Antwerp (city)
\nGuildhouses in the Grote Markt
\n
Antwerp (
Dutch:
Antwerpen,
French:
Anvers) is a city and a
municipality in the province of
Antwerp (and its capital), in
Flanders, one of the three regions of
Belgium. On January 1st, 2000 Antwerp had a total population of 446,525 (216,580 males and 229,945 females). The total area is 203.80
km² which gives a
population density of 2,191.00 inhabitants per km².
Antwerp is notable as a centre of the
diamond industry, both for trading and for cutting and polishing. Antwerp is also famous for its seaport with a lot of cargo shipping. Since the
1990s it has been recognized as a fashion design city, namely because of some graduates of the Royal Academy of Fine arts - Fashion, became internationally successful.
The river
Scheldt passes through Antwerp. Antwerp is one of the largest
portss in the world, linked to the
North Sea by the Schelde and the
Westerschelde.
Antwerp is also notable for its
zoo, which is one of the oldest and most famous zoos in the world. The Antwerp Zoo is located in the middle of the city and hosts more than 4000 animals. The Royal Society for Zoology has been watching over the welfare of numerous animals and helping to protect threatened animals for more than 100 years.
Antwerp is nicknamed "The Jerusalem of the West" because of its large orthodox
Jewish (
hasidic) community.
In the
Eighty Years' War on
November 4,
1576,
Spain captured the city and nearly destroyed it after three days.
During
World War II the city was occupied by
Germany and was liberated on
September 4,
1944 when the
British 11th Armored Division entered the city. After this, the Germans attempted to destroy the port of Antwerp, which was used by the Allies to bring new material ashore. The city was hit by more V-2 rockets than any other target during the entire war, but the attack did not succeed.
Antwerp hosted the
1920 Summer Olympics.
Antwerp Stadhuis (Town Hall) in Grote Markt:
Historical population
1800: 45,500 inhabitants
\n1830: 73,500
\n1856: 111,700
\n1880: 179,000
\n1900: 275,100
\n1925: 308,000
Municipality
\nThe municipality comprises the city of Antwerp proper and several towns. So it can be divided into 9 entities:
\n#Antwerp (town)\n#Berchem\n#Berendrecht-Zandvliet-Lillo\n#Borgerhout\n#Deurne\n#Ekeren\n#Hoboken Antwerpen\n#Merksem\n#Wilrijk
External links
\n* Official website\n* Map\n* Hotels\n* Antwerp Zoo's official web site, only available in Dutch and French
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
