Photo taken on the right bank of the Scheldt, Antwerp

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The Port of Antwerp is the second biggest port in Europe,

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The windmill dates from 1612, the nuclear power plant from the 1970's.

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The Central Station, a magnificent example of architecture, consists of a steel platform roof and a stone station building. The platform roof (45 m high, 144 m long) was built between 1895 and 1899. The stone station building was built between 1899 and 1905 in an eclectic style. The highest point (75 m) is a large dome. Antwerp’s Central Station is considered one of the most beautiful stations worldwide.

A touch of history
In 1835 the first train from Brussels to Antwerp (and the first on the European continent) arrived in Antwerp in a wooden station outside the city walls. This structure was replaced in 1854 by a new wooden station near the Antwerp Zoo’s current entrance. But Belgian King Leopold II felt that Antwerp deserved a more prestigious station. In 1905 the new Antwerp’s Central Station was officially inaugurated. The station consists of an elevated railway bed, a covered steel platform hall and a monumental station building for services and ticket hall.

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Around the irregularly shaped marketplace (Grote Markt) stand proud 16th and 17th century guild houses with high stepped and curled gables and golden statues. Some of them are reconstructions because a large part of the Grote Markt was destroyed by a fire set by mutinous Spanish soldiers in 1576.

The fountain on the market is decorated with a statue of the Roman soldier Silvius Brabo. It is connected with a legend about the origin of the city's name. The giant Druoon Antigoon demanded a toll from every skipper who passed on the Scheldt. When a skipper was unable or unwilling to pay, the giant captured him and cut off his right hand, which he threw into the river. Then the brave Salvius Brabo appeared. He fought Antigoon and overcame him. Brabo, in turn, cut off the giant's hand and aimed it into the Scheldt. Antwerpen owes its name to this (from “hand werpen” in Flemish or “hand-throwing”)… according to the legend.

Tags:   Belgium Antwerp marketplace Grote_Markt Brabo historic_houses

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