It all started here on the banks of the Scheldt, this
“powerful, compact, pale and ruddy” river,
described by the poet Émile Verhaeren in 1916. This founding river of the city where ships from all over the world have docked since the Middle Ages. In the 16th century, the golden age of Flanders, Antwerp was a major commercial center, its port on the North Sea saw the unloading of goods from the East and Africa which would be redistributed across northern Europe. From 1794 to 1814, the city passed under French rule: Napoleon made it the most important port of war in the Empire because of its strategic position for its hopes of conquest. Its work will radically change the face of the port and accelerate the development of the Belgian city. Vestiges of this French presence, the Bonaparte basin and the Guillaume basin now frame the Musée aan de Stroom (MAS), whose geometric silhouette has become theemblem of the city. This is where the docklands begin,
This article is for subscribers only.
You have 94% left to discover.
To cultivate your freedom is to cultivate your curiosity.
Continue reading your article for € 1 the first month
I ENJOY IT
Already subscribed?
Log in
