ANTWERP : The town square (Grote Markt)

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Not as big as the 'Grand'Place' of Brussels, but certainly as beautiful is the 'Grote Markt' (= Town Square) of Antwerp. Here is still the heart of the old city. The Grote Markt is beautifully surrounded by the Town Hall and the so-called houses of the Guilds or corporations. In the background the tower of Our Lady's Cathedral completes the magnificent view.

The houses of the Guilds are unfortunately not the original ones. A large part of the Grote Markt burned down in 1576. Most of the houses were rebuilt afterwards by Hans Vredeman, the town architect, in Flemish Renaissance style. In the 19th century the houses were again renovated.  The house number 7 is one of the most beautiful. It was the house of the guild of Archers and is crowned by the statue of St. George.  The house number 25 , a reconstruction of a house that used to stand at the 'Meir' is situated on the spot were an Inn used to stand. This Inn was mentioned in the medieval play of   'Marieken van Nieumwhegen'. Nowadays the  Grote Markt is one of the most pleasant squares in the city (certainly since traffic has been banned from it). During beautiful warm summer days most people choose this spot to enjoy a refreshing beer from one of the many terraces.

BRABO

In the middle of the 'Grote Markt' stands the Brabo fountain. The statue was made by sculptor Jef Lambeaux in 1887. According to a legend, a terrible giant, called Druoon Antigoon, lived on the banks of the river Scheldt in ancient times. Whenever sailors on the Scheldt river refused to pay toll to the giant, he punished them by cutting off their hand. A Roman soldier, Silvius Brabo, managed to kill the giant. Brabo cut off the hand of the giant and threw the hand away in the river. 

Hence, according to the legend, the name of the city : hand ( Engl.: hand) -werpen (Engl.: to throw). A nice legend, but untrue. Nevertheless, the 'hand' is the symbol of Antwerp.There are hands in the town flag. Also there are several sweets in the form of a hand (cookies, chocolates). In any case, without the Brabo fountain, the Grote Markt would not be complete. Notice how the water of the fountain is not caught in a basin, but just simply disappears under the stones of the monument where it enters in a closed water circuit. 

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