgian Football Association in 1895 and they consequently received the matriculate number one when matriculation...

     (football) and Antwerp Diamond Giants
    Antwerp Diamond Giants
    Antwerp 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 a union called SOBABEE which merged with Racing Mechelen BC. The club was called Racing Basket Antwerpen then...

     (basketball
    Basketball
    Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

    ). Besides hosting the 1920 Games, the city itself played host to the road cycling
    Cycling at the 1920 Summer Olympics
    The cycling competitions at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp consisted of two road racing events and four track racing events, all for men only. The 50 km track event was held for the first time at these Games.-Road cycling:-Track cycling:...

     events.

    Orthodox Jewish population

    After the Holocaust
    The Holocaust
    The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...

     and the destruction of its many semi-assimilated Jews, Antwerp became a major centre for Orthodox Jews. At present, about 15,000 Haredi
    Haredi Judaism
    Haredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, often referred to as ultra-Orthodox. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi ....

     Jews, many of them Hasidic
    Hasidic Judaism
    Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...

    , 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 Pshevorsk
    Pshevorsk (Hasidic dynasty)
    Pshevorsk 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 Satmar
    Satmar (Hasidic dynasty)
    Satmar is a Hasidic movement comprising mostly Hungarian and Romanian Hasidic Jewish Holocaust survivors and their descendants. It was founded and led by the late Hungarian-born Grand Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum , who was the rabbi of Szatmárnémeti, Hungary...

    , Belz
    Belz (Hasidic dynasty)
    Belz is a Hasidic dynasty named for the town of Belz in Western Ukraine, near the Polish border. The town has existed since at least the 10th century, with the Jewish community being established during the 14th century. The town became home to Hasidic Judaism in the early 19th century...

    , Bobov, Ger
    Ger (Hasidic dynasty)
    Ger, or Gur is a Hasidic dynasty originating from Ger, the Yiddish name of Góra Kalwaria, a small town in Poland....

    , Skver
    Skver (Hasidic dynasty)
    Skver 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....

    , Klausenburg
    Klausenburg (Hasidic dynasty)
    Klausenburg , also known as Sanz-Klausenburg, is a Hasidic dynasty that originated in the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca , Romania....

     and several others. Rabbi Chaim Kreiswirth
    Chaim Kreiswirth
    Rabbi Chaim Kreiswirth was an Orthodox rabbi who served as the longtime Chief Rabbi of Congregation Machzikei Hadass Antwerp, Belgium...

    , 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 Seafarers
    Mission to Seafarers
    The Mission to Seafarers is an international not-for-profit charity serving sailor sailors in over 230 ports around the world. It is supported entirely by donations from the public, whose generosity has funded its work for more than a century and a half...

    , British & International Sailors’ Society
    Sailors' Society
    Sailors’ Society is an inter-denominational Christian organisation providing pastoral care to seafarers.The Society was formed on 18 March, 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...

    , the Finnish Seamen's Mission
    Finnish Seamen's Mission
    The 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 Sea
    Apostleship of the Sea
    The 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:
    Rotterdam
    Rotterdam
    Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...

    , The Netherlands, 1940 Mulhouse
    Mulhouse
    Mulhouse |mill]] hamlet) is a city and commune in eastern France, close to the Swiss and German borders. With a population of 110,514 and 278,206 inhabitants in the metropolitan area in 2006, it is the largest city in the Haut-Rhin département, and the second largest in the Alsace region after...

    , France, 1954 Saint Petersburg
    Saint Petersburg
    Saint 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...

    , Russia, 1958 Rostock
    Rostock
    Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...

    , Germany,1963 Shanghai
    Shanghai
    Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...

    , China, 1984
    Akhisar
    Akhisar
    Akhisar is a county district and its town center in Manisa Province in the Aegean region of Western Turkey...

    , Turkey, 1988 Haifa
    Haifa
    Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...

    , Israel, 1995 Cape Town
    Cape Town
    Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...

    , South Africa, 1996 Barcelona
    Barcelona
    Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

    , Spain, 1997 Ludwigshafen, Germany, 1998

    Partnerships

    Within the context of development cooperation, Antwerp is also linked to: Paramaribo
    Paramaribo
    Paramaribo 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, more than half of Suriname's population...

    , Suriname Durban
    Durban
    Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...

