Antwerp

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This article is about the Flemish city. For the province, see Antwerp (province). For other uses, see Antwerp (disambiguation).
"Anvers" redirects here. For the station on Paris Métro Line 2, see Anvers (Paris Métro). For the island off the Antarctic coast, see Anvers Island.

Antwerp

Antwerpen
Municipality
OLV-Kathedraal.jpgStadsgezicht van Antwerpen vanaf het MAS 30-05-2012 15-29-35.jpg
Top: The Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal (Cathedral of our Lady) and the Scheldt river
Bottom: View of the city centre from the top of Museum aan de Stroom
Flag of Antwerp
Flag
Coat of arms of Antwerp
Coat of arms
Antwerp is located in Belgium
Antwerp
Antwerp
Location in Belgium
Antwerp municipality in the province of Antwerp
AntwerpenLocatie.png
Coordinates: 51°13′04″N 04°24′01″E / 51.21778°N 4.40028°E / 51.21778; 4.40028Coordinates: 51°13′04″N 04°24′01″E / 51.21778°N 4.40028°E / 51.21778; 4.40028
CountryBelgium
CommunityFlemish Community
RegionFlemish Region
ProvinceAntwerp
ArrondissementAntwerp
Government
 • Mayor (list)Bart De Wever (N-VA)
 • Governing party/ies
Area
 • Total204.51 km2 (78.96 sq mi)
Population
 (2018-01-01)[1]
 • Total523,248
 • Density2,600/km2 (6,600/sq mi)
Demonym(s)Antwerpenaar (m) Antwerpse (f) (Dutch)
Postal codes
2000–2660
Area codes03
Websitewww.antwerpen.be
Grote Markt

Antwerp (/ˈæntwɜːrp/ (About this soundlisten); Dutch: Antwerpen [ˈɑntʋɛrpə(n)] (About this soundlisten); French: Anvers [ɑ̃vɛʁs] (About this soundlisten); Spanish: Amberes) is a city in Belgium, and is the capital of Antwerp province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,[2] it is the most populous city proper in Belgium, and with a metropolitan area housing around 1,200,000 people, it is the second largest metropolitan region after Brussels in Belgium.[3][4]

Antwerp is on the River Scheldt, linked to the North Sea by the river's Westerschelde estuary. It is about 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of Brussels, and about 15 kilometres (9 mi) south of the Dutch border. The Port of Antwerp is one of the biggest in the world, ranking second in Europe[5][6] and within the top 20 globally.[7] The city is also known for its diamond industry and trade.

Both economically and culturally, Antwerp is and has long been an important city in the Low Countries, especially before and during the Spanish Fury (1576) and throughout and after the subsequent Dutch Revolt. Antwerp was also the place of the world's oldest stock exchange building, originally built in 1531 and re-built in 1872.[8]

The inhabitants of Antwerp are nicknamed Sinjoren (Dutch pronunciation: [sɪɲˈjoːrə(n)]), after the Spanish honorific señor or French seigneur, "lord", referring to the Spanish noblemen who ruled the city in the 17th century.[9] The city hosted the 1920 Summer Olympics.

History[edit]

See also: Timeline of Antwerp

Origin of the name[edit]

According to folklore, notably celebrated by a statue in front of the town hall, the city got its name from a legend about a giant called Antigoon who lived near the Scheldt river. He extracted a toll from passing boatmen, and for those who refused, he severed one of their hands and threw it into the river.[10] Eventually the giant was killed by a young hero named Silvius Brabo, who cut off the giant's own hand and flung it into the river. Hence the name Antwerpen, from Dutch hand werpen, akin to Old English hand and wearpan (to throw), which has evolved to today's warp.[11]

A longstanding 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 (which is in fact the same origin as Germanic waerpen). Note that the river Scheldt, before a transition period between 600 and 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.[12] However, many historians think it unlikely that there was a large settlement which would be named 'Antverpia', but more something like an outpost with a river crossing.

However, John Lothrop Motley argues, and so do a lot of historians and Dutch (language) etymologists,[who?] that Antwerp's name derives from "anda" (at) and "werpum" (wharf)[13] to give an 't werf (on the wharf, in the same meaning as the current English wharf). Aan 't werp (at the warp) is also possible. This "warp" (thrown ground) is a man-made hill or a river deposit, high enough to remain dry at high tide, whereupon a construction could be built that would remain dry. Another word for werp is pol (dyke) hence polders (the dry land behind a dyke, that was no longer flooded by the tide).

