A Weekend Walk in the Streets of Antwerp

Hello friends. Today I want to talk to you about a walk I took in Antwerp. We started our walk from the Central train station. If you search for the most beautiful train stations on the internet, the Antwerp station will definitely be on that list. This is really an eyecatching place and they don't call it the cathedral of the railroads for nothing. The building reflects an eclectic style containing Baroque and Neo Renaissance elements. It has an utterly fantastic dome reaching a height of exactly fifty-three meters. What is interesting is that this dome is made of concrete. Considering it was built at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, this was a rather bold architectural solution. Overall it must be said that this station is bold in every sense. Because it combines that highly ornate and magnificent aesthetic with technical engineering structures such as bolts and switches on the platform.

At the turn of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, a major restoration project was carried out here. Now this station has three levels, which is quite unusual. On the first floor, we saw the suburban trains; the lower level is called the distribution floor and the lowest level forms a part of the Amsterdam-Brussels high speed train line. What makes this restoration even more unique is that the station was never closed and remained functional during the works. Initially the purpose of this structure was to emphasize Antwerp's wealth and importance as a transport hub, namely a crossroads between the port and the railways. Apparently they managed to emphasize this quite well.

The building here is perhaps the most important reason for my visit to Antwerp. I had been wanting to see it for a very long time. This is the Port Authority building, designed by Zaha Hadid's architectural firm. In two thousand and seven, the Antwerp Port Authority, one of the largest ports in Europe decided they needed a new office because they ran out of space to accomodate their employees. They organized a competition and Zaha Hadid won it. Over the next nine years, this project was brought to life and delivered in two thousand and sixteen after Zaha's passing.

The building has a very interesting design. A mass consisting of a mixture of mirors and glass is placed on top of the historical port building from the upper section. On one hand this mass evokes the form of a ship, making its context with the port quite clear. On the other hand it can be interpreted as a diamond. The diamond is no coincidence here either; because Antwerp is the world's largest diamond cutting and trading hub for these precious stones. This upper mass rests on a massive concrete column and is covered with a scaly surface composed of mirrored and transparent glass. Depending on the weather it was quite overcast when I went, it shimmers differently in the light and radiates like a real diamond.

It is certainly a surprisingly bold project for its time. Because as a rule, such restorations of historical buildings resulted either in modern extensions built next to them or in deep internal integration. In other words the historical walls would remain, but the interior would change completely. Or for example, we can recall Foster’s glass dome at the Reichstag.

Another landmark of modern architecture in Antwerp is the MAS Museum, meaning Museum aan de Stroom (Museum on the River). In terms of its collection, this is a city museum that brought together the exhibitions of smaller local history museums after it was built in two thousand and eleven. This building is also part of the redevelopment of the Eilandje district. This is exactly the port area. However because modern ships grew significantly, all that old warehouse infrastructure located in these canals became obsolete. Consequently trendy housing and modern buildings are now being built around here and this museum was placed in this location.

Interestingly the museum rises in the form of a tower. This is not a common occurrence. A second point is that the museum is not white. For some reason, modern museums are usually either white or at best, steel-colored. This one, however, is clad in red Indian sandstone. In terms of color choice, this is not surprising. It is a kind of nod to the red-brick port architecture in Antwerp’s historical fabric, part of which we can observe a bit here as well. The building has a spiral and wavy glass facade, which gives the impression that the building is gently twisting. There is a viewing terrace on the top floor. Unfortunately since it was Monday and a holiday, I couldn't go up there. However if your path leads you here, you must definitely go and tell me about it later.

My next stop is the Stroom I mentioned, meaning the river. The Scheldt River or the Escaut River. This situation is extremely surprising; because although the origin of the name is the same, the linguistic transformations in the Flemish group of languages and in French have been so different that almost no phonetic similarity remains between them.

The Het Steen Castle is situated on the banks of the Scheldt river. This is Antwerp's oldest building and oldest stone structure. In fact its name means exactly that: The Stone. This building acquired its current appearance during the period of the Dukes of Brabant. Meaning it was built in the eleventh century. Of course it has a very distinct medieval appearance. Narrow windows, battlemented walls... And it creates a great contrast with the highly modern structures on the Antwerp quay.

In order to reconcile this historicity with modernity in some way, they recently added a modern mass next to it. This area serves as an entrance space and a gift shop. Naturally this caused a lot of debate. This is an example of the kind of restoration where something is tacked onto the side. In this case I think I will side more with the critics; because it looks awkward. That is to say they should have either gone for a completely contrasting design or tried to match the tone of the historical stone with a brick color.

Grote Markt, Antwerp's main historical square, has a very simple literal meaning Great market. The Antwerp City Hall and the buildings of the historical trade guilds are located here. In general it must be said that Antwerp owes its development precisely to trade. It achieved a quite good success in this field starting from the fifteenth century.

In the middle we saw a fountain featuring a group of statues. This is a very interesting reminder of how the city's name came about. At the very top stands a brave warrior named Brabo. According to legend there was a giant named Druon who lived here by the Scheldt river and extracted tolls from passing ships. The hands of those who couldn't pay would be cut off.