    , South Africa

    Born in Antwerp

    • Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence
      Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence
      Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence, jure uxoris 4th Earl of Ulster and 5th Baron of Connaught, KG was the third son, but the second son to survive infancy, of Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault...

      , son of Edward III of England
      Edward III of England
      Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...

       (1338–1368)
    • Samuel Blommaert
      Samuel Blommaert
      Samuel Blommaert was a Flemish/Dutch merchant and director of the Dutch West India Company from 1622 to 1629 and again from 1636 to 1642...

      , Director of the Dutch West India Company
      Dutch West India Company
      Dutch West India Company was a chartered company of Dutch merchants. Among its founding fathers was Willem Usselincx...

       (1583–1654)
    • Frans Floris
      Frans Floris
      Frans Floris, or more correctly Frans de Vriendt, called Floris was a Flemish painter. He was a member of a large family trained to the study of art in Flanders.-Biography:...

      , painter
      Painting
      Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...

       (1520–1570)
    • Abraham Ortelius
      Abraham Ortelius
      thumb|250px|Abraham Ortelius by [[Peter Paul Rubens]]Abraham Ortelius thumb|250px|Abraham Ortelius by [[Peter Paul Rubens]]Abraham Ortelius (Abraham Ortels) thumb|250px|Abraham Ortelius by [[Peter Paul Rubens]]Abraham Ortelius (Abraham Ortels) (April 14, 1527 – June 28,exile in England to take...

      , cartographer
      Cartography
      Cartography is the study and practice of making 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 traditional cartography are to:*Set the map's...

       and geographer
      Geographer
      A geographer is a scholar whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society.Although 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
      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
      Bartholomeus Spranger was a Flemish Northern Mannerist painter, draughtsman, and etcher. He was born in Antwerp in the Habsburg Netherlands .-Biography:...

      , painter, draughtsman
      Drawing
      Drawing is a form of 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, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...

      , and etcher
      Etching
      Etching 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
      Paul and Matthijs Bril were brothers, both born in Antwerp, who were landscape painters who worked in Rome after earning papal favor.-Biography:...

      , landscape painters (1554–1626, 1550–1583, resp.)
    • Abraham Janssens
      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
      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...

      , Spanish favourite and adventurer (d. 1621)
    • Frans Snyders, still life
      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...

       and animal painter (1579–1657)
    • Frans Hals
      Frans Hals
      Frans Hals was a Dutch Golden Age painter. 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 1580 or 1581, in Antwerp...

      , painter (1580–1666)
    • Caspar de Crayer
      Caspar de Crayer
      Gaspar de Crayer , sometimes called Gaspard or Caspar de Crayer was a Flemish painter.Crayer was born in Antwerp. 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...

      , painter (1582–1669)
    • David Teniers the Elder
      David Teniers the Elder
      David Teniers the Elder , Flemish painter, was born at Antwerp.-Biography: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 guild of painters in...

      , painter (1582–1649)
    • Jacob Jordaens
      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
      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 Charles I of England and his family and court, painted with a relaxed elegance that was to be the dominant influence on English portrait-painting for the next...

      , painter (1599–1641)
    • David Teniers the Younger
      David Teniers the Younger
      David Teniers the Younger was a Flemish artist born in Antwerp, the son of David Teniers the Elder. His son David Teniers III and his grandson David Teniers IV were also painters...

      , painter (1610–1690)
    • Jan Fyt
      Jan Fyt
      Jan Fyt was a Flemish Baroque animal painter and etcher.-Life:...

      , animal painter (1611–1661)
    • Nicolaes Maes
      Nicolaes Maes
      Nicolaes Maes, also known as Nicolaes Maas was a Dutch Golden Age painter of genre and portraits.-Biography:...

      , Baroque
      Baroque
      The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...

       painter (1634–1693)
    • Gerard Edelinck
      Gerard Edelinck
      Gerard Edelinck , was a Flemish copper-plate engraver.Edelinck was born in Antwerp, where he received his early training from the engraver Cornelis Galle. He then went to Paris to improve himself under the teaching of De Poilly...

      , copper-plate engraver (1649–1707)
    • Peter Tillemans
      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
      John Michael Rysbrack
      Johannes Michel or John Michael Rysbrack, original name Jan Michiel Rijsbrack , was an 18th-century Flemish sculptor. His birth-year is sometimes given as 1693 or 1684....

      , sculptor
      Sculpture
      Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...

