It is one of the grand sea ports in Europe, which had once been the heart of Flanders, Antwerp can show a lot of interesting to a curious traveler. What do we know about this city?
Rubens’ museum is located in this Belgian city, because once a great artist walked through its streets and created their masterpieces here.
There is even a cultural term “an Antwerp school“, which defines a bunch of artists who worked on similar principles with Rubens.
Today the Goldsmiths continue their work. They create diamonds from great adamants, which then disperse throughout the world.
The legend of the origin of Antwerp's name is interesting, although it’s quite bloody. They say “Antwerp” means in Dutch as “to throw a hand“. That is because the city was built on the very spot where the brave Roman soldier beat a greedy giant, cut off his hand and threw it into the river.
By the way, a legionary’s feat was immortalized not only in the title but in a fountain with its statue located on the main square.
But Lange Wapper (folklore giant, famous for prosecution of drunks), was also awarded with the statue, but without the support of the water jets.
The most glorious sister cities of Antwerp are Rotterdam, St Petersburg, Haifa, Keyptan and Barcelona.
The city hosts the oldest European skyscraper, built in 1932. You can see it in details from the ferris wheel, as well as the awesome Antwerp station, which is world famous for its beauty. It is very close to the railway gates of the city and moves fairly quickly, but you don’t need to jump to the cabin: every time when someone wants to take a ride, the wheel stops.
There is another interesting place very close to the station – a city Zoo. It was opened in the last quarter of the 19th century, and it is called the most attractive deservedly and proudly.
If you want to see the underwater inhabitants, go to the local aquarium, where 7 thematic areas were recreated. The most interesting, along with the “Coral Reef“, are “Rainy Forest“ and “Ocean“.
A must to see is the city's cathedral. It is less famous than Parisian one, but has a very similar name - the Cathedral of Our Lady. Except indisputable Gothic beauty, you can admire the works of Rubens there.
