detail ruien_canals

https://www.antwerpendoorgrond.be/

• Waterpoort/Water Gate

  51.208103, 4.388882

  <p>Waterpoort is something also known as the wandering gate. Since its construction in 1624, the gate has stood in three different locations, including its current one. </p>

  waterpoort_water_gate

• Moats and ravelins

  51.210358, 4.392893

  <p>The Spanish citadel was encircled by a moat. Here archaeologists found traces of steps to the citadel moat. </p>

  moats_and_ravelins

• Saint Michael’s Abbey

  51.215960, 4.393901

  <p>Antwerp’s first parish church, which over time transformed into the large and powerful Saint Michael’s Abbey, originally stood here.</p>

  saint_michaels_abbey

• Commemorative plaque V bombs

  51.209371, 4.394414

  <p>The first V bomb over Antwerp was dropped here in this location during World War II. The plaque commemorates the bombings that ravaged the city in 1944 and 1945 respectively.</p>

  commemorative_plaque_v_bombs

• Saint Michael’s Bastion

  51.215437, 4.391970

  <p>Archaeologists found traces in this location of early settlement and military defences from various periods.</p>

  saint_michaels_bastion

• Kronenburg Tower

  51.213002, 4.391757

  <p>Before the Spanish ramparts and citadel were built, the city relied on medieval ramparts and towers for its protection. Kronenburg Tower was one of these defences.</p>

  kronenburg_tower

• Schelde Vrij/Scheldt Free

  51.210399, 4.397448

  <p>The ‘Scheldt Free’ statue group commemorates the buying off of the Scheldt toll. The monument was created on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the re-opening of the Scheldt.</p>

  schelde_vrij_scheldt_free

• Ship arsenal

  51.213138, 4.392770

  <p>Under Napoleon, the French government built an arsenal for its war fleet, in the area between the Scheldt and Kloosterstraat, installing a shipyard and several workshops. </p>

  ship_arsenal

• Command bunker

  51.213379, 4.396415

  <p>This command bunker was built at the end of the 1930s. The Passive Air Raid Defence Department coordinated its activities from here in case of a bombing. </p>

  command_bunker

• Museum of Fine Arts

  51.208914, 4.394075

  <p>There are still remnants of the former Spanish citadel, or Zuidkasteel (South Castle) under the Royal Museum of Fine Arts (KMSKA).</p>

  museum_of_fine_arts

• Slipways

  51.212553, 4.390389

  <p>Napoleon ordered a series of slipways to be built near the present-day Cockerillkaai. They were part of the shipyard where a war fleet was to be built.</p>

  slipways

• Bastion of Toledo

  51.206643, 4.394730

  <p>The Spanish citadel was a pentagonal defence. There was a bastion, a polygonal bulwark, on every corner. This is where the Toledo Bastion used to be. </p>

  bastion_of_toledo

• Felix Workshop

  51.227536, 4.407816

  <p>In het Felixatelier zijn de archeologen van de stad aan het werk. Ze verwerken er het archeologisch erfgoed. Er bevindt zich ook een mini-expo over het archeologisch verleden van Antwerpen. </p>

  felix_workshop

• Schijn Bastion

  51.230741, 4.412856

  <p>The Schijn corner bastion is situated in the north of the Spanish fortifications, along a section of the Schijn river.</p>

  schijn_bastion

• Sint-Jansvliet (en)

  51.218575, 4.396549

  <p>About 800 years ago, Sint-Jansvliet was transformed from a natural inlet to a small harbour where boats could moor.</p>

  sint_jansvliet_en_

• Site Kipdorp

  51.219865, 4.416172

  <p> A new square will be built in front of the Opera. During the works, the sixteenth-century Kipdorpbrug bridge, bastion and the city ramparts will be excavated.</p>

  site_kipdorp

• Rijnkaai South

  51.227911, 4.401881

  <p>The new tram line in the Rijnkaai south area runs through archaeological remnants of the sixteenth-century ramparts and of the historical residences and harbour inlets.</p>

  rijnkaai_south

• Bastion Huidevetters Tower

  51.215904, 4.413715

  <p>The Bastion of Huidevetters Tower or the Tanners’ Tower is one of the nine bastions of the Spanish ramparts and was built near the medieval Huidevetters Tower. </p>

  bastion_huidevetters_tower

• Steenen Kraan (en)

  51.225808, 4.399487

  <p>Remnants of the medieval quay wall and the dwellings that connected to it were found under Ortelius quay.</p>

  steenen_kraan_en_

• Meekaai Quay

  51.226937, 4.400153

  <p>Remnants of the walls of Brouwersvliet were examined in a trench near the quay known as Rouaanse Kaai. </p>

  meekaai_quay

• Cruise Terminal

  51.220614, 4.396011

  <p>“Bierhoofd” wharf and part of the medieval city walls were discovered near the Cruise Terminal.</p>

  cruise_terminal

• English Quay/Pilotage building

  51.227206, 4.400512

  <p>A test pit was dug near the Pilotage building to conduct a survey of the quay wall at Brouwersvliet.</p>

  english_quay_pilotage_building

• Sint-Pietersvliet (en)