Alfred Michiels has suggested that derivations based on hand werpen, Antverpia, "on the wharf", or "at the warp" lack historical backing in the form of recorded past spellings of the placename. He points instead to Dado's Life of St. Eligius (Vita Eligii) from the 7th century, which records the form Andoverpis. He sees in it a Celtic origin indicating "those who live on both banks".[14]

Pre-1500[edit]

Historical Antwerp allegedly had its origins in a Gallo-Roman vicus. 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. The earliest mention of Antwerp dates from the 4th century.

In the 4th century, Antwerp was first named, having been settled by the Germanic Franks.[15]

The Merovingian Antwerp was evangelized by Saint Amand in the 7th century. At the end of the 10th century, the Scheldt became the boundary of the Holy Roman Empire. Antwerp became a margraviate in 980, by the German emperor Otto II, a border province facing the County of Flanders.

In the 11th century, the best-known leader of the First Crusade (1096-1099), Godfrey of Bouillon, was originally Margrave of Antwerp, from 1076 until his death in 1100, though he was later also Duke of Lower Lorraine (1087-1100) and Defender of the Holy Sepulchre (1099-1100). In the 12th century, Norbert of Xanten established a community of his Premonstratensian canons at St. Michael's Abbey at Caloes. Antwerp was also the headquarters of Edward III during his early negotiations with Jacob van Artevelde, and his son Lionel, the Duke of Clarence, was born there in 1338.[16]

16th century[edit]

Osias Beert the Elder, from Antwerp. Dishes with Oysters, Fruit, and Wine, c. 1620/1625

After the silting-up of the Zwin and the consequent decline of Bruges, the city of Antwerp, then part of the Duchy of Brabant, grew in 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.[16] Antwerp became the sugar capital of Europe, importing the raw commodity from Portuguese and Spanish plantations. The city attracted Italian and German sugar refiners by 1550, and shipped their refined product to Germany, especially Cologne.[17] Moneylenders and financiers developed a large business lending money all over Europe including the English government in 1544–1574. 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 the 1570s, the city's banking business declined: England ended its borrowing in Antwerp in 1574.[18]

Fernand Braudel states that Antwerp became "the centre of the entire international economy, something Bruges had never been even at its height."[19] Antwerp was the richest city in Europe at this time.[20] Antwerp's golden age is tightly linked to the "Age of Exploration". During the first half of the 16th century Antwerp grew to become the second-largest European city north of the Alps. Many foreign merchants were resident in the city. Francesco Guicciardini, the Florentine 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 and cinnamon 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."[21]

Sack of Antwerp in 1576, in which about 7,000 people died.

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 Venetian Republic, Republic of Ragusa, Spain and Portugal. Antwerp had a policy of toleration, which attracted a large crypto-Jewish community composed of migrants from Spain and Portugal.[22]

By 1504, the Portuguese had established Antwerp as one of their main shipping bases, bringing in spices from Asia and trading them for textiles and metal goods. The city's trade expanded to include cloth from England, Italy and Germany, wines from Germany, France and Spain, salt from France, and wheat from the Baltic. The city's skilled workers processed soap, fish, sugar, and especially cloth. Banks helped finance the trade, the merchants, and the manufacturers. The city was a cosmopolitan center; its bourse opened in 1531, "To the merchants of all nations." [23]

Antwerp experienced three booms during its golden age: the first based on the pepper market, a second launched by American silver coming from Seville (ending with the bankruptcy of Spain in 1557), and a third boom, after the stabilising Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis in 1559, based on the textiles industry. At the beginning of the 16th century Antwerp accounted for 40% of world trade.[21] The boom-and-bust cycles and inflationary cost-of-living squeezed less-skilled workers. In the century after 1541, the city's economy and population declined dramatically The Portuguese merchants left in 1549, and there was much less trade in English cloth. Numerous financial bankruptcies began around 1557. Amsterdam replaced Antwerp as the major trading center for the region.[24]

Reformation era[edit]

The religious revolution of the Reformation erupted in violent riots in August 1566, as in other parts of the Low Countries. The regent Margaret, Duchess of Parma, was swept aside when Philip II sent the Duke of Alba at the head of an army the following summer. When the Eighty Years' War broke out in 1568, commercial trading between Antwerp and the Spanish port of Bilbao collapsed and became impossible. On 4 November 1576, Spanish soldiers sacked the city during the so-called Spanish Fury: 7,000 citizens were massacred, 800 houses were burnt down, and over £2 million sterling of damage was done.

