The Société Royale d’Harmonie opened its concert hall and garden on the Mechelsesteenweg in 1846. The city bought both in 1923, and since 2021 the ballroom has been the district’s town hall.
Author: Emma
Our podcaster-in-chief, Emma, has lived in Antwerp for over a decade and knows the city inside and out. With her finger on the pulse of Antwerp’s cultural scene, she’s the one to turn to for the latest happenings.
Amsterdam to Antwerp by train, and on to Brussels and Paris
Since December 2024 twice as many trains run between the Netherlands and Belgium. The Eurocity Direct reaches Antwerp from Amsterdam in 1 hour 20 minutes, and Paris is two hours away by Eurostar.
FelixArchief: Antwerp’s memory in a harbour warehouse
Antwerp’s city archive has filled the Sint-Felixpakhuis, a warehouse of 1858 on the Eilandje, since 2006. It holds more than 30 kilometres of records, starting with two charters of 1221.
Battle of the Scheldt: how Antwerp’s port was opened in 1944
Antwerp was liberated on 4 September 1944, but no ship reached its docks until 28 November. The Battle of the Scheldt, fought mainly by the First Canadian Army, cost 12,873 casualties to open the river.
Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp: the KMSKA’s museum within a museum
The KMSKA reopened in 2022 after eleven years and more than €100 million. KAAN Architecten built a second museum inside the 1890 palace, and more than 570,000 people came in 2025.
Summer in Antwerp: a swimming dock and 74 days of festival
Zomer van Antwerpen ran for 74 days in 2026, and much of it was free. Here is what actually runs in Antwerp in July and August, from a swimming dock by the MAS to the Bollekesfeest.
Middelheim Museum: 75 years of free sculpture in an Antwerp park
Antwerp’s open-air sculpture museum began with 167 sculptures in Middelheim park in 1950. Seventy-five years on it holds about 440, across some 30 hectares, and still charges nothing.
Zurenborg, Antwerp’s art nouveau quarter on sour ground
Most of Zurenborg went up between 1894 and 1906, on a farm named after its acidic soil. A plan to demolish the Cogels-Osylei failed, and in 1980 the street was protected.
Handelsbeurs Antwerp: the world’s first exchange is a short cut again
Antwerp’s merchants built the world’s first purpose-built exchange in 1531. After nearly twenty empty years and a €60 million restoration, the Handelsbeurs is open again.
The Antwerp diamond heist and the salami sandwich
In February 2003 thieves opened 109 of the 189 boxes in the vault under Schupstraat 9-11. The police and the man convicted of the job still tell two different stories.