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Antwerp

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: European Geography

   The Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal (Cathedral of our Lady) at the
   Handschoenmarkt, in the old quarter of Antwerp is the largest cathedral
   in the Low Countries and home to several triptychs by Baroque painter
   Rubens. It remains the tallest building in the city.
   Enlarge
   The Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal (Cathedral of our Lady) at the
   Handschoenmarkt, in the old quarter of Antwerp is the largest cathedral
   in the Low Countries and home to several triptychs by Baroque painter
   Rubens. It remains the tallest building in the city.
   Antwerp municipality and district within the province of Antwerp
   Enlarge
   Antwerp municipality and district within the province of Antwerp
   Antwerp city crest
   Enlarge
   Antwerp city crest

   The city and municipality of Antwerp (Dutch: Antwerpen; French: Anvers;
   Spanish: Amberes) is a centre of commerce in Belgium and the capital of
   Antwerp province, in Flanders, one of Belgium's three regions.
   Antwerp's total population is ca. 461,496 (January 2006) and its total
   area is 204.51 km² with a population density of 2,257 inhabitants per
   km². The agglomeration has a population of about 800,000 (
   municipality: 461,496 (2006), metropolitan area: ca. 1,225,000

   Antwerp has long been an important city in the Low Countries both
   economically and culturally. It is on the right bank of the river
   Scheldt which is linked to the North Sea by the Westerschelde.
   Antwerp's port, which is one of the world's largest, has a high level
   of cargo shipping and oil refineries traffic, and in Europe, only
   Rotterdam 's ports is larger. Families of the large Hasidic Jewish
   community have traditionally controlled Antwerp's global centre of the
   diamond trading industry, though recently also Indian traders became
   involved.

Buildings and facilities

   Antwerp Stadhuis (City Hall) at the Grote Markt (Main Square)
   Enlarge
   Antwerp Stadhuis (City Hall) at the Grote Markt (Main Square)

   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 Antwerp. Fire has
   destroyed several old buildings in the city, such as the house of the
   Hansa League on the northern quays in 1891.
     * The Antwerp Zoo was founded in 1843, and home to more than 4,000
       animals.
     * Central Station is a railway station designed by Louis Delacenserie
       that was completed in 1905. It has two monumental neo-baroque
       facades, a large metal and glass dome (60m/197ft) and a gilt and
       marble interior.
     * Cathedral of Our Lady. This church was begun in the 14th century
       and finished in 1518. The church has three works by Rubens, viz. "
       The Descent from the Cross," " The Elevation of the Cross," and "
       The Assumption."
     * The church, named for St James, 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.
     * The Plantin-Moretus Museum preserves the house of the printer
       Christoffel Plantijn and his successor Jan Moretus.
     * The Boerentoren (Farmers' Tower) or KBC Tower is the oldest
       skyscraper in Europe
     * The Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten (Royal Museum for Fine
       Arts) close to the southern quays has a collection of old masters
       (Rubens, Van Dyck, Titian) and the leading Dutch masters.
       Grote Markt : open air cafés, City Hall and guildhouses in
       background
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       Grote Markt : open air cafés, City Hall and guildhouses in
       background
       The exchange or Bourse, one of the early institutions in Europe
       with that title, was built in 1872.

   Antwerp had an artistic reputation in the 17th century, based on its
   school of painting, which included Rubens, Van Dyck, Jordaens, the two
   Teniers and many others. Antwerpenaren (Antverpians, people from
   Antwerp) speak a dialect which is recognised by Dutch-speaking people
   because of its A-sound, which sounds more like the 'o' in bore.

Commerce

   The Boerentoren ('Farmers' tower'), nickname of – nowadays –
   the KBC Bank building in Antwerp
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   The Boerentoren ('Farmers' tower'), nickname of – nowadays – the
   KBC Bank building in Antwerp

   In 1863, Antwerp was opened again to international trade by the
   purchase of the Dutch right to levy tolls. Eight principal basins or
   docks already existed in 1908.

   With the completion of the new maritime lock, ships drawing 30 feet of
   water would be able to enter these new docks and also the Lefebvre and
   America docks. The quays flanking the Scheldt are 3-½ miles in length,
   constructed of granite.

Transportation

   Due to its importance as a one of Europe's biggest ports and its
   central location in Europe and within Belgium the city has impressive
   infrastructure and is easily reached from all directions by car and
   train.