Dutch revolt[edit]

Subsequently, the city joined the Union of Utrecht in 1579 and became the capital of the Dutch revolt. In 1585, Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma and Piacenza, captured it after a long siege and as part of the terms of surrender its Protestant citizens were given two years to settle their affairs before quitting the city.[25] Most went to the United Provinces in the north, starting the Dutch Golden Age. Antwerp's banking was controlled for a generation by Genoa, and Amsterdam became the new trading centre.

17th–19th centuries[edit]

Map of Antwerp (1624)
Antwerp and the river Scheldt, photochrom ca. 1890–1900
"View of Antwerp with the frozen Scheldt" (1590) by Lucas van Valckenborch

The recognition of the independence of the United Provinces by the Treaty of Münster in 1648 stipulated that the Scheldt 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 (1815 to 1830).[16] Antwerp had reached the lowest point in its fortunes in 1800, and its population had sunk to under 40,000, when Napoleon, realizing its strategic importance, assigned funds to enlarge the harbour by constructing a new dock (still named the Bonaparte Dock) and an access- lock and mole and deepening the Scheldt to allow for larger ships to approach Antwerp.[20] Napoleon hoped that by making Antwerp's harbour the finest in Europe he would be able to counter the Port of London and hamper British growth. However, he was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo before he could see the plan through.[26]

Antwerp, Belgium, from the left bank of the Scheldt (c. 1890 – 1900)

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. 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 the French Northern Army commanded by Marechal Gerard. During this attack the town was further damaged. In December 1832, after a gallant defence, Chassé made an honourable surrender, ending the Siege of Antwerp (1832).[16]

Later that century, a double ring of Brialmont Fortresses was constructed some 10 km (6 mi) from the city centre, as Antwerp was considered vital for the survival of the young Belgian state. And in 1894 Antwerp presented itself to the world via a World's Fair attended by 3 million.[27]

20th century[edit]

Results of German bombardment of Antwerp, October 1914

Antwerp was the first city to host the World Gymnastics Championships, in 1903. During World War I, the city became the fallback point of the Belgian Army after the defeat at Liège. The Siege of Antwerp lasted for 11 days, but the city was taken after heavy fighting by the German Army, and the Belgians were forced to retreat westwards. Antwerp remained under German occupation until the Armistice.

Antwerp hosted the 1920 Summer Olympics. 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, which was used by the Allies to bring new material ashore. Thousands of Rheinbote, V-1 and V-2 missiles were fired (more V-2s than used on all other targets during the entire war combined), causing severe damage to the city but failed to destroy the port due to poor accuracy. After the war, Antwerp, which had already had a sizeable Jewish population before the war, once again became a major European centre of Haredi (and particularly Hasidic) Orthodox Judaism.

A Ten-Year Plan for the port of Antwerp (1956–1965) expanded and modernized the port's infrastructure with national funding to build a set of canal docks. The broader aim was to facilitate the growth of the north-eastern Antwerp metropolitan region, which attracted new industry based on a flexible and strategic implementation of the project as a co-production between various authorities and private parties. The plan succeeded in extending the linear layout along the Scheldt river by connecting new satellite communities to the main strip.[28]

Starting in the 1990s, Antwerp rebranded itself as a world-class fashion centre. Emphasizing the avant-garde, it tried to compete with London, Milan, New York and Paris. It emerged from organized tourism and mega-cultural events.[29]

Municipality[edit]

Districts of Antwerp.
Main article: Districts of Antwerp

The municipality comprises the city of Antwerp proper and several towns. It is divided into nine entities (districts):

  1. Antwerp
  2. Berchem
  3. Berendrecht-Zandvliet-Lillo
  4. Borgerhout
  5. Deurne
  6. Ekeren
  7. Hoboken
  8. Merksem
  9. Wilrijk

In 1958, in preparation of the 10-year development plan for the Port of Antwerp, the municipalities of Berendrecht-Zandvliet-Lillo were integrated into the city territory and lost their administrative independence. During the 1983 merger of municipalities, conducted by the Belgian government as an administrative simplification, the municipalities of Berchem, Borgerhout, Deurne, Ekeren, Hoboken, Merksem and Wilrijk were merged into the city. At that time the city was also divided into the districts mentioned above. Simultaneously, districts received an appointed district council; later district councils became elected bodies.[30]

