Deurne () is the second largest
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, subdivisions o ...
of the municipality 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, (right after the Antwerp town district) and has 80.781 inhabitants (2021).
Deurne is best known for its green environment with the biggest park in Antwerp
Rivierenhof.
History
Ancien régime
Deurne was said to be the place where the Irish missionary
Fredigand was abbot of Kerkelodor Abbey in the eighth century.
There are indications that Deurne existed in prehistoric and Roman times but the first tangible proof of Deurne only dates back to 1185.
During the
Ancien régime
''Ancien'' may refer to
* the French word for "ancient, old"
** Société des anciens textes français
* the French for "former, senior"
** Virelai ancien
** Ancien Régime
** Ancien Régime in France
{{disambig ...
Deurne was nothing more than part of the Eastern
hinterland
Hinterland is a German word meaning "the land behind" (a city, a port, or similar). Its use in English was first documented by the geographer George Chisholm in his ''Handbook of Commercial Geography'' (1888). Originally the term was associated ...
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, . Like many dwellings it settled on the crossroads of a river (the
Schijn) and a connection route (the 'Turnhoutse baan': the road from Antwerp to
Turnhout
Turnhout () is a Belgium, Belgian Municipalities in Belgium, municipality and city located in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp. The municipality comprises only the city of Turnhout proper. ...
).
Deurne consisted mainly of sparsely populated farmland. However, as a direct result of the increasing wealth of the Antwerp population, many
aristocratic
Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'.
At the time of the word's ...
estates were erected (the so-called "
Hof van Plaisantie" was a specific rural estate, a
bourgeois
The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...
version of a
château
A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions.
Nowaday ...
or
country house
An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...
). Typically, merchants, diplomats, wealthy artists (like
Peter Paul Rubens
Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...
f.i.) would escape to their Hof van Plaisantie. Some country houses in Deurne were :
Sterckxhof,
Papenhof,
Lakbors,
Bisschoppenhof,
Gallifort,
Inkborsch,
Bosuil,
Ertbrugge &
Venneborg. Although most country houses were destroyed over the centuries (especially in 1542), some like Sterckxhof or Bisschoppenhof survived. Further surviving evidence of this aristocratic history of Deurne is the St Fredegand Church and the adjacent cemetery (the
St-Fredegandusbegraafpark).
Nineteenth century
After the
battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...
William of Orange started to connect the Antwerp port with its hinterland through the construction of a series of canals between Antwerp and
Liège
Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège.
The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...
, connecting the
Scheldt
The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corr ...
with the
Maas. The work, started under his reign in 1823, was completed in 1874.
The effect of this canal was to establish a permanent barrier north of Deurne (where the
Kleine Schijn used to flow), separating it from
Merksem
Merksem (; former spelling: ''Merxem'') is a district of the municipality and city of Antwerp in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It has 44,808 inhabitants as of 2021.
History
The history of Merksem goes back to Gallo-Roman times. During that perio ...
. In the south the
Grote Schijn would form the south barrier of Deurne. The effect of both barriers was to enhance an 'island feeling' for Deurne. This was further promoted by the establishment of the
Brialmont fortifications around Antwerp. Deurne was split apart and the western part of Deurne (
Borgerhout
Borgerhout () is the smallest 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
Borgerhout is divided ...
) was to become a separate municipality. The rest of Deurne now lay outside the
enceinte
Enceinte (from Latin incinctus: girdled, surrounded) is a French term that refers to the "main defensive enclosure of a fortification". For a castle, this is the main defensive line of wall towers and curtain walls enclosing the position. For ...
and became physically and mentally more separated from Antwerp.
Modern times
Because of the barriers constructed in the nineteenth century, urbanization would only begin in the twentieth century. Many large scale urban functions were 'dropped' in the undestined area previously occupied by the Brialmont-fortifications (like the event hall
Sportpaleis Merksem
The Antwerps Sportpaleis ( eng, Antwerp's Sport Palace), also called Sportpaleis Antwerpen, Sportpaleis Merksem or simply the Sportpaleis, is an arena in Antwerp, Belgium. It is a multipurpose hall where concerts, sporting events, festivals and f ...
