Antwerp - City center part 3: Het Steen, Jordaenskai, Sint-Paulus, River Schelde, Veemarkt

Antwerp City Center - part 3
HET STEEN, JORDAENSKAAI, SINT-PAULUS, VEEMARKT, VLEESHUIS, RIVER SCHELDT

The city center and Old Town of Antwerp, situated in the district simply known as Antwerp, is where you find most of all famous historical buildings, many of them in Flemish Renaisance architecture. Grote Markt is the center, where you find the cathedral, the giant sculpture and the City Hall as well as many pubs and restaurant. Meir is the main pedestraian street that goes from Astridplein at the large Central Station, that is considered one of the world's most beautiful, but that is presented in part 2. This part is concentrated on the West and North parts of the city center, close to the riverfront and the river boulevard Jordaenskaai, where you will find the historic castle Het Steen, Antwerp's oldest building, and many other interesting buildings, both modern and historic ones. There are many churches, like St Paulus Church and St Jacob Church, in this neighbourhood. The quarters just North of Grote Markt are less lively.

HET STEEN (THE STONE):

Het Steen (The Stone), the oldest building in Antwerp, is a 800 years old castle that is situated right next to River Schelde (Scheldt) and Jordaenskaai, next to the Old Town. It is a significant building, once home to the oldest neighbourhood in Antwerp, with narrow streets, gates and towers. Until the end of 2008 Het Steen was home to the National Maritime Museum (now relocated to MAS), in 2012 it reopened as a place for childrens activities, called "Hetsteen der wijzen".

"Lange Wapper" is one of Antwerp's most famous statues. Lange Wapper was a figure in Antwerp folklore that could grow to the size of a giant, that liked to tease people. The sculpture was created by Albert Poels in 1962.

Het Steen. Only a small part (about 1/6th) of the original castle from 800 remains. Large parts were destroyed to make way for the widening of the river in the 19th century.

Het Steen used to have a church, courtyard and a defensive wall.


Het Steen and "Lange Wapper". The yellow flags and signs don't fit in.		Courtyard of Het Steen with crucifix		Courtyard of Het Steen is the only remains of a network of 8 streets

The busy Jordaenskai and Het Steen.

Het Steen.

River Schelde

The bridge at Steenplein has great views over the Old Town and River Scheldt. It is situated between Schelde and Jordaenskaai. The lion sculpture is significant.

The square in front of the castle is called Steenplein.

The bridge at Steenplein

JORDAENSKAAI:

Jordaenskaai is the busy boulevard that is parallel to the River Schelde, and passes just a few blocks from Grote Markt. Along the street you will find a mix of modern residential buildings and old buildings in Flemish renaissance style.