Buildings and landmarks[edit]

Antwerp City Hall at the Grote Markt (Main Square).
16th-century Guildhouses at the Grote Markt.
The Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal (the Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp), here seen from the Groenplaats, is the tallest cathedral in the Low Countries and home to several triptychs by the Baroque painter Rubens. It remains the tallest building in the city.
Statue of Brabo and the giant's hand
Antwerp lawcourts

In the 16th century, Antwerp was noted for the wealth of its citizens ("Antwerpia nummis").[citation needed] 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 on the northern quays, in 1891.[citation needed] During World War II, the city also suffered considerable damage from V-bombs, and in recent years, other noteworthy buildings have been demolished for new developments.

Fortifications[edit]

Main article: Fortifications of Antwerp
Het Steen (literally: 'The Stone').

Although Antwerp was formerly a fortified city, hardly anything remains of the former enceinte, only some remains of the city wall can be seen near the Vleeshuis museum at the corner of Bloedberg and Burchtgracht. A replica of a castle named Steen has been partly rebuilt near the Scheldt-quais in the 19th century. Antwerp's development as a fortified city is documented between the 10th and the 20th century. The fortifications were developed in different phases:

  • 10th century: fortification of the wharf with a wall and a ditch
  • 12th and 13th century: canals (so called "vlieten" and "ruien") were made
  • 16th century: Spanish fortifications
  • 19th century: double ring of Brialmont forts around the city, dismantling of the Spanish fortifications
  • 20th century: 1960 dismantling of the inner ring of forts, decommissioning of the outer ring of forts

Demographics[edit]

Historical population[edit]

Population time-line of Antwerp.

This is the population of the city of Antwerp only, not of the larger current municipality of the same name.

  • 1374: 18,000[35]
  • 1486: 40,000[36]
  • 1500: around 44/49,000 inhabitants[37]
  • 1526: 50,000[38]
  • 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.)[38][39][40][41]
  • 1584: 84,000 (after the Spanish Fury, the French Fury[42] and the Calvinist republic)
  • 1586 (May): 60,000 (after siege)
  • 1586 (October): 50,000
  • 1591: 46,000
  • 1612: 54,000[43]
  • 1620: 66,000 (Twelve Years' Truce)
  • 1640: 54,000 (after the Black Death epidemics)
  • 1700: 66,000[44]
  • 1765: 40,000
  • 1784: 51,000
  • 1800: 45,500
  • 1815: 54,000[45]
  • 1830: 73,500
  • 1856: 111,700
  • 1880: 179,000
  • 1900: 275,100
  • 1925: 308,000
  • 1959: 260,000[46]

Minorities[edit]

Nationality Population (2019)
 Netherlands 20,110
 Morocco 11,671
 Poland 8,865
 Spain 5,895
 Bulgaria 4,099
 Turkey 4,098
 Afghanistan 4,064
 Romania 3,910
 Nigeria 3,698
 Ghana 2,830
 Russia 2,260
Others 40,445

In 2010, 36% to 39% of the inhabitants of Antwerp had a migrant background. A study projects that in 2020, 55% of the population will be of migrant background.[47][48]

Antwerp-population per district 2012

Jewish community[edit]

Main article: Jewish Community of Antwerp
Hollandse Synagogue

After the Holocaust and the murder of its many Jews, Antwerp became a major centre for Orthodox Jews. At present, about 15,000 Haredi Jews, many of them Hasidic, live in Antwerp. The city has three official Jewish Congregations: Shomrei Hadass, headed by Rabbi Dovid Moishe Lieberman, Machsike Hadass, headed by Rabbi Aron Schiff (formerly by Chief Rabbi Chaim Kreiswirth) and the Portuguese Community Ben Moshe. Antwerp has an extensive network of synagogues, shops, schools and organizations. Significant Hasidic movements in Antwerp include Pshevorsk, based in Antwerp, as well as branches of Satmar, Belz, Bobov, Ger, Skver, Klausenburg, Wiznitz and several others. Rabbi Chaim Kreiswirth, chief rabbi of the Machsike Hadas community, who died in 2001, 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.[citation needed]

Jain community[edit]

