In
the second part of this century there was a political-religious war going
on between the protestant North and catholic Spain. In 1566 the
Iconoclasm kept the city in the grasp of violence and destruction. In
1576 the Spanish fury added a little extra; the closing of the
Scheldt in 1585 gave the last blow. More than half of the population
fled the city.
During the Austrian Regime (1715-1792) Josef II tried to open the
Scheldt again, but failed; Napoleon did accomplish this in 1795. Because
England and France were not on friendly terms the English Fleet kept the
trade impossible because it blocked the Scheldt. Nevertheless it was in
this period that expansion and modernization started; the cultural
patrimony, however, became subject of incredible theft and destruction.
During the Regime of the Netherlands the harbour could work at full power
for a short period of time, this was only until 1830 when the
Belgian Revolution closed the Scheldt. Railroads to Brussels and
Cologne were built. It lasted until 1863 for the Scheldt become
accessible again. From then on Antwerp flourished. |
Antwerp
owns its very existence and its prosperity to its water.
The Scheldt which gave Antwerp its wealth flows into one of the
busiest shipping routes in the world, the North Sea.
The port is inextricably linked to the city and gives it its
cosmopolitan character.
Anyone who visits the city should at least glimpse the mighty port, the
sea giants, the lift bridges and the round-the-clock activity.
The port of Antwerp is the
second port in Europe and number three in the world.
You can use endless superlatives and astronomic figures to
describe it: the world’s largest sea-lock, Europe’s most important
railway junction, 127 km of quay, 110 million tons of goods transshipped
annually, 57.000 jobs etc..
As well as an industrial port, Antwerp is one of the fastest growing
cultural cruise destinations in Europe.
Modern cruise ships can berth in the center of the city.
Today the port extends northwards from the city till the border with
Holland, covering an area of some 15.000 hectares.
You can explore it with Flandria or by car. |
