Antwerp is the name of one of the provinces of Belgium but it is also the main capital of that province, maybe a little bit difficult to understand for people who don’t live in Belgium.
About the origin of the name Antwerp there is a lot of confusion and surely no certainty. The legend said that Antwerp comes from the Dutch word “hand werpen” which means “hand thrown”. The story is about a nasty giant who controlled the river traffic and demanded exorbitant tolls. If someone refused he cut off the hands of these persons. One day a Roman soldier, Silvius Brabo managed to kill the giant. He cut his hands and threw it in the Scheldt River, giving the city its name.
There is much doubt that this is the real origin of the name Antwerp. Probably the name originated from the Dutch word “aanwerp” (alluvial mound) which describes the first settlement’s geographical feature.
Antwerp is called the city of the diamond. You can find the World Diamond Center there. It is also the Jewish part of the city. 70% of all the diamonds come from Antwerp in Belgium. It is situated near the Central Station and covers one square mile with 1500 diamonds companies and 4 diamond bourses. There are thousands of diamond workers in the protected area to keep the international quality label “Cut in Antwerp”, based on a tradition of 5 centuries. It is the place to be if you want to buy a diamond ring or other jewellery.
Of course Antwerp is also a nice place to do some other shopping. If you walk through the Keyserlei you come in the greatest shopping street of Antwerp: the Meir. This street is free of traffic and offers you a lot of possibilities for shopping. You can find all kinds of shops but be careful for pick pocket. In the middle of this street there is a street called Wapper where you can take a visit to the house of the famous painter Peter Paul Rubens.
Other important places to visit in Antwerp are:
- The town square (Grote Markt): you can call it the heart of Antwerp and it is surrounded by the Town Hall, a building made in the Renaissance style.
In the middle you can find “the Brabo fountain” with a statue of Silvius Brabo, made by sculpture Jef Lambeaux in 1987. There are a lot of terraces where many people can enjoy of a nice drink, especially in summertime.
-The Steen (means stone): it is a castle and can be seen as the entrance of the city. The castle is called on this way because it is one of the earliest buildings constructed with stones. You can have a look there to the River Scheldt.
-The Groenplaats with Our Lady’s Cathedral. In the middle of the Groenplaats you can see a statue of the painter Peter Paul Rubens. It took 169 years to build Our Lady’s Cathedral and this building has a height of 169m and constructed in the largest Gothic style.
- Other important churches are the Saint Paul’s Church, the Carolus Barromeus Church and the Saint James Church.
- A lot of museums like the Ruben’s House, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, the Diamond Museum and many others.
-The River Scheldt, the harbour of Antwerp
-The Antwerp Zoo with many animals
-The Flemish Opera
There are reasons enough to visit Antwerp.
About the origin of the name Antwerp there is a lot of confusion and surely no certainty. The legend said that Antwerp comes from the Dutch word “hand werpen” which means “hand thrown”. The story is about a nasty giant who controlled the river traffic and demanded exorbitant tolls. If someone refused he cut off the hands of these persons. One day a Roman soldier, Silvius Brabo managed to kill the giant. He cut his hands and threw it in the Scheldt River, giving the city its name.
There is much doubt that this is the real origin of the name Antwerp. Probably the name originated from the Dutch word “aanwerp” (alluvial mound) which describes the first settlement’s geographical feature.
Antwerp is called the city of the diamond. You can find the World Diamond Center there. It is also the Jewish part of the city. 70% of all the diamonds come from Antwerp in Belgium. It is situated near the Central Station and covers one square mile with 1500 diamonds companies and 4 diamond bourses. There are thousands of diamond workers in the protected area to keep the international quality label “Cut in Antwerp”, based on a tradition of 5 centuries. It is the place to be if you want to buy a diamond ring or other jewellery.
Of course Antwerp is also a nice place to do some other shopping. If you walk through the Keyserlei you come in the greatest shopping street of Antwerp: the Meir. This street is free of traffic and offers you a lot of possibilities for shopping. You can find all kinds of shops but be careful for pick pocket. In the middle of this street there is a street called Wapper where you can take a visit to the house of the famous painter Peter Paul Rubens.
Other important places to visit in Antwerp are:
- The town square (Grote Markt): you can call it the heart of Antwerp and it is surrounded by the Town Hall, a building made in the Renaissance style.
In the middle you can find “the Brabo fountain” with a statue of Silvius Brabo, made by sculpture Jef Lambeaux in 1987. There are a lot of terraces where many people can enjoy of a nice drink, especially in summertime.
-The Steen (means stone): it is a castle and can be seen as the entrance of the city. The castle is called on this way because it is one of the earliest buildings constructed with stones. You can have a look there to the River Scheldt.
-The Groenplaats with Our Lady’s Cathedral. In the middle of the Groenplaats you can see a statue of the painter Peter Paul Rubens. It took 169 years to build Our Lady’s Cathedral and this building has a height of 169m and constructed in the largest Gothic style.
- Other important churches are the Saint Paul’s Church, the Carolus Barromeus Church and the Saint James Church.
- A lot of museums like the Ruben’s House, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, the Diamond Museum and many others.
-The River Scheldt, the harbour of Antwerp
-The Antwerp Zoo with many animals
-The Flemish Opera
There are reasons enough to visit Antwerp.
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