       (1694–1770)
    • Hendrik Conscience
      Hendrik Conscience
      Henri "Hendrik" Conscience was a Belgian 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
      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. He tended to portray the dark side of human desire and write about social outcasts and the working...

      , novelist (1854–1927)
    • Hippolyte Delehaye
      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...

      , Jesuit
      Society of Jesus
      The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...

       Priest and hagiographic
      Hagiography
      Hagiography is the study of saints.From the Greek and , it refers literally to writings on the subject of such holy people, and specifically to the biographies of saints and ecclesiastical leaders. The term hagiology, the study of hagiography, is also current in English, though less common...

       scholar
      Scholarly method
      Scholarly 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
      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
      Constant Permeke was a Belgian painter and sculptor who is considered the leading figure of Flemish expressionism.Permeke was born in Antwerp but when he was six years old the family moved to Ostend, where his father became curator of the Municipal Museum of Arts. Permeke went to school in Bruges...

      , expressionist
      Expressionism
      Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...

       painter (1886–1952)
    • Paul van Ostaijen
      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 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 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
      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)
    • Simon Kornblit
      Simon Kornblit
      Simon Kornblit was a Belgian-born American studio executive and actor. Kornblit worked as the Executive Vice President of worldwide marketing for Universal Pictures before pursuing an acting career during retirement....

      , American advertising and film studio executive (1933–2010)
    • Paul Buysse
      Paul Buysse
      Paul Henri Maria, Baron Buysse, CMG, CBE 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
      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
      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
      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
      Tom Barman is a Belgian musician and film director.Barman studied at the film school of St.-Lucas in Brussels, but didn't finish his studies because of he wished to pursue a career in music. He began by forming the rock band, Deus in Antwerp, in 1989...

      , Belgian musician and film director.
    • Willem Usselincx
      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...

      , Flemish merchant and investor, one of the founders of the Dutch West India Company
      Dutch West India Company
      Dutch West India Company was a chartered company of Dutch merchants. Among its founding fathers was Willem Usselincx...

       (1567–1647)
    • André Cluytens
      André Cluytens
      André Cluytens was a Belgian-born French conductor who was active in the concert hall, opera house and recording studio. His repertoire extended from Viennese classics through French composers to 20th century works...

      , conductor (1905–1967)

    Lived in Antwerp

    • Quentin Matsys
      Quentin Matsys
      Quentin Matsys was a painter in the Flemish tradition and a founder of the Antwerp school. He was born at Leuven, where legend states he was trained as an ironsmith before becoming a painter...

      , Renaissance
      Renaissance
      The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...

       painter, founder of the Antwerp school (1466–1530)
    • Jan Mabuse
      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.-Biography:Little is known of his early life...

      , painter (c. 1478-1532)
    • Joachim Patinir
      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
      Martyr
      A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...

       (c. 1500-1555)
    • Joos van Cleve
      Joos van Cleve
      Joos van Cleve was a painter active in Antwerp around 1511 to 1540. He was born around 1485 and died in between 1540 and 1541...

      , painter (c. 1500-1540/41)
    • Damião de Góis
      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 the Portuguese factory in Antwerp in 1523 by King John III of Portugal...

      , Portuguese humanist
      Humanism
      Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....

       philosopher
      Philosophy
      Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

       (1502–1574)
    • Sir Thomas Gresham
      Thomas Gresham
      Sir Thomas Gresham was an English merchant and financier who worked for King Edward VI of England and for Edward's half-sisters, Queens Mary I and Elizabeth I.-Family and childhood:...

      , English merchant
      Merchant
      A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...

       and financier
      Financier
      Financier 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
      Portrait
      thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].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,...

       painter (1520- c. 1577)
    • Christoffel Plantijn
      Christophe Plantin
      Christophe Plantin was an influential Renaissance humanist and book printer and publisher.-Life:...

      , humanist, book printer
      Printer (publisher)
      In publishing, printers are both companies providing printing services and individuals who directly operate printing presses. With the invention of the moveable type printing press by Johannes Gutenberg around 1450, printing—and printers—proliferated throughout Europe.Today, printers are found...

       and publisher
      Publishing
      Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...

       (c. 1520-1589)
    • Pieter Brueghel the Elder, painter and printmaker
      Printmaking
      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
      Statesman
      A statesman 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
      Simon Stevin was a Flemish mathematician and military engineer. He was active in a great many areas of science and engineering, both theoretical and practical...