Car

   Highways lead to Brussels, Hasselt, Liège, Breda (Netherlands), Ghent
   and Bruges. They are led around the city by the Ring. Both banks of the
   Scheldt are connected to each other by several tunnels, the oldest of
   which is the Waaslandtunnel ( 1934), on the Ring the Kennedytunnel
   connects the left with the right bank and in the North between the
   docks there is the Liefkenshoektunnel. Currently a fourth cartunnel is
   being planned on the northern part of the Ring which to be completed in
   2012.

Rail

   Antwerp has two main stations: Centraal and Berchem. Central Station
   (1905) is a monument in itself. As Central Station is the end of the
   line many trains only stop at Berchem Station. From Berchem Station
   international trains go to Amsterdam, Paris and Lille, national trains
   go directly to Ghent, Ostend, Brussels, Charleroi, Hasselt, Liège and
   Turnhout.

City transportation

   Antwerp has a fine web of tram and bus lines providing good acces to
   the suburbs and the Left Bank. The tram network has 11 lines and is
   partly underground. This part is thus called the premetro.

Air

   Antwerp international airport is located in the district of Deurne. VLM
   Airlines flies to London (City Airport) and Manchester in England. VLM
   is the only airline with scheduled air services to and from Antwerp
   International Airport. The airport is connected by bus to the city
   centre.

Fortifications

   Het Steen (literally: 'The Stone')
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   Het Steen (literally: 'The Stone')

   Although Antwerp was formerly a fortified city, nothing remains of the
   former enceinte or of the old citadel defended by General Chassé in
   1832, except for the Steen, 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's supervision in
   1815- 1818 were dismantled and the old citadel and enceinte were
   removed. A new enceinte 8 miles long was constructed, and the villages
   of Berchem and Borgerhout, now parishes of Antwerp, were absorbed
   within the city.

   This enceinte is protected by a broad wet ditch, and in the caponiers
   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 Wyneghem and the zone of inundation, and terminate on the
   south at Hoboken. In 1870 Fort Merxem and the redoubts of Berendrecht
   and Oorderen 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 to a fortified position by constructing an
   outer line of forts and batteries 6 to 9 miles from the enceinte.

History

Origin of name

   According to folklore, the city got its name from a legend involving a
   mythical giant called Antigoon that lived near the river Scheldt,
   exacting a toll from those crossing the river. On refusal, the giant
   severed one of their hands and threw them into the Scheldt. Eventually,
   the giant was slain by a young hero named Brabo, who cut off the
   giant's hand and threw it into the river. Hence the name Antwerpen from
   Dutch hand werpen (hand-throwing).
   City of Antwerp, seen across the Scheldt river
   Enlarge
   City of Antwerp, seen across the Scheldt river

   To support this folkloric derivation, it is pointed out that
   hand-cutting was practised in Europe, when the right hand of a man who
   died without heir was cut off and sent it to the feudal lord as proof
   of main-morte. However, Motley argues that Antwerp's name derives from
   an t werf (on the wharf), since the form Andhunerbo existed in the 6th
   century on the separation of Austrasia and Neustria (Encyclopaedia
   Britannica 1911).

Pre-1500

   The historical Antwerp had its origins in a Gallo-Roman vicus
   civilization. Excavations carried out in the oldest section near the
   Scheldt, 1952 to 1961 (ref. Princeton), pottery sherds and fragments of
   glass from mid-second century to the end of the third century.

   In the fourth century Antwerp was mentioned in Germania Secunda . The
   Merovingian Antwerp, now fortified, was evangelized by Saint Amand in
   the seventh century. At the end of the tenth century, the Scheldt
   became the boundary of the Holy Roman Empire. Antwerp became a
   margraviate, a border province facing the County of Flanders. In the
   eleventh century Godfrey of Bouillon was for some years best known as
   marquis of Antwerp.

   In the twelfth century Norbert of Xanten established a community of his
   Premonstratensian canons at St. Michael’s Abbey at Caloes. Antwerp was
   the headquarters of Edward III during his early negotiations with Jacob
   van Artevelde, and his son Lionel, the earl of Cambridge, was born
   there in 1338.

1500s

   After the closing of the Zwyn and the consequent decline of Bruges, the
   city of Antwerp, then part of the Duchy of Brabant, 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.

   Fernand Braudel states that Antwerp became "the centre of the entire
   international economy—something Bruges had never been even at its
   height." (Braudel 1985 p. 143.) Antwerp's "Golden Age" is tightly
   linked to the " Age of Exploration". Over the first half of the 16th
   century Antwerp grew to become the second largest European city north
   of the Alps by 1560. Many foreign merchants were resident in the city.
   Guicciardini, the Venetian envoy, stated that hundreds of ships would
   pass in a day, and 2000 carts entered the city each week. Portuguese
   ships laden with pepper and cinnamon would unload their cargo.

