ANTWERP 



shipping going up the Scheldt were abolished 

 (it must be remembered that the estuary of 

 the river is part of the territory of Holland). 

 Population, 1912, 312384; including suburbs, 

 about 400,000. 



Chief Buildings. Among the buildings that 

 have been preserved from the period of its 

 greatness the most important is the cathedral. 

 The Antwerp cathedral is the largest, and 

 many people consider it the most beautiful, 

 Gothic church in Belgium. Its graceful and 

 lofty tower, over 400 feet high, is seen for a 

 long distance as a conspicuous landmark in 

 the flat, surrounding plain. The cathedral has 

 only one tower, for a second tower which 

 formed part of the original plan has never 

 been completed. It is famous for its artistic 

 treasures, among which are the three celebrated 

 masterpieces of Rubens the Descent from the 

 Cross, the Elevation of the Cross and the 

 Assumption. These great masterpieces were 

 removed from the city for safety when the 

 German "drive" through Belgium began in 

 August, 1914. 



The most important secular building is the 

 town hall, built in the sixteenth century in the 

 Renaissance style; it is rich in carved wood 

 panel-work, mural decorations and other works 

 of art. Antwerp has a picture gallery which 

 contains a fine collection of paintings of the 

 Flemish school, the most famous being the 

 priceless collection of paintings by Rubens and 

 Van Dyck. One of the most interesting mu- 

 seums in the whole world is the Museum Plan- 

 tin-Moretus. It was the house and workshop 

 of the great printer Plantin and contains a 

 collection of everything pertaining to printing 

 in its early stage. The library contains a col- 

 lection of the artistic works issued from this 

 great printing establishment, including the 

 famous Biblia Polyglotta, published from 1568 

 to 1573. Among its numerous educational 

 establishments Antwerp contains a good school 

 of arts and a well-known conservatory of music. 



Commerce and Industry. The harbor is spa- 

 cious and is one of the finest in the world. 

 The Belgian government did not spare any 

 expense in order to improve and equip it with 

 all the most modern facilities for accommo- 

 dating the largest steamers. When the war 

 broke out in 1914 work was nearly finished on 

 a vast program of improvements which had 

 cost $50,000,000. Before 1914 nearly 17,000,000 

 tons of shipping entered and left Antwerp 

 yearly. Besides its vast trade Antwerp has 

 numerous and varied industries, among which 



3 ANTWERP 



are sugar refining, diamond cutting, lace mak- 

 ing, brewing, distilling and shipbuilding. 



History. Antwerp began to attain a promi- 

 nent position during the fifteenth century. 

 when it became the chief port of the Hanseatic 

 League (which see) and the great port of 

 entrance for trade between the various parts 

 of the Continent and England. It was at that 

 time the chief money market in the world. 

 It reached the height of its prosperity in 1560, 

 when frequently as many as 500 ships entered 

 the port in one day. Soon afterwards the 

 struggle of The Netherlands to gain their reli- 

 gious and political freedom from Spain, in 

 which Antwerp took a prominent part, ruined 

 its trade. 



Antwerp declined continuously until 1800, 

 when its population was below 40,000. Na- 

 poleon, realizing both the strategical and com- 

 mercial value of its situation, decided to open 

 and improve its harbor and to set it up as a 

 rival to London. He considered that Ant- 

 werp in the hands of a powerful enemy would 

 be "a revolver held at the breast of England." 

 The trade of Antwerp began to grow very 

 rapidly, but this lasted only until 1830; then 

 Belgium became separated from Holland, and 

 the latter country imposed heavy tolls upon 

 the shipping of the Scheldt. These tolls were 

 finally abolished in 1863. 



Captured by the Germans in 1914. Antwerp 

 was the pivot of the national defense of Bel- 

 gium, and was one of the strongest fortresses 

 in Europe. It was encircled by a great number 

 of detached forts and other works, skilfully 



THE DEFENSES OF ANTWERP 

 It was thought the fortifications could protect 

 the city against any enemy, for any length of 

 time. 



constructed, which transformed it into a great 

 fortified camp. The city was considered almost 

 impregnable, and in any case able to resist 

 a long siege. This was before the War of the 