Main article: Jainism in Belgium
Jain temple in Antwerp

The Jains in Belgium are estimated to be around about 1,500 people. The majority live in Antwerp, mostly involved in the very lucrative diamond business.[49] Belgian Indian Jains control two-thirds of the rough diamonds trade and supplied India with roughly 36% of their rough diamonds.[50][citation needed] A major temple, with a cultural centre, has been built in Antwerp (Wilrijk). Mr Ramesh Mehta, a Jain, is a full-fledged member of the Belgian Council of Religious Leaders, put up on 17 December 2009.[citation needed]

Armenian community[edit]

Main article: Armenians in Belgium

There are significant Armenian communities that reside in Antwerp, many of them are descendants of traders who settled during the 19th century. Most Armenian Belgians are adherents of the Armenian Apostolic Church, with a smaller numbers are adherents of the Armenian Catholic Church and Armenian Evangelical Church.

One of the important sectors that Armenian communities in Antwerp excel and involved in is the diamond trade business,[51][52][53][54] that based primarily in the diamond district.[55][56][57] Some of the famous Armenian families involved in the diamond business in the city are the Artinians, Arslanians, Aslanians, Barsamians and the Osganians.[58][59]

Economy[edit]

Delwaidedok [nl] terminal at the Port of Antwerp.

Port[edit]

According to the American Association of Port Authorities, the port of Antwerp was the seventeenth largest (by tonnage) port in the world in 2005 and second only to Rotterdam in Europe. It handled 235.2 million tons of cargo in 2018. Importantly it handles high volumes of economically attractive general and project cargo, as well as bulk cargo. Antwerp's docklands, with five oil refineries, are home to a massive concentration of petrochemical industries, second only to the petrochemical cluster in Houston, Texas.[citation needed] Electricity generation is also an important activity, with four nuclear power plants at Doel, a conventional power station in Kallo, as well as several smaller combined cycle plants. There is a wind farm in the northern part of the port area. There are plans to extend this in the period 2014–2020.[60] The old Belgian bluestone quays bordering the Scheldt for a distance of 5.6 km (3.5 mi) to the north and south of the city centre have been retained for their sentimental value and are used mainly by cruise ships and short sea shipping.[citation needed]

Diamonds[edit]

Antwerp's other great mainstay is the diamond trade that takes place largely within the diamond district.[61] 85 percent of the world's rough diamonds pass through the district annually,[62] and in 2011 turnover in the industry was $56 billion.[63] The city has four diamond bourses: the Diamond Club of Antwerp, the Beurs voor Diamanthandel, the Antwerpsche Diamantkring and the Vrije Diamanthandel.[64] Antwerp's history in the diamond trade dates back to as early as the sixteenth century,[62] with the first diamond cutters guild being introduced in 1584. The industry never disappeared from Antwerp, and even experienced a second boom in the early twentieth century. By the year 1924, Antwerp had over 13,000 diamond finishers.[65] Since World War II families of the large Hasidic Jewish community have dominated Antwerp's diamond trading industry, although the last two decades have seen Indian[66] and Maronite Christian from Lebanon and Armenian,[55] traders become increasingly important.[66] Antwerp World Diamond Centre, (AWDC) 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 the capital of the diamond industry.[citation needed] However, in recent years Antwerp has seen a downturn in the diamond business, with the industry shifting to cheaper labor markets such as Dubai or India.[67]

Transportation[edit]

Road[edit]

A six-lane motorway bypass encircles much of the city centre and runs through the urban residential area of Antwerp. Known locally as the "Ring" it offers motorway connections to Brussels, Hasselt and Liège, Ghent, Lille and Bruges and Breda and Bergen op Zoom (Netherlands). The banks of the Scheldt are linked by three road tunnels (in order of construction): the Waasland Tunnel (1934), the Kennedy Tunnel (1967) and the Liefkenshoek Tunnel (1991).

Daily congestion on the Ring led to a fourth high-volume highway link called the "Oosterweelconnection" being proposed. It would have entailed the construction of a long viaduct and bridge (the Lange Wapper) over the docks on the north side of the city in combination with the widening of the existing motorway into a 14-lane motorway; these plans were eventually rejected in a 2009 public referendum.[citation needed]

In September 2010 the Flemish Government decided to replace the bridge by a series of tunnels. There are ideas to cover the Ring in a similar way as happened around Paris, Hamburg, Madrid and other cities. This would reconnect the city with its suburbs and would provide development opportunities to accommodate part of the foreseen population growth in Antwerp which currently are not possible because of the pollution and noise generated by the traffic on the Ring. An old plan to build an R2 outer ring road outside the built up urban area around the Antwerp agglomeration for port related traffic and transit traffic never materialized.[citation needed]

Rail[edit]

Antwerp Central Station

Antwerp is the focus of lines to the north to Essen and the Netherlands, east to Turnhout, south to Mechelen, Brussels and Charleroi, and southwest to Ghent and Ostend. It is served by international trains to Amsterdam and Paris, and national trains to Ghent, Bruges, Ostend, Brussels, Charleroi, Hasselt, Liège, Leuven and Turnhout.

