Antwerp Travel guide

Antwerp (Antwerpen) - History

Excavations have shown that there was certainly habitation on the bend in the river as long ago as the Gallo-Roman period (2nd or 3rd century A.D.). Like many Flemish cities Antwerp grew up around two settlements : the ‘aanwerp’ or ‘alluvial mound’ from witch the city probably derives its name, and Caloes, 500 meters further south. A fortification was built on the mound around the seventh century. Christianization also began in that period. In the ninth century, when Antwerp became part of Lorraine, that ‘castellum’ was destroyed by the Norman's. The present-day Steen still comprises remains of its tenth-century replacement. At the end of the tenth century Antwerp became a margraviate (a border province) of the Holy Roman Empire. The border was the River Scheldt. The County of Flanders lay on the other side. In the twelfth century Saint Norbertus founded St. Michael’s Abbey on Caloes. The canons of the little church that had stood there then moved to the northern nucleus and founded a new parish there around a Chapel of Our Lady - the first forerunner of the Cathedral.

The city, which was now part of the Duchy of Brabant, continued to expand in concentric circles with successive bulwarks which are still identifiable in the street pattern. A first economic boom followed in the first half of the fourteenth century. Antwerp became the most important trading and financial centre in Western Europe; its reputation was based largely on its seaport and wool market.

In 1356 the city was annexed to the County of Flanders and lost very many privileges, partly to Bruges’ advantage. Fifty years later the political and economic tide turned again and the run-up to the Golden Age began, when Antwerp became a metropolis of world class at every level : a kind of sixteenth-century Manhattan. It was this centre of trade and culture which Florentijn Lodovico Guicciardini described as ‘the loveliest city in the world’. The most famous names from that age are : the painters Quinten Metsys and Bruegel, the printer Plantijn, the humanists and scientists Lipsius, Mercator, Dodoens and Ortelius.

However, in the second half of that century the city was the focus of the politico-religious struggle between the Protestant North and Catholic Spain and as such it was stricken by a series of calamitous events: the iconoclasm (1566), the Spanish Fury (1576) and finally the Fall of Antwerp (1585). After the Fall the city again came under the rule of Philip II and the Northern Netherlands closed off the Scheldt. From an economic point of view this was a disaster. To make matters worse, it was not only the Protestants who fled the city but also the commercial and intellectual elite. Of the city’s 100.000 inhabitants in 1570, by 1590 no more than about 40.000 remained.
Yet the city continued to flourish culturally until the mid-seventeenth century with painters like Rubens, Van Dyck, Jordaens and Teniers, the sculptor families Quellin and Verbrugghen, printers like Moretus, the famous Antwerp harpsichord builders, etc., etc.

There is little of cheer to recount about Antwerp between 1650 and the nineteenth century. The Scheldt remained closed to traffic and the metropolis became a provincial town. Under Austrian rule (1715-1792) Joseph II tried to free the river by military force, but the plan misfired. In 1795, under French occupation, it succeeded but this time the ships encountered an English blockade. This was hardly surprising since Napoleon regarded the Port of Antwerp as ‘a pistol pointed at the heart of England’. Whilst it is true that Antwerp owes the beginnings of a modern port to that French period (1792-1815), at the same time the city’s cultural heritage fell prey to art plundering and destruction on a scale rarely seen before. There were even plans to pull down the Cathedral.

After the fall of Napoleon at Waterloo (1815), there followed a short-lived reunification with the Northern Netherlands and an equally short period of prosperity which ended with the Belgian Revolution (1830) and once again the closure of the Scheldt. It was reopened, this time definitively, in 1863. Then Antwerp’s third great hey-day could begin. Apart from interruptions during the two world wars, Antwerp has experienced steady economic growth in the twentieth century. This gave rise to a new cultural high point and international prestige in 1993 when Antwerp was nominated Cultural Capital of Europe : the recognition of historical and modern-day riches in which you too can share.

Anwerp is the second largest harbour of Europe (after Rotterdam). Moreover, Antwerp is a splendid city with numerous architectural highlights, most of which date from the 16th (the golden era of Antwerp) and the 17th century. The destructions of the Second World War, unfortunately, has scarred somehow the fair face of the old town. Still there are enough monuments left for those who like monument-hopping to spend a few days admiring them. The past is also represented by the numerous paintings of Peter Paul Rubens who lived in the Antwerp of the early 17th century.

Antwerp, the diamond centre of the World.
If diamonds really are a girl's best friend, than a lot of ladies will not leave out a visit to the diamond district around the Railway Station. This area is also the Jewish part of the city. The presence of many 'Chassidic' Jewish people gives the city a flair that cannot be found in other Belgian cities.

Antwerp, however, does not only live from the past. Nowadays, Antwerp has earned a place among the fashion cities of the world thanks to the efforts of numerous young Flemish fashion designers ( e.g.: Walter Van Beirendonck, Nadine Wynants, Ann De Meulemeester, Dirk Bikkembergs, Kaat Tilley and others). Visit the fashion area of Antwerp near the Meir shopping street.

The 'Bolleke'
The 'Bolleke' is somewhat the unofficial symbol of Antwerp. 'Bolleke' is the name given to the De Koninck Beer, the most typical and popular alcoholic drink of the city. The name means 'little ball' and refers to the glass from which the delightful reddish beer is drunk.

The Sinjoren of Antwerp.
'Sinjoren' is the name that is sometimes used for the Antwerpians. It is not a nickname. Antwerpians are proud to be called 'Sinjoren'. The word is clearly derived from the Spanish word 'Senor', and refers to the leading Spanish noble-men who ruled the city during the 17th century. Not everyone may call himself 'Sinjoor'. You must have been born in the medieval centre of Antwerp, and also your father and grand-father must have been born there.