144 BELGIUM AND LUXEMBOURG REGION BY REGION

KEY

Street-by-Street pp146–7

R Onze-Lieve-

Vrouwekathedraal

Handschoenmarkt 1. Tel (03)

2139951. 
         

         10am–5pm Mon–Fri,

         
         

         10am–3pm Sat, 1–4pm Sun.
         & 5 7
         The building of Antwerp’s
         Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal
         (Cathedral of Our Lady) took
         almost two centuries, from
         1352 to 1521. This magnificent
         structure has a graceful tiered
         spire that rises to a height of
         123 m (404 ft) above the wind-
         ing streets of the medi eval city
         centre. Inside, the impression

         
         

Antwerp 1

The largest city in Flanders and one of Europe’s busiest
ports, Antwerp is also known as Belgium’s second city.
Beginning as a settlement on the banks of the Scheldt
in the 2nd century AD, Antwerp went on to become part
of the Duchy of Brabant, and its main port, in 1106. Over
the next 200 years, it was a thriving hub of the European
cloth industry. However, its golden age came during the
era of Spanish rule (see p41), when it was illumi nated
by the artistic genius of its most famous son, Pieter Paul
Rubens (1577–1640). Today, mirroring this vigorous mer-
cantile and cultural past, Antwerp is undergoing a spir-
ited regeneration, seen in its widespread pro gramme
of rebuilding and renovation, and in its reputation as
a key European centre of cutting-edge fashion design.

Visitors touring Antwerp on
a historic horse-drawn bus

which is a statue of St George

and the dragon. The central

Brabo Fountain is an Antwerp

land mark, commemorating

the legend of a Roman sol-

dier, Silvius Brabo, who killed

an evil giant terrorizing ship-

ping. A Christmas market is

held here annually.

P Grote Markt
Tel (03) 2320103. 7
Antwerp’s central square,
or Grote Markt, is flanked by
the ornately gabled Stadhuis,
which was completed in 1564
by the architect and sculptor
Cornelis Floris. The square’s
north side has a series of
guildhouses, all decorated
with gilded figures. The tallest
building is the House of the
Crossbow men, on top of

Murals depicting the dukes of Brabant in Antwerp’s Stadhuis

Carvings around the door at the

Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal

0 metres

0 yards

400

400

For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp266–7 and pp292–4

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