Antwerp, on the River Schelde, is Europe's second largest port (Holland's Rotterdam is the largest) and is second in size only
to Brussels among cities in Belgium. It is 96 miles southwest of Amsterdam, 33 miles north of Brussels, 39 miles northeast
of Ghent. Antwerp has many things of interest to us. The artist
Peter Paul Rubens worked in this city as did one of his
assitants,
Anthony van Dyke. Ruben's former lavish and interesting
home and workshop are open for visitors. In addition
Antwerp's
Museum of Fine Arts has a large collection of his paintings on view, among many other works of art. Antwerp has a
magnificent railroad terminal which is right next to a large and well-kept
zoo. There is also a
Maritime Museum housed in an
old Castle on the river and a fascinating
Museum of Folklore displaying many artifacts related to earlier periods in the history of
Flanders. Antwerp is the diamond capital of Europe and has a pretty new
Diamond Museum which we have not visited.
Finally,
Antwerp has many churches and one magnificent Cathedral.
The Cathedral of Our Lady dates from the 1300's. It is extremely
large, having seven naves, three on each side of the center nave. It also has several paintings by Rubens on display.
The Saint Carolus Borromeus Church which Rubens helped design and for which he painted many works, also seems worth a visit.
We have put it on our "next time" list.