      , mathematician
      Mathematician
      A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....

       and engineer
      Engineer
      An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...

       (c. 1548/49-1620)
    • John Bull
      John Bull (composer)
      John Bull was an English composer, musician, and organ builder. He was a renowned keyboard performer of the virginalist school and most of his compositions were written for this medium.-Life:...

      , English/Welsh composer
      Composer
      A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

      , musician, and organ
      Organ (music)
      The 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. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...

       builder (c. 1562-1628)
    • Jan Brueghel the Elder
      Jan Brueghel the Elder
      Jan Brueghel the Elder was a Flemish painter, son of Pieter Bruegel 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 his floral still lifes which were his favored subjects, while the...

      , also known as "Velvet" Brueghel, painter (1568–1625)
    • Pieter Paul Rubens, painter (1577–1640)
    • William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle, English soldier
      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...

      , politician
      Politician
      A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

      , and writer (c. 1592-1676)
    • Adriaen Brouwer
      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
      Jan Davidsz. de Heem or in-full Jan Davidszoon de Heem, also called Johannes de Heem or Johannes van Antwerpen , was a still life painter who was active in Utrecht and Antwerp...

      , painter (1606–1684)
    • Wenceslas Hollar
      Wenceslas Hollar
      Václav Hollar , known in England as Wenceslaus or Wenceslas and in Germany as Wenzel Hollar , was a Bohemian etcher, who lived in England for much of his life...

      , Bohemian
      Bohemian
      A Bohemian is a resident of the former Kingdom of Bohemia, either in a narrow sense as the region of Bohemia proper or in a wider meaning as the whole country, now known as the Czech Republic. The word "Bohemian" was used to denote the Czech people as well as the Czech language before the word...

       etcher (1607–1677)
    • Jan Lievens
      Jan Lievens
      Jan Lievens was a Dutch painter, usually associated with Rembrandt, working in a similar style.-Biography:According to Arnold Houbraken, Jan was the son of Lieven Hendriksze, a tapestry worker , and was trained by Joris Verschoten. He was sent to Pieter Lastman in Amsterdam at about the age of 10...

      , painter (1607–1674)
    • Jan Frans Willems
      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
      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
      Lawrence Alma-Tadema
      Lawrence Alma-Tadema, OM, RA was a Dutch painter.Born in Dronrijp, the Netherlands, and trained at the Royal Academy of Antwerp, Belgium, he settled in England in 1870 and spent the rest of his life there...

      , painter (1836–1912)
    • Vincent van Gogh
      Vincent van Gogh
      Vincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...

      , impressionist
      Impressionism
      Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...

       painter, lived in Antwerp for about four months (1853–1890)
    • Camille Huysmans
      Camille Huysmans
      Jean Joseph Camille Huysmans was a Belgian politician.Huymans studied German philology at the University of Liège. He was a teacher from 1893 until 1897...

      , Socialist
      Socialism
      Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...

       politician and former Prime Minister of Belgium (1871–1968)
    • Moshe Yitzchok Gewirtzman
      Pshevorsk (Hasidic dynasty)
      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
      Romi Goldmuntz was a Belgian businessman who 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
      Gerard Walschap
      Jacob Lodewijk Gerard, Baron Walschap , was a Belgian writer.-Early life: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 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 Lilar
      Suzanne, Baroness Lilar was a Flemish Belgian essayist, novelist, and playwright writing in French...

      , essayist, novelist, and playwright (1901–1992)
    • Eric de Kuyper
      Eric de Kuyper
      Eric de Kuyper is a Flemish-Belgian and Dutch writer, semiotician, art critic, and experimental film director. Fictionalized autobiographical novels, written in the 3rd-person, account for most of his creative work. His academic writing encompasses reviews, essays, articles, and books on...

      , award-winning novelist, filmmaker, semiotician
      Semiotics
      Semiotics, also called semiotic studies or semiology, is the study of signs and sign processes , indication, designation, likeness, analogy, metaphor, symbolism, signification, and communication...

    • Philip Sessarego
      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 11 September 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
      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 du Maurier
      George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier was a French-born British cartoonist and author, known for his cartoons in Punch and also for his novel Trilby. He was the father of actor Gerald du Maurier and grandfather of the writers Angela du Maurier and Dame Daphne du Maurier...

