Staying in a hotel in Antwerpen is probably one of the best things I ever did in my life, city trip wise I mean. The city of Antwerp is the single most vibrant and sparkling cities in Belgium, and by far the most beautiful I visited in the last 3 or 4 years. The eye-catcher of the 'Grote Markt' (town square) is, of course, the Town Hall of Antwerp. It is one of the oldest Renaissance buildings in the Low Countries. It was finished in 1564 by architect Cornelis Floris de Vriendt. In what follows, I'll tell you a little bit more about the history of the Town Hall, during my stay in a Antwerp hotel I read about 5 books about it, really fascinating!
When I was still a kid, I wanted to become an architect and build stuff like the historical buildings in Antwerp. The city had made plans at the beginning of the 16th century to build a new town hall in Gothic style, much like the town halls of Leuven, Brussels and Oudenaarde. However, the Antwerpians had to use the construction material for their new town hall to defend themselves against attacks from the Army of Maarten van Rossem from Gelre. It was only twenty years later that the financial position of the city had improved to such an extent that the plan for a new building for the mayor was unshelved. But, by this time fashion had changed. The Gothic style was out and Renaissance style had become the new fashion.
Luckily the hotel Antwerpen where I was staying was only a stone's throw away from the Grand Market. The present town hall of 1564 shows that it has been built by a city at the height of its power and wealth. The style of the building is obviously Renaissance (the superposition of Dorian and Ionic colons), but the middle section still clearly resembles the towers of the many Gothic Flemish and Brabantine town halls. The 45 doors in the ground floor were built to house little shops. The rent that the shop-keepers had to pay was used to help finance the construction of the prestigious building. You can find many more information about this in the flyers or folders at the reception of your Antwerp hotels.
Since 1993 Antwerp celebrates ‘The Summer of Antwerp’, a cultural festival with a programme of events that span music, art, theatre and film at various places in the city. This year Antwerp is also on Lonely Planet’s prestigious list of the world’s ten most interesting cities! So what are you waiting for? Take a look at the many high quality hotels Antwerpen now and decide when you will leave! No doubt you will enjoy your stay in your hotels in Antwerpen!