Antwerp Central station is an architectural monument in itself, and is mentioned in W G Sebald's haunting novel Austerlitz. Prior to the completion in 2007 of a tunnel that runs northwards under the city centre to emerge at the old Antwerp Dam station, Central was a terminus. Trains from Brussels to the Netherlands had to either reverse at Central or call only at Berchem station, 2 kilometres (1 mile) 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.

Public transportation[edit]

The city has a web of tram and bus lines operated by De Lijn and providing access to the city centre, suburbs and the Left Bank. The tram network has 12 lines, of which the underground section is called the "premetro" and includes a tunnel under the river. The Franklin Rooseveltplaats functions as the city's main hub for local and regional bus lines.

Air[edit]

Control tower and terminal building at Antwerp International Airport
Antwerp International Airport

A small airport, Antwerp International Airport, is located in the district of Deurne, with passenger service to various European destinations. A bus service connects the airport to the city centre.

The now defunct VLM Airlines had its head office on the grounds of Antwerp International Airport. This office is also CityJet's Antwerp office.[68][69] When VG Airlines (Delsey Airlines) existed, its head office was located in the district of Merksem.[70]

Belgium's major international airport, Brussels Airport, is about 45 kilometres (28 miles) from the city of Antwerp, and connects the city worldwide. It is connected to the city centre by bus, and also by train. The new Diabolo rail connection provides a direct fast train connection between Antwerp and Brussels Airport as of the summer of 2012.

There is also a direct rail service between Antwerp (calling at Central and Berchem stations) and Charleroi South station, with a connecting buslink to Brussels South Charleroi Airport, which runs twice every hour on working days.

The runway has increased in length, and there is now direct connectivity to Spain, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, and Greece from the city of Antwerp.

In September 2019 Air Antwerp began operations with their first route to London City Airport with old VLM Airlines Fokker 50's.

Politics[edit]

City council[edit]

The current city council was elected in the October 2018 elections.

The current majority consists of N-VA, sp.a and Open Vld, led by mayor Bart De Wever (N-VA).

Party Seats
New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) 23
Green 11
Socialist Party Differently (sp.a) 6
Flemish Interest 6
Christian Democratic and Flemish (CD&V) 3
Workers' Party of Belgium (PVDA) 4
Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats (Open Vld) 2
Total 55

Former mayors[edit]

Main article: List of mayors of Antwerp

In the 16th and 17th century important mayors include Philips of Marnix, Lord of Saint-Aldegonde, Anthony van Stralen, Lord of Merksem and Nicolaas II Rockox. In the early years after Belgian independence, Antwerp was governed by Catholic-Unionist mayors. Between 1848 and 1921, all mayors were from the Liberal Party (except for the so-called Meeting-intermezzo between 1863 and 1872). Between 1921 and 1932, the city had a Catholic mayor again: Frans Van Cauwelaert. From 1932 onwards and up until 2013, all mayors belonged to the Social Democrat party: Camille Huysmans, Lode Craeybeckx, Frans Detiège and Mathilde Schroyens, and after the municipality fusion: Bob Cools, Leona Detiège en Patrick Janssens. Since 2013, the mayor is the Flemish nationalist Bart De Wever, belonging to the Flemish separatist party N-VA (New Flemish Alliance).

