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We've been in Belgium in September 2023 for ten very enjoyable and instructive days spent in Flanders, the Dutch speaking part of this country.

After three days on the coast to visit Bruges, we based ourselves in Dendermonde and explored the cities of Ghent and Antwerp plus a day trip to Brussels.

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Path: Photos > Antwerp Highlights: the City and its Museums
Tags: Belgium  2023  News  Museum

Antwerp Highlights: the City and its Museums

 

(vero;2023-Nov-13)

Antwerp is not so photogenic as Bruges or Ghent, except for its wonderful Groete Markt, the centre point of the city. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the city and its wealth of museums of which we visited many during our three days spent in the town. Check our pages dedicated to the most impressive ones: Plantin-Moretus, Snijders and Rockox, Mayer van den Bergh and finally KMSKA the museum of fine arts.

We have two further galleries with:

We also have a blog entry with some tips and practicalities if you ever plan to visit Antwerp.

Views of the city
MAS Museum aan den Stroom: we loved this building located in the area of the ancient docks of the city. It is 60 m high and its design reminiscent of the warehouses which used to exist in this part of town. The facade is made of Indian red sandstone and has wonderful curved glass panels.
View from top of the MAS towards the north and the port of Antwerp. View from top of the MAS towards the city centre with the slender soaring tower of the cathedral cleary visible. The oblong building on its right is the city hall. The MAS and its unique curved glass window front. Inside the old Stadsfeestzaal now turned shopping centre located along the Meir, the fashion avenue of Antwerp. Building on the Meir, Antwerp's fashionable avenue. Side entrance of Antwerp's central station. Front entrance of Antwerp's central station, nicknamed the railroad cathedral, claimed to be one the most beautiful in the world. Inside Antwerp's monumental central station. There is a big Ferris Wheel on Astrid Plein, the big square in front of the station. The statue with the camel in the background marks the entry to the city zoo. Entrance to the city zoo, one of the oldest in Europe. The soaring tower of the cathedral of our Lady, a landmark visible from everywhere in the city. The cathedral of our Lady. There is an admission charge of 12€ (September 2023), we did not go inside. Detail of the lateral sculptures of the porch of the cathedral. The porch of the cathedral featuring the Last Judgement. The cathedral. The city hall on Groete Markt. Groete Markt: fountain of Brabo. Legend says that an evil giant used to cut off the hand to all ship captains who moored in the area and refused to pay him toll, then throwing their hands into the river Scheldt. That is until the Roman soldier Brabo came and did the same to the giant. This explains how Antwerp came to its name by combining the words "(h)ant" (hand) and "werpen" (throw). Buildings of former guildhalls on Groete Markt. Brabo in front of the city hall. The silhouette of the omnipresent cathedral. The old Butchers' Hall, former guildhall of the butcher corporation. It is now housing the Museum of Music. Het Steen, Antwerp's oldest building on the banks of the river Scheldt; there has been a castle there since the 9th century, originally consisting of wooden buildings, an earthen wall and a moat. It houses nowadays the visitor centre and a new attraction called "The Antwerp Story", a kind of haphazard multi-media introduction to the city and its history: not worth the money if you ask us, visit the MAS instead. View from the Steen, the red building with the striking horizontal red and white stripes in the background is the Music Museum. Gateway to the Steen, a cruise ship in the background anchored on the banks of the river Scheldt. The Steen entrance yard with the gateway on the right. Back to the wonderful and airy Groete Markt. And more of those amazing guildhalls. Art-Nouveau building along Nationalestraat on the way to the KMSKA museum. It was built for the socialist party in 1901 and is decorated with arched windows, elaborate ironwork and carved figures at the top. A shopwindow on Nationalestraat.

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Some exhibits of the city's museums

If you want to know more about the museums in the gallery below, the following links give access to their websites.