      , Came to Antwerp to study art and lost the sight in one eye. Cartoonist, author and grandfather of Daphne du Maurier
      Daphne du Maurier
      Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning DBE was a British author and playwright.Many of her works have been adapted into films, including the novels Rebecca and Jamaica Inn and the short stories "The Birds" and "Don't Look Now". The first three were directed by Alfred Hitchcock.Her elder sister was...

       (1834–1896)
    • Chaim Kreiswirth
      Chaim Kreiswirth
      Rabbi Chaim Kreiswirth was an Orthodox rabbi who served as the longtime Chief Rabbi of Congregation Machzikei Hadass Antwerp, Belgium...

      , Talmudist and Rabbi of the Machsike Hadas Community, Antwerp (1918–2001)
    • William Tyndale
      William Tyndale
      William Tyndale was an English scholar and translator who became a leading figure in Protestant reformism towards the end of his life. He was influenced by the work of Desiderius Erasmus, who made the Greek New Testament available in Europe, and by Martin Luther...

      , Bible translator, arrested in Antwerp 1535 and burnt at Vilvoorde in 1536 (ca. 1494-1536)
    • Akiba Rubinstein
      Akiba Rubinstein
      Akiba Kiwelowicz Rubinstein was a famous Polish chess Grandmaster at the beginning of the 20th century. He was scheduled to play a match with Emanuel Lasker for the world championship in 1914, but it was cancelled because of the outbreak of World War I...

      , Polish grandmaster of chess (1882–1961).
    • Veerle Casteleyn
      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
    • Ray Cokes
      Ray Cokes
      Ray Cokes is an English television presenter. His father was an officer in the Royal Navy, who was stationed at various navy bases around the world. At age 15 they permanently relocated back to the UK...

      , English TV host

    Specific areas in Antwerp

    • Den Dam
      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
    • The diamond district
      Antwerp diamond district
      Antwerp's diamond district, also known as the Diamond Quarter , and dubbed the Square Mile is an area within the city of Antwerp, Belgium. It consists of several square blocks covering an area of about one square mile. Over 12,000 gemcutters and polishers work within the district...

       - an area consisting of several square blocks, it is Antwerp's centre for the cutting, polishing, and trading of diamonds
    • Linkeroever
      Linkeroever
      Linkeroever is an area in the city of Antwerp, on the left bank of the Scheldt. Historically it was a district which belonged to Zwijndrecht, but on March 19, 1923 it was attached to Antwerp. Linkeroever has a population count of around 15,000 residents...

       - an area on the left bank of the Scheldt with a lot of apartment buildings
    • Meir
      Meir (Antwerp)
      Meir is the main shopping street in Antwerp, Belgium, together with the Nieuwstraat / Rue Neuve avenue in Brussels it is the most important shopping area in the country....

       - Antwerp's largest shopping street
    • Kammenstraat - a shopping street with many specialised boutiques
    • Seefhoek - an area in north-east Antwerp, situated around the Stuivenbergplein
    • Van Wesenbekestraat
      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
      Zuid (Antwerp)
      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
      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 fin-de-siècle styles....

       - an area between Central and Berchem station
    • 't Schipperskwartier - Similar to "de walletjes" in Amsterdam, "'t Schipperskwartier" is a designated area where prostitution is tolerated and is now Antwerp's only tolerated red light district. Most of the activity in this area is situated in the "Schipperstraat" and "Verversrui".

    See also

    • Antwerp Book Fair
      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 . All Flemish and Dutch publishers, and several foreign language distributors present their newest books at the fair.-External...

    • Antwerp lace
      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
      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)
    • AMVC
      AMVC
      The Letterenhuis is a Belgian non-profit organization located in Antwerp. The Letterenhuis collects and archives information of Flemish writers and artists, and portraits concerning Flemish culture as from 1750...

       Archief en Museum voor het Vlaams Cultuurleven
    • Jewish Community of Antwerp
      Jewish Community of Antwerp
      The history of the Jews in Antwerp, Belgium goes back at least eight hundred years. Presently, The Jewish community of Antwerp consists of around 15,000 Jews.- History :...

    • List of mayors of Antwerp
    • Pshevorsk
      Pshevorsk (Hasidic dynasty)
      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
      University of Antwerp
      The University of Antwerp is one of the major Belgian universities located in the city of Antwerp. The name is sometimes abbreviated as UA.-History:...


    Further reading



    External links

    The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
     
    x
    OK