Climate[edit]

Antwerp has an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb) similar to that of Southern England, while being far enough inland to build up summer warmth above 23 °C (73 °F) average highs for both July and August. Winters are more dominated by the maritime currents instead, with temps being heavily moderated.[citation needed]

Climate data for Antwerp (1981–2010 normals), sunshine 1984–2013
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 6.2
(43.2) 		7.0
(44.6) 		10.8
(51.4) 		14.4
(57.9) 		18.4
(65.1) 		20.9
(69.6) 		23.2
(73.8) 		23.1
(73.6) 		19.7
(67.5) 		15.3
(59.5) 		10.1
(50.2) 		6.6
(43.9) 		14.7
(58.5)
Daily mean °C (°F) 3.4
(38.1) 		3.7
(38.7) 		6.8
(44.2) 		9.6
(49.3) 		13.6
(56.5) 		16.2
(61.2) 		18.5
(65.3) 		18.2
(64.8) 		15.1
(59.2) 		11.3
(52.3) 		7.0
(44.6) 		4.0
(39.2) 		10.6
(51.1)
Average low °C (°F) 0.7
(33.3) 		0.5
(32.9) 		2.8
(37.0) 		4.8
(40.6) 		8.8
(47.8) 		11.7
(53.1) 		13.8
(56.8) 		13.2
(55.8) 		10.6
(51.1) 		7.4
(45.3) 		4.1
(39.4) 		1.5
(34.7) 		6.7
(44.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 69.3
(2.73) 		57.4
(2.26) 		63.8
(2.51) 		47.1
(1.85) 		61.5
(2.42) 		77.0
(3.03) 		80.6
(3.17) 		77.3
(3.04) 		77.2
(3.04) 		78.7
(3.10) 		79.0
(3.11) 		79.5
(3.13) 		848.4
(33.40)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 12.3 10.6 12.0 9.2 10.6 10.4 10.2 9.9 10.3 11.4 12.9 12.8 132.7
Mean monthly sunshine hours 57 77 122 177 208 202 214 202 144 116 62 47 1,625
Source: Royal Meteorological Institute[71]

Culture[edit]

Antwerp had an artistic reputation in the 17th century, based on its school of painting, which included Rubens, Van Dyck, Jordaens, the Teniers and many others.[16]

One of the many Marian statues which feature on Antwerp street corners

Informally, most Antverpians (in Dutch Antwerpenaren, people from Antwerp) speak Antverpian daily (in Dutch Antwerps), a dialect that Dutch-speakers know as distinctive from other Brabantic dialects for its characteristic pronunciation of vowels: an 'aw' sound approximately like that in 'bore' is used for one of its long 'a'-sounds while other short 'a's are very sharp like the 'a' in 'hat'. The Echt Antwaarps Teater ("Authentic Antverpian Theatre") brings the dialect on stage.

Fashion[edit]

Antwerp is a rising fashion city, and has produced designers such as the Antwerp Six. The city has a cult status in the fashion world, due to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, one of the most important fashion academies in the world. It has served as the learning centre for many Belgian fashion designers. Since the 1980s, several graduates of the Belgian Royal Academy of Fine Arts have become internationally successful fashion designers in Antwerp. The city has had a huge influence on other Belgian fashion designers such as Raf Simons, Veronique Branquinho, Olivier Theyskens and Kris Van Assche.[72]

Local products[edit]

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 Bolleke, an amber beer from the De Koninck Brewery. The Mokatine sweets made by Confiserie Roodthooft, Elixir D'Anvers, a locally made liquor, locally roasted coffee from Koffie Verheyen, sugar from Candico, Poolster pickled herring and Equinox horse meat, are other examples of local specialities. One of the most known products of the city are its biscuits, the Antwerpse Handjes, literally "Antwerp Hands". Usually made from a short pastry with almonds or milk chocolate, they symbolize the Antwerp trademark and folklore. The local products are represented by a non-profit organization, Streekproducten Provincie Antwerpen vzw.[citation needed]

Missions to seafarers[edit]

A number of Christian missions to seafarers are based in Antwerp, notably on the Italiëlei. These include the Mission to Seafarers, British & International Sailors' Society, the Finnish Seamen's Mission, the Norwegian Sjømannskirken and the Apostleship of the Sea. They provide cafeterias, cultural and social activities as well as religious services.

Music[edit]

Antwerp is the home of the Antwerp Jazz Club (AJC), founded in 1938 and located on the square Grote Markt since 1994.[73]

Music festivals[edit]

Cultuurmarkt van Vlaanderen is a musical festival and a touristic attraction that takes place annually on the final Sunday of August in the city center of Antwerp. Where international and local musicians and actors, present their stage and street performances.[74][75][76]

Linkerwoofer is a pop-rock music festival located at the left bank of the Scheldt. This music festival starts in August and mostly local Belgian musicians play and perform in this event.[77][78][79]

Other popular festivals Fire Is Gold, and focuses more on urban music, and Summerfestival.