The Red Star Line: Antwerp as an emigration port MAS: City Museum and much more Vleeshuis, the Music Museum De Reede for Goya, Rops and Munch DIVA Museum for diamonds and jewellery

The Red Star Line was a shipping line founded in 1871 which transported man and cargo between Europe and the US until 1935. The museum is located in the former warehouses of the company and tells the tales of the many migrants who left Antwerp in search of a new life in the USA.
Red Star Line Museum: among the many emigrants who left Antwerp was Albert Einstein who sailed to the US in 1930. Red Star Line Museum: model of the inside of a ship. MAS Museum an den Stroom - The aim of this museum is to present Antwerp and its connections to the rest of the world in the past and the present, we would broadly call it a City Museum. It contains many art objects from faraway countries which made their way to Antwerp thanks to trade and navigation. MAS Museum an den Stroom: window to the world. MAS Museum an den Stroom: window to the world. MAS Museum an den Stroom: a large part of the museum is dedicated to navigation. MAS Museum an den Stroom: level six of the museum is dedicated to freight. MAS Museum an den Stroom: a painting displayed on level five dedicated to food. It shows a cattle market in Antwerp in a realistic way: spot the cow getting mad on the left hand side and the bull trying to climb on a cow in the lower part. MAS Museum an den Stroom: another painting showing the market on Groete Markt. MAS Museum an den Stroom: level four is dedicated to Antwerp in WWII. The paper Le Matin dated May 11th announcing the invasion of Belgium by Germany on May 10th 1940. Antwerp was particularly hard hit by the war. Nazi terror, persecution of Jews and military violence killed 25 000 people. All this is very well documented in the exhibition with many personal accounts and items of the time. MAS Museum an den Stroom: the city was heavily bombarded during WWII and was severely hit by the dreaded German V1 flying bombs. Spot the puppet hanging from the ceiling by the US flag: it is Hitler. Vleeshuis: Vleeshuis was the butchers' guildhall (an impressive building) and is now home to the Music Museum which offers a wide collection of instruments. Carillons and bells are omnipresent in Belgian cities, so it is no wonder to find them in this museum. Vleeshuis: a clavecin. The museum provides audio-guides which enable the visitor to listen to the sounds of the instruments on display. Vleeshuis: a mechanical music box. Vleeshuis: some of the wind instruments on display. Vleeshuis: the basement of the building hosts two reproductions of workshops. The manufacturing of horns in this picture. Vleeshuis: the basement of the building hosts two reproductions of workshops. The manufacturing of bells in this picture. De Reede: this museum is dedicated to graphics and focuses on the works of Francisco Goya, Félicien Rops and Edvard Munch. Scene of Tauromachia by Goya. De Reede: Disaster of War by Goya. De Reede: After vice comes fornication by Goya. Check this link for an interpretation. De Reede: Funeral in the Walloon Country by Félicien Rops. De Reede: The Scream by Eduard Munch. De Reede. Munch had been working for a while on his idea for The Scream: Alpha's Despair has been created prior to his famous work. De Reede: the museum also shows temporary exhibitions and was displaying some works by Karl Meersman as we visited. De Reede: the Handmaid's tale by Karl Meersman. DIVA: this museum is all about diamonds, jewellery and silver. It explains the process of extracting, trading and cutting diamonds and displays many objects. This photo shows a contemporary silver work. DIVA: contemporary art work. DIVA: brooch (1925) with flower motifs in coral, malachite, lapis lazuli and set with old brilliant-cut diamonds (floral diamond juwels). Description from the DIVA website. DIVA: spray brooch (1865). A diamond stomacher brooch designed as a branch of ten ivy leaves, pavé-set with old-cut diamonds and highlighted with eight larger cushion-shaped diamonds in collet settings (description from the DIVA website). DIVA: pendant Orchidée ailée (1902). Gold pendant with chain, which can also be turned into a corsage jewel, in plique-à-jour enamel, set with a pearl, rubies and diamonds in brilliant cut. The mask is cut from cornelian. The jewel depicts the metamorphosis of a woman into a winged orchid (description from the DIVA website). DIVA: pipe bowl, porcelaine and silver.

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Want to read more? Go back to Ghent: Museum of Fine Arts MSK or go on to Antwerp Major Museums or go up to Photos

$updated from: Photos.htxt Mon 04 Mar 2024 16:04:48 trvl2 (By Vero and Thomas Lauer)$