The city of Antwerp part 5: the outward expansion of the defences

For a long time the city defences of Antwerp were composed of the so-called Spaanse Omwalling (Spanish Walls) from 1542 with the Citadel of 1567 in the south. The citadel was built right outside the city walls where before the village of Kiel had stood. Apart from these city defences fortresses were built to defend the Scheldt river. These "forts" were Vlaams Hoofd (1576) opposite the city, Fort Sint Marie (1584), Fort Isabella (1605), Fort Lillo (1582) and Fort Liefkenshoek (1584). The latter two riverside fortresses were remodelled in 1782 and 1799 respectively. As part of that Napoleonic upgrade campaign a new fortress was built in 1812 north of the city near the village of Oosterweel: Fort Ferdinand. In 1862 this fort would be replaced by a much bigger fortress, the so-called Noordkasteel (literally: North Castle). This fortress was the crown of the new defensive system devised by Capt. Alexis Henri Brialmont (1812-1903).

The city of Antwerp after 1812 with the Fort Ferdinand north of the city. The fortress is a large rectangular structure constructed with earth banks and brick walls within an outer moat.

Until the autonomy of Belgium from the United Netherlands in 1830 the city of Antwerp was defended by the Spanish Walls and the riverside fortresses. The whole of the country was defended by some 20 fortified cities. After the rise of Napoleon III in 1851 it became apparent that the young Belgian state had an outdated army and defensive structure. It was decided that the important port city of Antwerp should be better defended by the erection of 7 small fortresses built in earth and stone and topped with wooden palisades. At the time the small fortresses were built hastily a few hundred yards around the existing defences, the ideas about fortifications were changing.

The French fortresses had a bastioned layout and a basic square or rectangular shape. German fortresses were considerably more reliable. So in 1846 Brialmont was sent to Germany to study fortress building. These German fortresses had a polygonal shape with caponiers and internal defensive rings. Brialmont formulated a plan for the Fortified Positions of Liège and Antwerp. The Fortifications Act of 1859 made his vision possible and work commenced in Antwerp in 1860. Brialmont had proposed a polygonal girdle to be built at 2 kilometres from the old Spanish Walls, thus encompassing the villages of Borgerhout and Berchem. He had based this design on the ideas of Marquis Montalembert, a French military engineer. This new defensive wall increased the surface area of the city six fold.

The city of Antwerp around 1900 has now completely filled in the space within the Brialmont-Walls. The harbour had been expanded northwards with the Kattendijkdok (D1), Houtdok (D2), Kempisch Dok (D3), Asiadok (D4) and Sasdok (D5) stretching out from the older Bonapartedok (D6) and Willemsdok (D7) that were both constructed between 1811 and 1813 to replace the 16th-century Noordervliet and Middelvliet. Damme (D) has been developed as a result of its close proximity to the harbour docks with housing and industry. Borgerhout (B) has been completely developed intra muros. On the edge of the old city the new Central Station (S), Zoo (Z) and City Park (P) form a high status cluster at the heart of the enlarged city. Berghem (b) has been completely urbanised in the typical Paris-inspired star-like middle and upper-class neighbourhoods with a park where once the gallows (G) stood on the edge of the city freedom. The Citadel was demolished and replaced by docks and a new neighbourhood with cultural and public buildings to form 't Zuid (tZ). The former city moat was filled in and replaced by a boulevard (shown in green) lined with representative buildings.

Outside this new defensive wall with lunettes and a moat with glacis 8 outlying fortresses were built. These were positioned 2.8 - 4.5 kilometres away from the new defensive walls at regular intervals of 2 kilometres. These new fortresses curved around the city from the Scheldt at Hoboken op to Wijnegem in the northeast. To the north no fortresses were built as these polders could be easily inundated. Building work on these fortifications took a mere 5 years and was completed by 1866. The existing fortresses on the left bank of the Scheldt in the Waasland were remodelled and improved. To complete the girdle of fortresses two new fortresses were built on the left bank between 1870 and 1880: Fort Eepoel and Fort van Zwijndrecht. Also an extra fortress was added north of the Kempische Vaart (Campine Shipping Canal): Fort van Merksem (1879).

Each fortress had a similar layout with a 40 to 50 metre wide moat surrounding the defensive structure. Beyond these moats, that were aimed at making a direct surge on the fortress impossible, a sloping glacis was created. The structure within the moat consisted of the fortress built in brick and concrete and covered by high earth banks and a separate reduit built in brick and again covered in earth that was connected to the fortress by a bridge and placed within the moat. The reduit was the final defence from where the fortress could be defended even if the enemy had gained access to the rest of the fortress.

The Fortified Position of Antwerp (Stelling van Antwerpen) by Brialmont with an inner ring that ran from the Noordkasteel (N) to the Kielstelling near the relocated village of Kiel (nK). Three lunets (L1-3) stood before this inner wall. Two of the old, small forts in Berghem (f1) and Deurne (f2) are still in place. The outer ring of polygonal fortresses starts at Fort Merksem (fM) and continues across the Kempische Vaart (V) to the ring of fortresses (F1-8) and then across the river via Fort Eepoel (fE) and Fort Zwijndrecht (fZ) to Fort Sint Marie (fS). The Brialmont fortresses 1 to 8 are often named after the nearby villages: Oosterweel (O), Wijnegem, Schoten (S), Merksem (M), Deurne (D), Eksterlaar (E), Groenenhoek (G), Borsbeek (B), Mortsel (Mr), Luythagen (L), Wilrijk (W), Hoboken (H),Kruibeke (K) and Zwijndrecht (Z).

