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This is a file from www.flickr.com, Author: mariannegreg
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The castle was rebuilt many times, but fragments of the castle, relating to the 13th century, it is easy to distinguish by the darker color.
Around
1520, at the time of Emperor Charles V, the castle was completely rebuilt. At
that time, Het Steen gained its current name. The building belonged to Emperor
Charles V. So, it was known first as "s Heeren Steen" (the King's
stone castle), and later simply as "Het Steen" (the stone castle).
The Dutch word "steen" means "stone", and is used for
"fortress" or "palace", as in the "Gravensteen"
in Ghent, Belgium.
From 1303
to 1823 the building was used as a prison, later it was served as a home for
disabled soldiers.
In 1862, Pieter Génard (historian and archivist
of Antwerp, one of the founders of the Geographical Society of Antwerp)
suggested to establish an archaeological museum in each province. According to
him, Het Steen was the appropriate place in Antwerp. The city supported the
proposal and under the direction of architect Kennes was held restoration of
the fortress. August 14, 1864 the museum was open.
In 1880s, the city
administration has decided to expand the river to prevent it from silting, and
build a new, more spacious waterfront. The project was accepted, and soon was
demolished much of the castle and about 500 ancient buildings. Yet once in
1889-1890, a new wing and other parts of the building were remodeled..jpg) |
At the entrance bridge to the castle is a
statue to Lange Wapper, folklore character of Antwerp.
The legend of Lange Wapper started in the 16th
century. Lange Wapper liked to live near the sea, near rivers or canals. He could
make himself so tall that he could move from one town to another with a single
giant leap. Lange Wapper used tricks to approach women to get their breast
milk. He teased drunks, cheated while playing with children and laughed like
the devil.
In 1952, the archaeological museum in Het Steen
was replaced by the National Maritime Museum, which however immediately from
1953 until 1958 was inaccessible because of the renovation work. The doors of
this museum eventually were closed on December 28, 2008. From 2010, the
collection of the museum was transferred to the nearby built Museum Aan de
Stroom (Museum on the River).
In 2012, the building was redeveloped to
"Het Steen the wise", "active house which invites thinkers,
dreamers and doers".
In the
preparation of this article, were used some materials of websites: www.wikipedia.org, www.flickr.com
and www.cult-turist.ru.
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I visited 't Steen 10 years ago. There is a plaque near the river next to the Castle. It relates to an airplane that was downed during WW1 or WW2 I think it references a pilot from Canada. Is there any one who can tell me the info of what this plaque reads? I would be most grateful.
ReplyDeleteI took a picture of this plaque on a visit!
ReplyDeleteOn 16 September 1944, 550 soldiers of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (RHLI), 2nd Canadian infantry division, under command of Lieutenant Colonel Denis Whitaker, DSO, advanced into Antwerp to prevent the enemy from destroying the port facilities. For the next three weeks the RHLI, supported by the Belgian resistance under the command of Colonel Eugene Colson, Fought a number of actions to secure the harbor's vital equipment. Accompanied by the resistance, the Canadians then began the advance to Woensdrecht and Zuid-Beveland (The Netherlands) as part oft he overall offensive to free the approaches to Antwerp.
On 28 November 1944, a Canadian supply ship became the first vessel to steam up the river Scheldt into Antwerp harbor, bringing the essential materials that contributed significantly to the allied victory. Of the almost 13,000 allied casualties in this campaign, 6500 were Canadian.