For over eight centuries, from 980–1795, a large swath of what is now Belgium was ruled from Liège by a succession of Prince-Bishops (Princes-Évêques), who as the name implies were both the secular and the religious rulers. Separation of church and state was a concept whose time had not yet Read More …
Like most cities in Flanders, this one has different names in different languages: Antwerp in English, Antwerpen in Dutch and German, Anvers in French, Amberes in Spanish, Antuérpia in Portuguese, Anversa in Italian, Antwerpia in Polish. With a population of over 500,000, Antwerp is the largest municipality in Flanders and Read More …
The two largest cities in Flanders, Antwerp and Ghent, had separate opera companies until 1981, when the two companies were merged to form the Flemish Opera — now known as Opera Ballet Vlaanderen (obv) to emphasize the importance of ballet as well as opera in their programming. The combined company Read More …
For many years in the seventeenth century, this house in the center of Antwerp was the residence and workplace of the Flemish painter and diplomat Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640). In 1631 Rubens hosted a prominent visitor here at his home, namely Marie de’ Medici, the widow of the assassinated King Read More …
This small but attractive museum is named after the Antwerp art collector Fritz Mayer van den Bergh (1858-1901) and features many of the works of art that he collected in the late nineteenth century. What surprised me about Mayer van den Bergh, when I read about him in the museum’s Read More …
The Maagdenhuis in Antwerp was a home for orphaned or abandoned girls from the 16th to the 19th century. The name comes from the Dutch word Maegdekens, meaning girls (similar to the German word Mädchen). Today this historic building serves mainly as an art museum, but it also shows a Read More …
This ‘Museum on the River’ in Antwerp was opened in 2010 after fifteen years of preparation and construction. I don’t know how much it cost or how controversial it was or is, but I was surprised to find that it is strikingly beautiful and evidently quite popular with locals and Read More …
More than four thousand red and white Velo-Antwerpen bikes are available for spontaneous short-term rentals at over three hundred docking stations throughout the city of Antwerp. They are intended for short trips around town. To use the Velo-Antwerpen system, I registered online at their website for a one-day pass, using Read More …
This imposing train station was built from 1895 to 1905 as a terminus station, meaning that all the tracks ended here. The station features a huge dome, which aside from being impressive had the function of collecting the steam from the steam engines that were used at the time, thus Read More …
For many years in the twentieth century, Antwerp’s Grote Markt (Large Market) was used as — you guessed it — a parking lot for automobiles. But now the cars have been banned so we can safely admire the historic Guild Houses without being run over or poisoned by exhaust fumes. Read More …