  51.226417, 4.399754

  <p>The historic quay wall of Sint-Pietersvliet was found in a test pit on the quay plateau.</p>

  sint_pietersvliet_en_

• Zuiderterras car park

  51.219741, 4.395518

  <p>The Napoleonic quay wall runs under the hangars near Zuiderterras. Two test pits were dug here to determine its exact location.</p>

  zuiderterras_car_park

• Plantinkaai Quay

  51.217731, 4.394166

  <p>A trench was excavated near the current coach parking in Plantinkaai to examine the Napoleonic quay wall. </p>

  plantinkaai_quay

• The Citadel

  51.208068, 4.395838

  <p>The city district known as “Het Zuid” is built on Antwerp’s former citadel. This pentagonal structure was built in the sixteenth century under Spanish rule.</p>

  the_citadel

• Kipdorppoort Gate

  51.219966, 4.415601

  <p>Kipdorp Gate was one of the two gateways to the sixteenth-century city. The entire site has been preserved underground.</p>

  kipdorppoort_gate

• Schijn River Lock

  51.231022, 4.414046

  <p>The “Sas van het Schijn” or lock on the Schijn River is a hydraulic engineering work, which was built in 1818 and was excavated in 2015.</p>

  schijn_river_lock

• Red Gate site

  51.224644, 4.414790

  <p>In the sixteenth century, the Red Gate site consisted of a gate, a bridge, two bastions and the “Houwer”, a drinking water reservoir. Nothing was preserved above ground level.</p>

  red_gate_site

• Red Gate

  51.224728, 4.414105

  <p>The Red Gate was a city gate in the sixteenth-century Spanish ramparts. Nothing was preserved above ground level.</p>

  red_gate

• Bonaparte Lock

  51.228896, 4.401053

  <p>Bonaparte Lock, which dates from 1811, was Antwerp’s first tidal lock. It was built at the same time as Bonaparte Dock and Willem Dock, which were commissioned by Napoleon. </p>

  bonaparte_lock

• Londen-/Amsterdamstreet

  51.231064, 4.406794

  <p>There are remnants of the sixteenth-century city wall in Londenstraat and Amsterdamstraat. The line of the wall can be partly seen aboveground in the new design of the street.</p>

  londen_amsterdamstreet

• Slijkpoort Gate

  51.231438, 4.406809

  <p>Slijkpoort Gate is the northern-most gate of the Spanish ramparts. The outline of the Bastion of Slijkpoort can be traced in the streets above ground level.</p>

  slijkpoort_gate

• Bastion of Kattenberg

  51.230998, 4.402351

  <p>The Bastion of Kattenberg was the northern-most point of the sixteenth-century Spanish ramparts and connected to the Scheldt river bank. Nothing was preserved above ground level.</p>

  bastion_of_kattenberg

• Brewers’ House

  51.227549, 4.403220

  <p>The Brewers’ House was built by 1553 by Gilbert Van Schoonbeke. It supplied the breweries in Nieuwstad with water from the ditches around the fortifications and Herentalse Vaart. </p>

  brewers_house

• Obelisk Memorial

  51.228229, 4.405703

  <p>In 1903, Antwerp celebrated the centenary of the Napoleonic Decree. The town council built a memorial for this. After a provisional stucco monument, the definitive memorial was inaugurated in 1906.</p>

  obelisk_memorial

• Bonaparte Dock

  51.228459, 4.404346

  <p>Bonaparte Dock or the Small Dock (Klein Dok) was built in the sixteenth-century Nieuwstad district. This was a 25-hectare site with canals and a residential neighbourhood, called “Boerenkwartier” or the farmers’ neighbourhood.</p>

  bonaparte_dock

• Willem Dock

  51.228778, 4.405725

  <p>The “Groot Dok” or Large Dock was built in the sixteenth-century Nieuwstad: a 25-hectare site with canals and a residential neighbourhood called Boerenkwartier. </p>

  willem_dock

• Hanseatic House

  51.228724, 4.404813

  <p>Until 1893, Antwerp’s Hanseatic House stood where the MAS Museum is located today. It was commissioned by the German Hanseatic League.</p>

  hanseatic_house

• Aldermen’s house

  51.220857, 4.399018

  <p>The aldermen’s house or Antwerp’s former town hall used to be in the square next to the current town hall until 1565. In 2012, an archaeological survey was organised to find remnants of its foundation.</p>

