Antwerp is a port on the Scheldt River in Belgium, with a history dating back to the Middle Ages.
Antwerp is a port on the Scheldt River in Belgium, with a history dating back to the Middle Ages. At its center, the Eternal Diamond District houses thousands of diamond dealers, cutters and polishers. Antwerp’s Flemish Renaissance architecture is characterized by Grote Markt, a central square in the old town. In the 17th century Rubens House, period rooms feature works by the Flemish Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens.
1. The Rubens House
The Rubenshuis is the former home and workshop of Peter Paul Rubens in Antwerp. Purchased in 1610, Rubens had the Flemish townhouse renovated and extended on the basis of designs by Rubens himself. After the renovations, the house and its courtyard garden had the outlook of an Italian palazzo, which reflected Rubens’ artistic ideals. The ensemble is now a museum dedicated mainly to the work of Rubens and his contemporaries.
2. Cathedral of Our Lady Antwerp
The Cathedral of Our Lady is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Antwerp, Belgium. Today’s see of the Diocese of Antwerp started in 1352 and, although the first stage of construction was ended in 1521, has never been ‘completed’. In Gothic style, its architects were Jan and Pieter Appelmans. It contains a number of significant works by the Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens, as well as paintings by artists such as Otto van Veen, Jacob de Backer and Marten de Vos. The belfry of the cathedral is included in the Belfries of Belgium and France entry in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
3. Plantin-Moretus Museum
The Plantin-Moretus Museum is a printing museum in Antwerp, Belgium which focuses on the work of the 16th-century printers Christophe Plantin and Jan Moretus. It is located in their former residence and printing establishment, the Plantin Press, at the Vrijdagmarkt in Antwerp, and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2005.
4. Grote Markt
The Grote Markt of Antwerp is a town square situated in the heart of the old city quarter. It is filled with an extravagant city hall, numerous elaborate 16th-century guildhalls, many restaurants, and cafés. Lying within walking distance of the Scheldt river, it hosts a Christmas market and ice rink in winter.
5. Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp
The Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp is a museum in Antwerp, Belgium, founded in 1810, houses a collection of paintings, sculptures, and drawings from the fourteenth to the twentieth centuries. This collection is representative of the artistic production and the taste of art enthusiasts in Antwerp, Belgium, and the Northern and Southern Netherlands since the 15th century. The museum is closed for renovation until 2022. The neoclassical building housing the collection is one of the primary landmarks of the Zuid district of Antwerp. The majestic building was designed by Jacob Winders and Frans van Dijk, built beginning in 1884, opened in 1890, and completed in 1894. Sculpture on the building includes two bronze figures of Fame with horse-drawn chariots by sculptor Thomas Vincotte, and seven rondel medallions of artists that include Boetius à Bolswert, Frans Floris, Jan van Eyck, Peter Paul Rubens, Quentin Matsys, Erasmus Quellinus II, and Appelmans, separated by four monumental sculptures representing Architecture, Painting, Sculpture, and Graphics.