   Without a long-distance merchant fleet, and governed by an oligarchy of
   banker-aristocrats forbidden to engage in trade, the economy of Antwerp
   was foreigner-controlled, which made the city very international, with
   merchants and traders from Venice, Ragusa, Spain and Portugal. Antwerp
   had a policy of toleration, which attracted a large orthodox Jewish (
   hasidic) 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.
   16th-century Guildhouses at the Grote Markt
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   16th-century Guildhouses at the Grote Markt

   Antwerp experienced three booms during its century, the first based on
   the pepper market, a second launched by American silver coming from
   Seville (ending with the bankruptcy of Spain in 1557), and a third
   boom, after the stabilising Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis, in 1559, based
   on the textiles industry. The boom-and-bust cycles and inflationary
   cost-of-living squeezed less-skilled workers.

   The religious revolution of the Reformation erupted in violent riots in
   August 1566, as in other parts of the Netherlands. The regent Margaret,
   duchess of Parma was swept aside when Philip II sent the Duke of Alva
   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 was not possible. On
   November 4, 1576, the Spanish soldiers plundered the city. During the
   Spanish Fury 6000 citizens were massacred, 800 houses were burnt down,
   and over two millions sterling of damage was done.

   Antwerp became the capital of the Dutch revolt. In 1585 Alessandro
   Farnese, Duke of Parma and Piacenza captured it after a long siege and
   sent its Protestant citizens into exile. Antwerp's banking was
   controlled for a generation by Genoa and Amsterdam became the new
   trading centre.

1600s

   The recognition of the independence of the United Provinces by the
   treaty of Munster in 1648 stipulated that the Scheldt should be closed
   to navigation, which destroyed Antwerp's trading activities.

1800s

   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 Netherlands ( 1815 to
   1830). Antwerp had reached the lowest point of its fortunes in 1800,
   and its population had sunk under 40,000, when Napoleon, realizing its
   strategical importance, assigned two millions for the construction of
   two docks and a mole.

   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 this officer subjected the town to a
   periodical 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 injured. In December 1832, after a gallant
   defence, Chassé made an honourable surrender.

1900s

   During World War I, the city became the fallback point of the Belgian
   Army after the defeat at Liège. It was taken after heavy fighting by
   the German Army, and the Belgians were forced to retreat westward.

   During World War II the city was occupied by Germany and was liberated
   on September 4, 1944 when the British 11th Armoured Division entered
   the city. After this, the Germans attempted to destroy the Port of
   Antwerp, which was used by the Allies to bring new material ashore. The
   city was hit by more V-2 rockets than any other target during the
   entire war, but the attack did not succeed in destroying the port since
   many of the missiles fell upon other parts of the city. Also many V-1
   and some V-2 missiles battered the city. As a result, the city itself
   was severely damaged and rebuilt after the war in a modern style.

   Antwerp also hosted the 1920 Summer Olympics and was the first city to
   host the World Gymnastics Championships, in 1903.

   After the war, Antwerp, which had already had a sizable Jewish
   population before the war, became a major European centre of Haredi
   (and particularly Hassidic) Orthodox Judaism.

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 inhabitants and 15,000 strangers)
     * 1575: around 100,000 (after the Inquisition)
     * 1584: 84,000 (after the Spanish Fury, the French Fury and the
       calvinistic republic)
     * 1586 (May): 60,000 (after siege)
     * 1586 (October): 50,000
     * 1590: fewer than 40,000
     * 1591: 46,000
     * 1612: 54,000
     * 1620: 66,000 ( Twelve Years' Truce)
     * 1640: 54,000 (after the Black Death 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. So it can be divided into nine entities (districten in Dutch):
    1. Antwerp (district)
    2. Berchem
    3. Berendrecht-Zandvliet-Lillo
    4. Borgerhout
    5. Deurne
    6. Ekeren
    7. Hoboken
    8. Merksem
    9. Wilrijk

Sister cities

   The following places are sister cities to Antwerp:
     * France Mulhouse, France, 1954
     * Russia Saint-Petersburg, Russia, 1958
     * People's Republic of China Shanghai, China, 1984
     * Israel Haifa, Israel, 1995
     * South Africa Capetown, South Africa, 1996
     * Spain Barcelona, Spain, 1997
     * Germany Ludwigshafen, Germany, 1998

   Within the context of development cooperation, Antwerp is also linked
   to:
     * Suriname Paramaribo, Suriname
     * South Africa Durban, South Africa

   This list does not include relationships of the subordinate districten
   with cities abroad.