So one day, Brabo put an end to this cruelty. He cut off the giant's hand and hurled it into the river. In fact in Flemish, this situation is expressed exactly like this: Ant werpen, meaning "to throw a hand". Of course, there is a more etymologically accurate version regarding the origin of this name. An ver also means "at the wharf" or "shore". So the reference here is purely to the geographical structure. However the hand story sounds much more intriguing.

Just two steps away from the Grote markt is the Cathedral of Our Lady Antwerp. This is the main temple of the city. If this detail matters, it is the talest Gothic church in Belgium. What is interesting is that it has an asymmetric height. As was always the case in the Middle ages, it was built over a period of more than two hundred years and two towers were planned. However, in the end, the budget was only enough for a single tower, which also features a quite lovely clock on it. The second tower remained unfinished. Such things can happen I've encountered them before. A similar structure, referred to as the one-armed temple, also exists in Malaga.

The greatest treasure inside is, without a doubt the paintings of Peter Paul Rubens, one of Antwerp's most famous residents. Of course, it is not surprising that they couldn't afford the second tower. Because the interior of the cathedral is extremely densely decorated, very beautiful and well worth seeing. First of all it must be said that the building itself is grand, quite elegant and bright. It is very luminous thanks to the numerous windows and stained glass.The stained glass windows are wild and there is a fascinating and completely fantastic wood carving. A light pulpit crafted like lace and incredible confessional boxes. In general everything related to woodwork is present, which doesn't seem very typical of the Gothic tradition to me. There are many murals and frescoes. And of course, the paintings. On the main altar is Rubens's Assumption of the Virgin Mary and on the left and right sides are Rubens's triptychs, The Elevation of the Cross and The Descent from the Cross.

What I always like about the European religious tradition is the flexibility shown toward modernity. In two thousand and twenty two, a sculpture by Jan Fabre, a very famous artist, was placed here: a mirrored man holding a cross in his hand. It blends into the environment completely. In my opinion this aims to draw the attention of the younger representatives of the community to faith as well. In short it is a wonderful temple, I highly recommend it.

Another tower that is almost in a dialogue with the cathedral tower is the Boerentoren. Its literal meaning is the Farmers' Tower. This building was constructed in the early thirties for a bank that was mainly engaged in financing the agricultural sector. That is why it bears this name. As for its style it is an example of the Belgian and European Art Deco movement. We all remember that this style developed quite actively in Europe, including Belgium. Both Art Deco and by the way Art Nouveau.

This style can be read quite easily here. It resembles the skyscrapers of Chicago and New York a bit, thanks to its stepped silhouette and rhythm of columns. We can call it a bit more austere, that is to say, European style. Recently the headquarters of KBC Bank was located here. Which is why the building is sometimes called the KBC Tower. Currently it is under restoration.

As a cultured person, of course I should have visited Rubens's house. However a completely uncultured event occurred: the building was closed for restoration, so it is only possible to enter the garden and look at everything from the outside. Still I love these kinds of gardens. They are very calm and peaceful. There is almost no one around. Of course, it is also possible to appreciate the architecture from the outside.

It is worth noting that Rubens bought this house in the early seventeenth century when he returned from Italy and rebuilt it entirely according to his own taste. In addition to being a painter, he was also an art entrepreneur and a general expert in architecture. Here both the Flemish tradition is presented together and the influence of the Italian Renaissance is clearly visible. He also designed this wonderful garden, a formal garden. Of course, he couldn't do without his own triumphal arch either. As for the interior layout, everything there was done quite cleverly.Rubens was actively involved in the design process. In fact this building functioned both as a private residence and naturally as a workshop where he produced works together with his students. In a way it was also a cultural salon, a place to receive clients. Of course, a depiction of a lady in the Rubens style was not missing here either. I hope you will be a bit luckier. You can visit it when it opens after the restoration and see it at its best.

When walking around Antwerp, it is impossible not to remember fashion. To dive into the history of Belgian fashion, the best thing to do is to visit the Fashion Museum. It was closed that day.

Then we encountered a tunnel. This was the St. Anna's Tunnel. Again, it connects the two sides of the Scheldt River or the Escaut River, whichever you prefer. Its length is a little over five hundred meters and its depth is a little over thirty meters. It was built in the nineteen-thirties, primarily to increase pedestrian mobility and relieve the burden on the bridges, which could barely cope with the increasing vehicular traffic anymore.

From an aesthetic point of view, this is an extremely functional and industrial space. However, what is very interesting is that the escalators are still the original wooden escalators from the thirties. It must also be mentioned that the tunnel has never been closed. In other words it has still been working since the day it opened, for almost a hundred years.

We ended this quick walk of ours in Antwerp next to the monument of the Russian Tsar Peter I (Peter the Great). The thing is, in seventeen hundred and seventeen, he stayed in Antwerp and examined the port infrastructure and shipbuilding. By the way this was his second visit to Europe. He had stopped here on his way to Paris. He earned a place in the memory of the people of Antwerp with his modesty, because he had stayed in a nearby monastery. That is why they erected his monument here in nineteen hundred and ninety-seven. The architect of the monument is Georgy Frangulyan. By the way in two thousand and seventeen, wonderful celebrations were held here in honor of the three hundredth anniversary of this visit.