Antwerp’s Sint-Andries parish was founded in 1523, after its friars were tried for heresy. Its church has a pulpit of fishermen in a boat, a memorial to Mary Stuart’s ladies-in-waiting and a Virgin dressed by Ann Demeulemeester.
Tag: Domien de Waghemakere
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.
Brabo threw the hand, but Antwerp’s name probably came from a riverbank
Legend says Silvius Brabo cut off a giant’s hand, threw it in the Scheldt and gave Antwerp its name. The fountain on the Grote Markt dates from 1887; the name is a good deal older.
Antwerp’s Cathedral of Our Lady took 169 years to build
Building started in 1352 and stopped, one tower short, in 1521. Inside are four works by Rubens, though one of them is away being restored for at least two years.