).
Urban planning
Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...
started in 1913 and although the original plan was never fully realised it did determine the spatial structure of Deurne.
A real demographic explosion happened because of this urban planning and the need for many Antwerp residents to find modern housing. The population grew from 15,432 in 1920 to 52,303 in 1935.
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
halted this evolution, mainly because of the
V-2 bombardments. After 1945 the growth of Deurne started again and in the 1960s social housing & other community projects further enhanced this new urban identity of Deurne.
From 1972 onward Deurne was subject to the
urban exodus and the
urban sprawl
Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...
whereby people moved from the dense urban centres towards the
suburbs
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
. As a result, the population began to diminish in numbers and the remaining population became older.
In 1983 Deurne was absorbed into the municipality of Greater Antwerp (see :
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, ) whereby Deurne became one of the 9 districts. In 2001 Antwerp was decentralised, Deurne once again has its own elected council, not a city council but a district council, not a mayor but a 'chairman of the district governing board'...
Major attractions
Deurne has one of the oldest still functioning airports in the world, established in 1923.
Antwerp Airport
Antwerp International Airport, french: Aéroport International d'Anvers, german: Flughafen Antwerpen is a small international airport serving the City of Antwerp in the Province of Antwerp in the Flemish Region of Belgium. Located south of ...
is a regional airport with only a limited number of flights a day.
Located at the airport is the Stampe & Vertongen Museum, at the location of the old aircraft production company of the same name.
Politics
District college
The members of the district college between Januari 1, 2019 and 31 December 2024 are:
District council
The district council of Deurne has a total of 29 seats. De district council chairman is Frank Geudens (
SP.A
Vooruit (Dutch for Forward, ) is a Flemish social democratic political party in Belgium. The party was known as the Flemish Socialist Party (1978–2001: ''Socialistische Partij'', SP; 2001–2021: ''Socialistische Partij Anders'', SP.A) until 2 ...
).
Notable people
*
Erik Van Looy, film director and TV quiz presentater
*
An Pierlé
An Pierlé (born An Miel Mia Pierlé on 13 December 1974) is a Belgian pianist and singer-songwriter.
Career
She studied classical piano and enrolled at the age of 17 at the art school in Antwerp. In her third year there she made a solo progr ...
, musician
*
Björn Leukemans
Björn Leukemans (born 1 July 1977 in Deurne) is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer. During 2008 Leukemans was suspended for doping with artificial testosterone. In 2009 he joined the team. Leukemans joined for the 2014 season, ...
, cyclist
Economy
VLM Airlines
VLM Airlines was a Belgian airline offering scheduled, charter and ACMI services. It was headquartered at Antwerp International Airport in Deurne. It ceased operations on 31 August 2018. It is not to be confused with its Belgian sister airline ...
has its head office on the grounds of
Antwerp International Airport
Antwerp International Airport, french: Aéroport International d'Anvers, german: Flughafen Antwerpen is a small international airport serving the City of Antwerp in the Province of Antwerp in the Flemish Region of Belgium. Located south of t ...
in Deurne; the office is also
CityJet
CityJet is an Irish regional airline with headquarters in Swords, Dublin. It was founded in 1992 and has gone through a series of corporate structures. Air France sold CityJet to ''Intro Aviation'' in May 2014; in March 2016 the airline was b ...
's
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, office.
[Our Offices]
." CityJet
CityJet is an Irish regional airline with headquarters in Swords, Dublin. It was founded in 1992 and has gone through a series of corporate structures. Air France sold CityJet to ''Intro Aviation'' in May 2014; in March 2016 the airline was b ...
. Retrieved on 6 July 2010. "Antwerp office VLM Airlines Belgium NV Luchthavengebouw B50 B 2100 Antwerp Belgium Company registration number 0446.670.251."
References
{{Authority control
Districts of Antwerp
Populated places in Antwerp Province