Gem of a place

Antwerp, home to the Flemish Baroque master Rubens, is full of beautiful
architecture and artworks. A major diamond trading centre, this fast-paced,
multicultural metropolis is also the city of fashion designers and trendsetters
with magnificent monuments and museums, writes Tanushree Podder


The Grote Markt — with its 16th century Stadhuis (Townhall) and the
Guild houses — has an old-world charm

HUGGING my inadequate coat against the freezing cold, I trudged along the Jewish quarters of the town, my eyes appreciating the old-world charm of the place. The setting was right out of a Victorian novel. Snowflakes fell in soft whispers as the orthodox Jews in black overcoats with flowing white beards rode their bicycles with elevated backseats.

The greying facades, mezuzahs (capsules with quotations from the Jewish scriptures) on the doors, the kosher food outlets at every corner, brought home the fact that I was walking in a Hassidic Jewish zone.

Men, with briefcases chained to their wrists, walked briskly down the streets. I noticed that Indian men figured predominantly among those hurrying with their priceless briefcases.

This was where diamonds were honed, perfected and set to adorn millions of women all over the world. This was predominantly the Jewish area with a heavy sprinkling of Gujaratis from India. The Jewish diamond trade in Antwerp goes back to the 15th century, when the Jews, expelled from Spain and Portugal settled in what is now Belgium. Antwerp’s Jewish population grew as the community fled from persecution in Eastern Europe. They had, then, painstakingly worked their dominance in the diamond trade. But now, the astute Indian businessmen are unseating the orthodox European Jews, who had established the world’s most famous diamond district. Indians find favour with customers, as they aren’t required by their religion to close their businesses from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. Hoveniersstraat, a street once celebrated for its kosher restaurants, now offers the best curry in town. Branches of many Indian banks line the diamond district raking in significant forex.

Wandering around a diamond showroom, I wondered if I could afford a ring with one of the sparklers. A beautiful ring with a black diamond circled by glittering white ones attracted my eyes and I hesitantly asked for the price. A quick calculation of the price gave me a minor heart attack; it was Rs 1,35,000.

But Antwerp is not just about diamonds. In its heyday in the 16th century, Antwerp was one of the richest cities in Europe, on the same footing as Paris or London. The magnificent port brought in its wealth and artisans, who built its magnificent Gothic cathedral.

The port city or city by the water — as it is called because it is situated on River Scheldt — is a place of beauty with structures grand and beautiful. There is a lot of art in the town since local talent has included the likes of Rubens, Van Dyck and Jordaens. I had noticed it immediately on arrival as I navigated the four levels of subterranean platforms to emerge into a dramatic foyer. Topped by a neo-Baroque dome, the station looks more like a shrine than a terminal. The ornate facade with "Antwerpen" engraved in gold letters is just a preview of a series of stunning structures in the town.

The Grote Markt, with its 16th century Stadhuis (Townhall) and the Guild houses, is a place that demands reverence. The Townhall is a Renaissance building, which marries Italian style with Flemish architecture. Then there is the fabulous Vleeshuis, a magnificent late-Gothic sandstone brick house, built by the Butchers’ Guild.

The fountain in front of the Town Hall has a lovely statue of Silvius Brabo, a Roman soldier, about to lob a giant hand off into the river. Legend has it that a very long time ago, a giant controlled the Scheldt extorting heavy tax from the seamen. He cut off the hands of those who couldn’t cough up the tax. It was Brabo, who defeated the giant, cut off its hand and threw it into the river. In fact, the name Antwerpen comes from the statue handwerpen or ‘thrown hand’.

The Cathedral is the next halt. A lovely Gothic-style structure, it has beautiful stained glass work and an admirable collection of old paintings. The altar is a spot of reverence for both the religious and the art lovers, adorned as it is by four of Rubens’ masterpieces.

Inspired by Rubens’ masterpieces, I walk to the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, which has the world’s largest collection of his masterpieces as well as other old masters. Roger van der Weyden, Jan van Eyck, the Bruegels and Rembrandt — you name it and their creations are there.

Antwerp owes its arty spirit to Rubens, as it is the home base of the Master. To appreciate Rubens better, the three-story stone and brick Renaissance villa where he once lived should be must for every art lover. This is the villa he designed, lived and worked in. Today, it is a museum with an enviable collection of his works.

Doing a last round of the famous harbour, I come across the De Landverhuizer by Eugeen Van Mieghem, a statue of the immigrant, a touching reminder to the exodus from 1873 to 1934, when the Red Star Line, its ships flying the Belgian flag, took 2.7 million emigrants from Antwerp to America. Many were Jews escaping the poverty and pogroms of Eastern Europe.

Ending the day with the view of the Cathedral’s spire against the sun was the best thing that could have happened to me at Antwerp.

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