The City Hall (
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
: ) of
Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, ,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, stands on the western side of Antwerp's
Grote Markt ("Great Market Square"). Erected between 1561 and 1565 after designs made by
Cornelis Floris de Vriendt and several other architects and artists, this
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
building incorporates both
Flemish
Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...
and
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
influences. The Stadhuis is listed as one of the
Belfries of Belgium and France
The Belfries of Belgium and France are a group of 56 historical buildings designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, in recognition of the civic (rather than church) belfries serving as an architectural manifestation of emerging civic indep ...
, a
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
.
History
![Margaretha van Parma en de sleutels van de stad door Hendrik Leys (1815-1869)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Margaretha_van_Parma_en_de_sleutels_van_de_stad_door_Hendrik_Leys_%281815-1869%29.jpg)
In the 16th century Antwerp became one of the busiest trading ports and most prosperous cities in Northern Europe. The municipal authorities wished to replace Antwerp's small medieval town hall with a more imposing structure befitting the prosperity of the great port city. Antwerp architect Domien de Waghemakere drafted a plan (c. 1540) for a new building in a style typical of the monumental
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
town halls of Flanders and Brabant.
But the threat of war prevented any progress on the project. The building materials intended for the Stadhuis were instead used to shore up the city defenses. Not until about 1560 new plans were developed. In the meantime Gothic architecture had gone out of fashion. The new designs for the Stadhuis were in the new Renaissance style. Completed in 1565, the building lasted hardly a decade before being burnt to a shell in the
Spanish Fury
A Spanish Fury (or the Spanish Terror) was one of a number of violent sackings of cities in the Low Countries, mostly by Spanish Habsburg armies, that occurred in the years 1572–1579 during the Dutch Revolt. In some cases the sack did not fol ...
of 1576. It was restored three years later.
Description
The low arcaded ground story is of rusticated stone, and at one time housed little shops. Above are two stories with
Doric Doric may refer to:
* Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece
** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians
* Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture
* Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode
* Doric dialect (Scotland)
* Doric ...
and
Ionic columns separating large
mullion
A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...
ed windows, and a fourth story forming an open gallery.
The richly ornamented central section, which rises above the eaves in diminishing stages, holds female statues representing
Justice
Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
,
Prudence
Prudence ( la, prudentia, Contraction (grammar), contracted from meaning "seeing ahead, sagacity") is the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason. It is classically considered to be a virtue, and in particular one of th ...
, and the
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
, and bears the
coats of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its wh ...
of the
Duchy of Brabant
The Duchy of Brabant was a State of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1183. It developed from the Landgraviate of Brabant and formed the heart of the historic Low Countries, part of the Burgundian Netherlands from 1430 and of the Habsburg Neth ...
, the
Spanish Habsburgs
Habsburg Spain is a contemporary historiographical term referring to the huge extent of territories (including modern-day Spain, a piece of south-east France, eventually Portugal, and many other lands outside of the Iberian Peninsula) ruled be ...
, and the
Margraviate of Antwerp
The Margraviate of Antwerp (or Mark of Antwerp) consisted since the eleventh century of the area around the cities of Antwerp and Breda.
Origin
Under Otto II, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, several marches were created along the border wi ...
.
Renovations during the late 19th century by architects
Pierre Bruno Bourla, Joseph Schadde and Pieter Jan August Dens drastically modified the interior. Much of the stately decoration dates from this period, as does a roof over what was once an open-air inner courtyard. A number of the leading Antwerp historical painters were invited to assist with the decorations.
Henri Leys painted a series of murals depicting key events in Antwerp's history and portraits of former Belgian rulers for the Leys Hall.
[De Inventaris van het Bouwkundig Erfgoed, Stadhuis van Antwerpen]
(ID: 4032)
Influence abroad
![Antwerp - by Craig Wyzik](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Antwerp_-_by_Craig_Wyzik.jpg)
The Antwerp Stadhuis became an exemplar for the new renaissance style in architecture in the Netherlands and Northern Europe. The Stadhuis of
Vlissingen
Vlissingen (; zea, label=Zeelandic, Vlissienge), historically known in English as Flushing, is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the former island of Walcheren. With its strategic l ...
and of
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
in the Netherlands and the design of the Rathaus of
Emden
Emden () is an independent city and seaport in Lower Saxony in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia and, in 2011, had a total population of 51,528.
History
The exact founding date of E ...
and the portico of the
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
Rathaus (1557) in Germany and the
Green Gate
The Green Gate ( pl, Brama Zielona, german: former Koggentor, now Grünes Tor) in Gdańsk, Poland, is one of the city's most notable tourist attractions. It is situated between Long Market (''Długi Targ'') and the River Motława.
History
Wi ...
(designed by Regnier or Reiner of Amsterdam) in
Gdańsk
Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
were inspired by this new style.
[Rutger Tijs, Renaissance- en barokarchitectuur in België’]
Lannoo Uitgeverij, 1999, p. 105
![Antwerp City Hall 2005-07-16 interior 09](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Antwerp_City_Hall_2005-07-16_interior_09.jpg)
References
Further reading
*B. Fletcher, ''History of Architecture'' (London, 1921)
External links
nbsp;– detailed description and history
Town Hall, Antwerpnbsp;– overview and photo gallery
Antwerp City Hall on BALaT - Belgian Art Links and Tools (KIK-IRPA)
{{Authority control
1565 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire
Buildings and structures completed in 1565
Bell towers in Belgium
City and town halls in Belgium
Buildings and structures in Antwerp
Tourist attractions in Antwerp