Travel Guide to Antwerpen, Belgium

Antwerp is an amusingly beautiful city, which due to its cultural and historical places of interest takes a special place among the other cities and towns of Benelux. In the centre of Antwerp one can find a great number of museums and architectural sights. The most considerable museum of Antwerp is The Royal Museum of Fine Arts. The Antwerp Cathedral is concerned to be the most magnificent and fascinating building. Most of the places of interest are located in the centre and it's easy to visit all of them on foot, so it's not a surprise that Antwerp is so popular with tourists. More than that, if you get tired of walking, you can easily find a place for having some rest on one of the numerous coffee terraces of Antwerp. Antwerp is attractive not only with its historical places. The harbor in this city can easily be called universal. Antwerp also takes the leading role in the sphere of diamond processing and sale.

The Cathedral of Our Lady. The spectacular tower of the Cathedral of Our Lady, the highest cathedral tower in Benelux, is seen from far away. It's 123 meters tall and it's located in the very historical centre of the city. The first stone of this gothic cathedral was laid in the 14th century and only when two centuries passed the work was finished. The cathedral was built on the place of a Romanesque church. Only when in the 80s archeological dig was carried out, the specialists got an idea, how the previous church looked like. Unfortunately, almost nothing is left from the former interior. In the 16th century at the time of Iconoclastizm, the Calvinists destroyed windows, pictures, relics, burial-vaults and dozens of altars. From the original decoration remained only some frescos and the image of Madonna, which was made from marble of the 15th century. The interior of the cathedral was recreated from the very beginning, and it makes the cathedral so special: in the cathedral decoration absolutely different styles are used: gothic, baroque, rococo, Renascence and neo-gothic. In the cathedral 4 paintings of a world-famous artist Peter Paul Rubens are kept (2 diptychs: 'The Descent from the Cross' of 1612 and 'The erection of the Cross' of 1609-1610), 'Ascension of Virgin' of 1626 and 'Resurrection of Christ' of 1612. The stained-glass windows, which concern biblical plots, look as fabulous, as the altars. At the main altar one can see 'The Death of Virgin' by Abraham Mattissense.

The House of Rubens. It goes without saying that the most famous citizen of Antwerp is Pitter Paul Rubens. In Antwerp there are a lot of places that remind about this son of the city. There is a monument in his favor at Grundplats. His paintings can be found in numerous cathedrals and museums. The House of Rubens, in which the painter worked and lived, is still full of aura of Antwerp baroque. With the help of the furniture, pieces of art and works from the early collection, real atmosphere of Rubens' times is created. Also a great collection of paintings not only by Rubens, but also by Van Dyck and Matsys can be found in the perfectly restored House of Rockoxhuis.

Grote Markt. Grote Markt is three-cornered square, which is considered to be the centre of Antwerp. In good weather terraces of cafes at the square are always full. Grote Markt is surrounded by The Cathedral of Our Lady and City Hall. The City Hall was built in 1561-1564 in Renascence style with evident Flemish and Italian effect. The top part of the front is built in pure Flemish style, when niches and pilasters are the result of Italian influence. Special attention should be devoted to the interior of the City Hall. Inside you'll see fabulous halls with huge frescos, for example, the Hall of Weddings, the walls of which are decorated with paintings about wedding ceremonies of different times.

The Guilds houses. Have a look at the Guilds houses at the north side of the square. Unfortunately, they are not originals. Most of the houses burnt down in 1576 in then was reconstructed. The biggest house is the Spanish House (Pand van Spanje) it's under number 7, St. Joris and the Dragon are pictured on it. St. Joris is almost killing the Dragon that hardly managed to catch hold of the front. It creates the illusion that the Dragon may fall down at any moment.

The fountain at the square is decorated with the image of Romanian soldier Salvius Barbo. It's connected with the legend about the origin of name Antwerp. Once upon a time at the bank of the Scheldt Giant Druon Antigon lived. He demanded from sailors floating across the Scheldt an excessive due. Those, who couldn't or didn't want to pay, had their hand cut off by the giant. Salvius Barbo called him down, overpowered him and, as the symbol of victory, cut off his hand and threw it into the river, like Druon Antigon did with other sailors. So, as the legend says, name Antwerp goes from ‘handwerpen' – 'to throw a hand'. Scientists suppose that the name goes from the word ‘de aanwerp' – 'sandbank'.

Antwerp museums. Antwerp is a real paradise for museum-lovers. In The Royal Museum of Fine Arts one can see not only thousands of works of old school masters (among which there are, for example, Flemish primitives), but also at about 1500 works of modern authors. By the way, it is the place, where the biggest and the most beautiful collection of Rubens is kept. In The Museum of Modern Art (Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen – MUHKA) mainly the works of Belgian artists of the 60s are exhibited.

The National Maritime Museum is situated in the oldest building of Antwerp - het Steen. Amazing ship models and the section with real ship in the open air make this museum one of the most interesting places in the city.

Read more about Antwerpen:
Restaurants and cuisine in Antwerpen
Local traditions and lifestyle
'Must visit' places in Antwerpen
Nightlife and attractions in Antwerpen
Preparing for Antwerpen: Advices
Antwerpen photogallery