148 BELGIUM AND LUXEMBOURG REGION BY REGION

E Museum Plantin-Moretus

Vrijdagmarkt 22–23. Tel (03)

2211450. 
         

         10am–5pm Tue–Sun

         
         

         and Easter Mon. & free on last Wed
         of month. http://www.museumplantin
         moretus.be
         This fascinating museum
         occupies a large 16th-century
         house that belonged to the
         printer Christopher Plantin,
         who moved here in 1576. The
         house is built around a court-
         yard with ancient rooms and
         narrow corridors that resemble
         the types of interiors painted

         
         

by Flemish and Dutch masters.

The museum is devoted to the

early years of printing, when

Plantin and others began to

produce books that bore no

resemb lance to earlier illumi-

nated medieval manuscripts.

Antwerp was a centre for

printing in the 15th and 16th

centuries, and Plantin was its

most successful printer. His

legacy was carried on by

his son-in-law Jan I Moretus.

Today, his workshop displays

several historic printing

presses, as well as woodcuts

and copper plates. Plantin’s

library is also on show. One

of its gems is an edition of

the Gutenberg Bible – the first

book to be printed using move-

able type, a technique that

was invented by Johannes

Gutenberg in 1455.

E Modemuseum (MoMu)
Nationalestraat 28. Tel (03)

4702770. 
         

         10am–6pm Tue–Sun.

         
         

         & http://www.momu.be
         Following the rise to celebrity
         in the 1980s of the influential
         fashion designers called the
         Antwerp Six, the city has
         entered the stratosphere of
         international haute couture,
         and maintains a glowing
         reputation for nurturing new

         
         

Exploring Central and

Southern Antwerp

The charming inner courtyard of the Maagdenhuis

Antwerp stretches from its centre out into sprawling
suburbs for a distance of 7 km (4 miles). Since it was
badly damaged in both World Wars, the city has a
broad mix of architecture, ranging from the medieval
to the ultramodern. The old city centre is concentrated
around the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal and the Grote
Markt. To the east of the cathedral – beyond Antwerp’s
pioneering 1930s skyscraper, the Boerentoren – lies
the Meir, a premier shop ping street. The Zuid (South)
district is an area of drained docks. Now rejuvenated,
this is a vibrant part of the town, and the old dockland
architecture of the streets Waalse Kaai and Vlaamse
Kaai now houses a variety of clubs, bars and museums.

Mannequins displaying fashions at
the Modemuseum

Late 16th-century printing press

in the Museum Plantin-Moretus

P Maagdenhuis

Lange Gasthuisstraat 33. Tel (03)

2235620. 
         

         10am–5pm Mon and

         
         

         Wed–Fri, 1–5pm Sat and Sun. &
         Literally the Maidens’ House,
         this orphanage and foundling
         hospital for girls was built
         in two phases during the
         16th and 17th centuries, and
         remained in operation until

         
         


2235621. It is a delightful historic
         building with a foot note of
         tragedy – baby girls were
         abandoned here by their
         mothers, often anonymously
         in a “foundling drawer” set
         into an outer wall. One
         half of a playing card was
         attached to the child, and
         the mother kept the other
         half, in the hope that one day
         they might be reunited. Such
         cards are among the quirky
         but intriguing collection of

talent. Stars such as Dries van

Noten, Ann Demeulemeester,

Walter van Bierendonck and

Martin Margiela all have a

presence in the city.

This museum pro vides the

historical context to Antwerp’s

rise to glory in the fashion

world. Stylish items and

acces sories are innovat ively

displayed in changing

exhibi tions, allowing the

museum to serve as a

resource for both instruc tion

and inspiration.

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