't Steen

Now standing rather desolate at the quays, the building was once the center of the city's oldest neighborhood - known as the Oude Werf - with narrow streets, gates, towers and a fish market.

The Steen is all that is left of the old Castle of Antwerp, built around the year 1200 at the site of an older, 9th century fortress. It was named Steen (Dutch for Stone) as it was the first large building constructed in stone. What we see now is only a small part of this castle, which at one point was almost six time the current size. It served as the home of the burggrave of Antwerp and included a church (St. Walburgis), a courthouse, a warehouse, a monumental gate and several other buildings. The complex was surrounded by a large defensive wall.

The Steen was altered several times during history, most notably in 1520 when emperor Charles V ordered a thorough renovation of the castle, carried out by the architects Rombout Keldermans and De Waghemakere, both of whom also worked on the construction of the cathedral. The chapel above the entrance dates from this period. It is very easy to see which part of the castle is still original: the 13th century masonry is much darker than that of the 16th century, hence the two-colored tone of the front façade.
From 1549 untill 1823 the building served as a prison and in 1862 it became an archeological museum.

In the 19th century, the city decided to widen the river and construct new quay walls to accommodate the growing harbor traffic and to prevent the river from becoming silted up. The only problem? The whole historic center around the castle had to be demolished. Since the harbor was considered of vital importance for the future of the city, the project went ahead nonetheless. During the construction of the new quays more than 500 buildings were demolished. The Steen survived - barely, the city council voted in favor by just a single vote - and was renovated between 1889-1890. Still most of the castle was demolished, and only the gate and burggrave's house now stand stranded at the quay.

The most imposing remainder of the original castle is the entrance gate. Above the entrance gate is a small statue of Semini, a pagan god of youth and fertility. According to local legend he was the forefather of the people of Antwerp. In 1587 the Jesuits, a fanatical religious order, mutilated the nude statue.
An inclined ramp leads to a small inner courtyard, the only part that remains of a network of eight streets. The east side of the castle shows a colorful relief with the emblem of Charles V.

Until the end of 2008 the Steen housed the National Maritime Museum. Its collection was moved to the new MAS museum in 2010. You can however still visit a number of old vessels that are located near the old castle. Starting in March 2012, the castle will be used by a local youth theater, HetPaleis. The inner courtyard will fortunately continue to be accessible to the public.

Near the entrance of the castle stands one of Antwerp's most famous statues: the Lange Wapper. The statue, created by Albert Poels in 1963, depicts the legendary figure of Lange Wapper who, according to Antwerp folklore, could grow to the size of an enormous giant. He was said to have a devilish character and enjoyed teasing people.