Berchem () is a southern

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...

of the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

and city 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,

in the

Flemish Region The Flemish Region ( nl, Vlaams Gewest, ),; german: Flämische Region usually simply referred to as Flanders ( nl, link=no, Vlaanderen ) ; german: link=no, Flandern is one of the three regions of Belgium—alongside the Walloon Region and ...

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 ...

. Berchem is located along the old ''Grote Steenweg'' (

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 ...

for 'Big Paved Road') that has connected

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

to Antwerp for several centuries; the town borders the districts of Deurne,

Borgerhout Borgerhout () is the smallest districts of Antwerp, district of Antwerp, Belgium. , the district houses 45,769 inhabitants on 3,93 km². It was an independent municipality until January 1983. The postal area code for Borgerhout is 2140. Geography ...

Wilrijk Wilrijk (; former, original spelling: ''Wilrijck'') is a district of the municipality and city of Antwerp in the Belgian province of Antwerp. Wilrijk had been a separate municipality before January 1, 1983; the enlarged municipality of Antwerp wa ...

and

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,

and the municipality of

Mortsel Mortsel () is a city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality close to the city of Antwerp located in the Belgium, Belgian province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the city of Mortsel proper. In 2021, Mortsel ha ...

. Berchem itself consists of three quarters, ''Oud Berchem'', ''Groenenhoek'' and ''Nieuw Kwartier''. The 'Ring', Antwerp's circular motorway which follows the track of the former city defense walls, cuts Berchem in two parts, separating the urban inner city area of Oud-Berchem (''intra muros'') from the more residential and suburban areas Groenenhoek, Pulhof and Nieuw Kwartier (''extra muros'').

Political structure

After the decentralization of Antwerp in 2000, Berchem became a semi-independent district with its own legislative body, the so-called

District A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...

sraad (''District Council''), and its own executive college. The District Council includes 25 members, directly elected for six-year terms by popular vote. The executive college comprises five

Aldermen An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members the ...

(''Districts

schepen A schepen (Dutch; . ') or échevin (French) or Schöffe (German) is a municipal officer in Belgium and formerly the Netherlands. It has been replaced by the ' in the Netherlands (a municipal executive). In modern Belgium, the ''schepen'' or ''éch ...

en''), including a District Mayor (''Districtsburgemeester''), who are installed by the District Council.

Points of interest

The Zurenborg area hosts a high concentration of

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

and other fin-de-siècle style townhouses, many built between 1894 and 1906. The main streets of interest are ''Cogels-Osylei'', ''Transvaalstraat'', and ''Waterloostraat''. After the area was slated for demolition in the 1960s, to be replaced with a business and office complex, demolition was prevented when the area got monumental status in the 1980s. In recent years, the area has become an attraction for architecture-minded visitors. The ''Driekoningenstraat - Statiestraat'' is the main shopping and commercial area of Berchem. Though suffering competition from suburban shopping centers, the retail highstreet still has an interesting mix of Belgian, local, and international convenience and non-food stores. The highstreet has recently been refurbished, giving more space to pedestrians. The Groenenhoek is home to the Flemish Tram and Bus Museum.

Transport

The railway station of Antwerpen-Berchem, located within the district, is the second largest station in the city of Antwerp. With a few exceptions, such as the

Thalys Thalys (French: ) is a French-Belgian high-speed rail, high-speed train operator originally built around the LGV Nord high-speed line between Gare du Nord, Paris and Brussels-South railway station, Brussels. This track is shared with Eurostar tr ...

high-speed train, almost all trains stopping in Antwerp have a stop at Antwerpen-Berchem station. The district of Berchem is also served by the

Antwerp tram The Antwerp tramway network ( nl, het Antwerpse tramnet) is a network of tramways forming part of the public transport system in Antwerp, a city in the Flemish Region of Belgium. The network is operated by the Flemish region's transportation co ...

routes 4,7,9,11 and 15, and numerous bus lines, which connect Berchem with the bordering districts and communities, and are operated by the

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; ...

transport company

De Lijn Vlaamse Vervoersmaatschappij De Lijn (English: Flemish transport company ''De Lijn''), usually known as De Lijn (, "The Line"), is a company run by the Flemish government in Belgium to provide public transportation with about 2240 buses and 399 tr ...

. the Taiwanese airline

EVA Air EVA Airways Corporation (pronounced as three letters: ; ) (), of which "EVA" stands for Evergreen Airways, is a Taiwanese international airline based at Taoyuan International Airport near Taipei, Taiwan, operating passenger and dedicated ca ...

provides shuttle bus services to and from

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol Amsterdam Airport Schiphol , known informally as Schiphol Airport ( nl, Luchthaven Schiphol, ), is the main international airport of the Netherlands. It is located southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer in the provinc ...

from Berchem, (near Antwerp-Berchem bus station); that way Belgium-based customers may use its flights to and from Amsterdam. The service is co-operated with Reizen Lauwers NV.Between Belgium and Amsterdam Airport
"

. Retrieved on February 29, 2016.

Sports

The local football team is Koninklijk Berchem Sport.

Notable people

See the :People from Berchem.

References

External links

Berchem District Official WebpageGreater Antwerp Official Webpage
{{Coord, 51, 11, N, 04, 25, E, region:BE_type:city_source:frwiki, display=title Districts of Antwerp Populated places in Antwerp Province