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Antwerp - Belgium
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| About Antwerp |
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The city of Antwerp owes much to the River Scheldt and the artist
Rubens. The name of Antwerp derives from a giant called Druon Antigon
from many centuries ago. According to legend, every Scheldt boatman
who passed his Druon's castle was charged a heavy toll, and anyone
who would not or could not pay up, he chopped off their hand and threw
it into the river. Druon's nemesis came in the form a Roman centurion
named Silvius Brabo, who killed the giant and, as a form of poetic
justice, cut off his hand and threw it into the river. The Flemish
for 'throwing of the hand' is handwerpen, which then became Antwerpen,
the Flemish name for the city.
Historians, who are not wavred by legend, claim the name comes from
sailors that described the port city's location as aan-de-werfen,
translated to 'on the wharves'. The residents of Antwerp use the "Red
Hand of Antwerp" as the symbol of their city. There are two statues
to be seen in Antwerp, one commemorates the Roman's act of revenge,
and replicas of the giant's hand appears everywhere.
The location of Antwerp just above the point where the River Scheldt
meets the tidal Scheldt Estuary made it an important port in the second
century b.c for the Romans. For many years after Antwerp attracted
a numerous invaders. Ships used to moor up beside the city center;
today the port can be found fater down, near the Dutch border. |
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| What to see and do in Antwerp |
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Eating
The tourist officein Antwerp has a handy restaurant booklet that lists
most places to eat in town, which includes a long lists of snack bars,
pizza parlors, waffle and pancake houses, and tearooms for low-budget
eating.
Shopping
Antwerp is the said to be more fashion conscious than Brussels. In
recent years Antwerp's fashion designers have made a major impact
within Belgium, and also established a substantial international reputation.
Culture
Rubens is only one of several artists who left their baroque mark
on Antwerp You'll see this iin their buildings, their public works
of art, and the contents of some 20 museums.
Antwerp is not only the fifth-largest port in the world , but also
the world's diamond centre. The city's diamond business is worth a
over $23 billion a year, which swamps Amsterdam's $1 billion-although
you would never guess as much from the noise the Dutch makes about
its jewels and the discreet silence maintained by the Belgians. |
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| Places to Visit |
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Antwerp is a good city for walking . Its major sightseeing attractions
are easily reached from one major street that changes its name as
it goes along: Italiklei, Frankrijklei, Britselei, and finally, Amerikalei.
The treasures of Antwerp are best seen at a walking at a leisurely
pace. But if time is a factor or if you'd like a good overview before
striking out on your own, Antwerp makes it easy by providing guides
for walking tours, regularly scheduled coach tours, and a series of
boat trips to view Antwerp from the water.
You can get maps and sightseeing booklets from the tourist office
to guide you. Walking trails marked within Antwerp will lead you through
typical streets and squares to find the main points of interest. There's
even a free ferryboat ride available across the River Scheldt.
A lot of the museums and churches in Antwerp are open to the public
either for free or at a minimal charge.
Royal Museum of Fine Arts
Here you will find the collection of paintings by Flemish masters
in this impressive neoclassical building which is second to none in
the world. You'll find more Rubens masterpieces here in one place
than in any other. Jan Van Eyck, Roger Van der Weyden, Dirck Bouts,
Hans Memling, the Brueghel family, Rembrandt, and Hals are all represented
as well. All told, these walls hold paintings spanning 5 centuries,
and viewing them is a moving experience. The ground floor holds exhibitions
of work by more modern artists, such as Ensor, Magritte, Permeke,
and Delvaux.
Cathedral of Our Lady
Work began in 1352 on this Gothic edifice, which is the largest church
in both Belgium and Holland. The architecture of the cathedral is
simply breathtaking, with it's seven naves and 125 pillars. The cathedral's
original design included five towers, but only one was completed.
Its history includes devastation by religious iconoclasts, deconsecration
by anticlerical French revolutionaries (resulting in the removal of
its Rubens paintings), and a slow rebirth that began after Napoleon's
defeat in 1815. Today, the cathedral houses three Ruben masterpieces:
The Raising of the Cross, The Descent From the Cross, and The Resurrection.
Rombouts's Last Supper, an impressive stained glass window dating
from 1503, is also outstanding. In July and August, the cathedral
bells peal out in a carillon concert on Sundays from 3 to 4pm and
on Mondays from 8 to 9pm.
Rubens House
A visit to the city cannot go without a visit to Rubens House, which
is essential if you are to fully appreciate what you'll see elsewhere
in Antwerp. Pieter Paul Rubens, whose father was an Antwerp attorney,
was brought back to this city at an early age by his mother. By the
time hewas 32, his artistic reputation was firmly established. In
1610, when he was only 33, his great wealth enabled him to build this
impressive home and studio along what was once a canal, the Wapper
(about midway down the Meir). Today you can wander through the reconstructed
rooms of the Rubens House, and come away with a good idea of the lifestyle
of a patrician Flemish gentleman of that era. There are also examples
of Rubens's work scattered throughout, as well as others by master
painters of his time. In the dining room, look for his self-portrait,
painted when he was 47 years old. Rubens was a lover and collector
of Roman sculpture. |
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