  aldermens_house

• Town Hall

  51.221227, 4.399393

  <p>The town hall was the city’s administrative centre. However, it also played a role in conflicts in the past, including during the Spanish Fury.</p>

  town_hall

• Bishop's Palace

  51.218265, 4.402849

  <p>The palace served as the bishop’s residence until the French transformed it into a hotel for government officials. Napoleon spent the night there on several occasions.</p>

  bishop_s_palace

• Palace in Meir

  51.218025, 4.408529

  <p>Napoleon acquired the palace in 1811, intending to use it as an imperial residence. He would never stay there however. King Albert I resided in the palace during World War I.</p>

  palace_in_meir

• Blue Tower

  51.212842, 4.409168

  <p>The Blue Tower was built in the fourteenth century as part of the third city wall. The floor plan of this tower was incorporated in the newly-built Blauwtorenplein.</p>

  blue_tower

• Tabaksvest school site

  51.212897, 4.408435

  <p>An archaeological survey revealed two pits containing 37 skeletons under the playground of the former Mère-Jeanne school.</p>

  tabaksvest_school_site

• Keizerspoort Gate

  51.212514, 4.407265

  <p>Keizerspoort Gate was one of the five gateways into the city during the period of the Spanish ramparts. In 2002, the foundation of the gate was excavated.</p>

  keizerspoort_gate

• Bastion of Keizerspoort

  51.211817, 4.409249

  <p>The Bastion of Keizerspoort is part of the Spanish ramparts. After its excavation in 2003, it was preserved in the car park under the National Bank, where the public can visit it for free.</p>

  bastion_of_keizerspoort

• Central Park

  51.211261, 4.411087

  <p>Antwerp’s Central Park is built on the remnants of the Fortress of Herentals: one of Napoleon’s plans for strengthening the city walls.</p>

  central_park

• Ruien / Canals

  51.220976, 4.398432

  <p>Antwerp has an eight-kilometre underground canal system. The Ruihuis, which is located in Suikerrui, organises guided visits of the canals.</p>

  ruien_canals

• The Koraalberg

  51.222577, 4.400579

  <p>The “oldest Antwerper” was found in 1997 during construction in Koraalberg. This skull of a young man dates from the ninth century.</p>

  the_koraalberg

• Fortress Wall

  51.222763, 4.398599

  <p>The Fortress of Antwerp was fortified in the Middle Ages with a wall built of Tournaisian limestone. The wall was cut through when Vleeshuisstraat was built.</p>

  fortress_wall

• Earthen wall

  51.222751, 4.398311

  <p>As of the eleventh century, a stone wall was built around the fortress of Antwerp, with another earthen wall around it that was at least four metres high.</p>

  earthen_wall

• Fortress wall in Zakstraat

  51.223207, 4.398899

  <p>Antwerp’s fortress was fortified in the Middle Ages with a wall made of Tournaisian limestone, which you can still see today in a new-build project in Zakstraat.</p>

  fortress_wall_in_zakstraat

• Burchtgracht Street

  51.223531, 4.399373

  <p>The street named “Burchtgracht” owes its name to the moat which encircled Antwerp’s old fortress and which no longer exists.</p>

  burchtgracht_street

• Giant’s House

  51.224193, 4.397939

  <p>The house’s name refers to the giant Druon Antigon, who is said to have lived in the fortress during the Roman period and demanded tolls from skippers passing through. He would chop off the hands of those who refused to pay up. </p>

  giants_house

• Vierschaer Court

  51.223621, 4.397553

  <p>The “Vierschaer” was the Antwerp law courts, named after the four “scarren” or benches used to demarcate it: a bench for the accused, the judge, the public prosecutor and the party claiming damages.</p>

  vierschaer_court

• Saint Walpurga’s Church

  51.223198, 4.397412

  <p>Probably St. Walpurga’s Church became the court chapel of the margrave’s residence around the year 1000. The church was dedicated to Saint Walpurga.</p>

  saint_walpurgas_church

• Steen Castle

  51.222521, 4.397606

  <p>Antwerp’s Steen Castle was part of the walled fortress city of Antwerp. It served as a residence for the margrave and at one time was also a museum. Nowadays it is an educational space for children.</p>

  steen_castle

• Werf/Wharf

  51.222595, 4.396383

  <p>The “Werf” or “Kranenhoofd” was the wharf where the port crane stood. It was located on a spit of land in the River Scheldt, near the fortress. It was a perfect mooring for ships.</p>

  werf_wharf

• Re-alignment of the quays (en)

  51.222234, 4.397392

  <p>After 1875, the Scheldt quays were re-aligned. The largest part of the fortress city of Antwerp disappeared as a result. This included “Werf” (the wharf) and St. Walpurga’s Church.</p>

  re_alignment_of_the_quays_en_

51.220976

4.398432

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Ruien / Canals