World Choir Games[edit]

The city of Antwerp will co-host the 2020 World Choir Games together with the city of Ghent.[80] Organised by the Interkultur Foundation, the World Choir Games is the biggest choral competition and festival in the world.

Sport[edit]

Official poster of the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp.

Antwerp held the 1920 Summer Olympics, which were the first games after the First World War and also the only ones to be held in Belgium. The road cycling events took place in the streets of the city.[81][82]

Royal Antwerp F.C., currently playing in the Belgian First Division, were founded in 1880 and is known as 'The Great Old' for being the first club registered to the Royal Belgian Football Association in 1895.[83] Since 1998, the club has taken Manchester United players on loan in an official partnership.[84] Another club in the city was Beerschot VAC, founded in 1899 by former Royal Antwerp players. They played at the Olympisch Stadion, the main venue of the 1920 Olympics. Nowadays KFCO Beerschot Wilrijk plays at the Olympisch Stadion in the Belgian Second Division.

The Antwerp Giants play in Basketball League Belgium and Topvolley Antwerpen play in the Belgium men's volleyball League.

For the year 2013, Antwerp was awarded the title of European Capital of Sport.

Antwerp hosted the 2013 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.

Antwerp hosted the start of stage 3 of the 2015 Tour de France on 6 July 2015.[85]

Higher education[edit]

Main building of the Middelheim campus at the University of Antwerp.

Antwerp has a university and several colleges. The University of Antwerp (Universiteit Antwerpen) was established in 2003, following the merger of the RUCA, UFSIA and UIA institutes. Their roots go back to 1852. The University has approximately 23,000 registered students, making it the third-largest university in Flanders, as well as 1,800 foreign students. It has 7 faculties, spread over four campus locations in the city centre and in the south of the city.

The city has several colleges, including Antwerp Management School (AMS), Charlemagne University College (Karel de Grote Hogeschool), Plantin University College (Plantijn Hogeschool), and Artesis University College (Artesis Hogeschool). Artesis University College has about 8,600 students and 1,600 staff, and Charlemagne University College has about 10,000 students and 1,300 staff. Plantin University College has approximately 3,700 students.

International relations[edit]

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Belgium

Twin towns and sister cities[edit]

The following places are twinned with or sister cities to Antwerp:

Partnerships[edit]

Within the context of development cooperation, Antwerp is also linked to

Notable people[edit]

Main article: Notable people from Antwerp

Born in Antwerp[edit]

Abraham Ortelius
Hendrik Conscience

Lived in Antwerp[edit]

Wenceslas Hollar.

Select neighbourhoods[edit]

  • Den Dam – an area in northern Antwerp
  • The diamond district – an area consisting of several square blocks, it is Antwerp's centre for the cutting, polishing, and trading of diamonds
  • Linkeroever – Antwerp on the left bank of the Scheldt with a lot of apartment buildings
  • Meir – Antwerp's largest shopping street
  • Van Wesenbekestraat – the city's Chinatown
  • Het Zuid – the south of Antwerp, notable for its museums and Expo grounds
  • Zurenborg – an area between Central and Berchem station with a concentration of Art Nouveau townhouses

See also[edit]

References[edit]

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Further reading[edit]

See also: Bibliography of the history of Antwerp
  • Blanchard, Ian. The International Economy in the "Age of the Discoveries," 1470-1570: Antwerp and the English Merchants' World (Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, 2009). 288 pp. in English
  • Harreld, Donald J. "Trading Places," Journal of Urban History (2003) 29#6 pp 657–669
  • Lindemann, Mary. The Merchant Republics: Amsterdam, Antwerp, and Hamburg, 1648-1790 (Cambridge University Press, 2014) 356 pp.
  • Limberger, Michael. Sixteenth-Century Antwerp and its Rural Surroundings: Social and Economic Changes in the Hinterland of a Commercial Metropolis (ca. 1450-1570) (Turnhout: Brepols Publishers, 2008). 284 pp. ISBN 978-2-503-52725-3.
  • Makos, Adam (2019). Spearhead (1st ed.). New York: Ballantine Books. pp. 63, 69. ISBN 9780804176729. LCCN 2018039460. OL 27342118M.
  • Stillwell, Richard, ed. Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites, 1976: "Antwerp Belgium"
  • Van der Wee, Herman. The Growth of the Antwerp Market and the European Economy (14th–16th Centuries) (The Hague, 1963)

External links[edit]

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