People who were born or have lived in Antwerp

   See also: Notable people from Antwerp

Born in Antwerp

   Abraham Ortelius
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   Abraham Ortelius
   Hendrik Conscience
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   Hendrik Conscience
     * Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence, son of Edward III of
       England (1338-1368)
     * Frans Floris, painter (1520-1570)
     * Abraham Ortelius, cartographer and geographer (1527-1598)
     * Gillis van Coninxloo, painter of forest landscapes (1544-1607)
     * Bartholomeus Spranger, painter, draughtsman, and etcher (1546-1611)
     * Paul and Mattheus Brill, landscape painters (1554-1626, 1550-1583,
       resp.)
     * Abraham Janssens, painter (c. 1570-1632)
     * Rodrigo Calderón, Count of Oliva, Spanish favourite and adventurer
       (d. 1621)
     * Franz Snyders, still life and animal painter (1579-1657)
     * Frans Hals, painter (1580-1666)
     * Caspar de Crayer, painter (1582-1669)
     * David Teniers the Elder, painter (1582-1649)
     * Jacob Jordaens, painter (1593-1678)
     * Anthony van Dyck, painter (1599-1641)
     * David Teniers the Younger, painter (1610-1690)
     * Jan Fyt, animal painter (1611-1661)
     * Nicolaes Maes, Baroque painter (1634-1693)
     * Gerard Edelinck, copper-plate engraver (1649-1707)
     * John Michael Rysbrack, sculptor (1694-1770)
     * Hendrik Conscience, writer and author of De Leeuw van Vlaanderen
       (“The Lion of Flanders”) (1812-1883)
     * Georges Eekhoud, novelist (1854-1927)
     * Hippolyte Delehaye, Jesuit and hagiographic scholar (1859-1941)
     * Willem Elsschot, writer and poet (1882-1960)
     * Constant Permeke, expressionist painter (1886-1952)
     * Paul van Ostaijen, poet and writer (1896-1928)

Lived in Antwerp

   Joachim Patinir
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   Joachim Patinir
   Wenceslas Hollar
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   Wenceslas Hollar
     * Quentin Matsys, Renaissance painter, founder of the Antwerp school
       (1466-1530)
     * Jan Mabuse, painter (c. 1478-1532)
     * Joachim Patinir, landscape and religious painter (c. 1480-1524)
     * John Rogers, minister of religion, Bible translator and
       commentator, and martyr (c. 1500-1555)
     * Joos van Cleve, painter (c. 1500-1540/41)
     * Damião de Góis, Portuguese humanist philosopher (1502-1574)
     * Sir Thomas Gresham, English merchant and financier (c. 1519-1579)
     * Sir Anthony More, portrait painter (1520- c. 1577)
     * Christoffel Plantijn, humanist, book printer and publisher (c.
       1520-1589)
     * Pieter Brueghel the Elder, painter and printmaker (1525-1569)
     * Philip van Marnix, writer and statesman (1538-1598)
     * Simon Stevin, mathematician and engineer (c. 1548/49-1620)
     * John Bull, Welsh composer, musician, and organ builder (c.
       1562-1628)
     * Jan Brueghel the Elder, also known as “Velvet” Brueghel, painter
       (1568-1625)
     * Pieter Paul Rubens, painter (1577-1640)
     * William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle, English soldier,
       politician, and writer (c. 1592-1676)
     * Adriaen Brouwer, painter (1605-1638)
     * Jan Davidszoon de Heem, painter (1606-1684)
     * Wenceslas Hollar, Bohemian etcher (1607-1677)
     * Jan Lievens, painter (1607-1674)
     * Jan Frans Willems, writer (1793-1846)
     * Henri Alexis Brialmont, military engineer (1821-1903)
     * Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, painter (1836-1912)
     * Vincent van Gogh, impressionist painter, lived in Antwerp for about
       four months (1853-1890)
     * Camille Huysmans, Socialist politician and former Prime Minister of
       Belgium (1871-1968)

Specific areas in Antwerp

     * Zurenborg
     * Van Wesenbekestraat – the Chinatown of Antwerp
     * Meir – Antwerp's largest shopping street
     * Den Dam – an area in northern Antwerp

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