After WW2 the Brialmont-walls would be replaced by the Motorway R1 that still run through the massively expanded city of Antwerp that now incorporates most of the former villages around it.

The city of Antwerp part 4: the completion of the fortified city

During Antwerp's so-called Golden Age, that lasted from 1490 until 1565, the city grew rapidly and most of the area within the defensive walls and moat was developed. On the north side of the city further expansion was pre-empted by the development of the Nieuwstad (literally: New City). This Golden Age was preluded by a rapid increase in the number of institutions within Antwerp during the whole of the fifteenth century.

Around 1400 the Vlasmarkt (Flax Market) was built. In 1408 the Carmelite nuns founded their convent. Shortly after, in 1409, two burgomasters were sworn in; one for the inner burgh and one for the outer burgh respectively. This new self governance lead to a rapid increase in trade and this lead to the foundation of more religious institutions: Cistercian Monastery (1433), Friars Minor Monastery (1446), Dulhuis (Insane Asylum - 1453), St. Clare Convent (1461), De Munt (The Mint -1474), Chapel of Grace (1493), Chapel of Jesus (1493), Alexian Chapel and Cellites Monastery (1494), Burgundy Chapel (1497), Refuge house of the St Bernard Abbey (1498) and several foundations for the poor that were called Godshuizen (God's Houses) often aimed at specific groups. This pattern continued into the early part of the sixteenth century: IJzerenwaag (Metal Weigh House - 1505), Church of St. Jacob (1506), Chapel of St Anna (1513), Augustinian Monastery (1514), Oude Waag (Old Weigh House - 1514), Hof van Liere (Manorial Court of Lierre - 1515), Ossenmarkt (Ox Market - 1522), Church of St Andrew (1529), Nieuwe Beurs (New Bourse - 1532), New Courts Beguinages (1546), Nieuwe Waag (New Weigh House - 1547), Friday Market (1548), Grain Market (1552), Tapissierspand (Tapistry Hall - 1555), Gildehuis (Guild Hall (1563) and the new City Hall (Stadhuis - 1565). The new city hall of Antwerp was the crowning glory of the cities Golden Age, as after this turmoil ensued which in the end lead to the splitting up of the Netherlands in the northern Republic of the Seven United Provinces and the Southern or Spanish Netherland in 1585.

The new religious institutions were mostly located outside the crowded old city as land was cheaper in the semi-rural areas within the city moat and walls. The Carmelite Convent (M1), Carthusian Monastery (M6), Friars Minor (M3), Clara Convent (M4), Augustinian Monastery (M5), The Chapel of Grace (C1), Jesus Chapel (C2), Alexians Monastery and Chapel (C3), Burgundy Chapel (C4), Church of St Jacob (C5), Chapel of St Anna (C6) and the Church of St Andrew (C7) are all located beyond the old city. Also within this rapidly urbanising area we see IJzerwaag (IJ), Nieuwe Waag (nW), Nieuwe Beurs (nB), Mint (M), Hof van Liere (L), Ossenmarkt (O), Begijnhof (B), Tapissierspand (T) and Graanmarkt (G). Some of these replaced similar amenities within the old city: Oude Beurs (oB) and Oude Waag (oW). Within the old city some land could still be developed: Friday Market (F), Vlasmarkt (V) and the new City Hall (H).   

In the 1530s, as a result of a siege on the city, the city councillors decided to modernise the city's defences to come in line with the then current attack weapons. This new defensive structure with a bastioned outer wall with enforced earth banks was completed in 1542. At the same time the plans for a northerly expansion were drawn. The new moats and defences around this Nieuwstad were completed in 1552. It was aimed at better facilitating trade and shipping, so the old city moat of Brouwersvliet was dredged to provide better docking facilities. North of this two new so-called vlieten were excavated as harbour docks. The ground around the docks was raised with the spoil and by bringing in sand from further afield. The Nieuwstad was laid out in an orthogonal manner to be most attractive for wharfs, goods yards and warehouses. Trade in Antwerp was basically foreign controlled, with the city governed by a small clique of bankers and manufacturers. During its Golden Age the city experienced three distinct booms. The first was bases on the pepper trade with the East Indies, the second on silver from the Americas and the third on textile manufacturing and trading.

The turning point for Antwerp were the violent riots of August 1566 as a result of the Protestant Reformation that resulted in the well known Iconoclasm that saw many Catholic churches and religious institutions looted and trashed. To control this uprising in the Low Countries the King of Spain sent the Duke of Alba as the new governor to re-establish control. He immediately started work on a large citadel south of the city, that was completed in 1567. The walls, bastions and moats were to be extended to connect this citadel (called 't Zuiderkasteel in Dutch) to the rest of the city's defences. During the period of Calvinist Rule (1577-1585), when the city of Antwerp was part of the Republic, the defences were completed and the ferry landing point on the other side of the Scheldt was fortified by the erection of a bulwark called Vlaams Hoofd (The Head of Flanders) between 1577 and 1584.

After the city had been recaptured by the Spanish in 1584, the role of Antwerp as a leading merchant city was over. Most of the traders, merchants, bankers and craftsmen had fled north to Dordrecht, Leiden, Harlem and Amsterdam. To reinvigorate the city the Spanish rulers reinstated the churches, convents and monasteries and made funds available for new foundations: Jesuit Church (1615), Refuge House of St Catherine (1619), Convent of the Sisters Capuchins (1619), Carthusian Monastery (1639) and Grey Sister Convent (1693).

The city of Antwerp with the so-called Spanish Walls that start at the Nieuwstad (N)and end at the Zuiderkasteel (Z) or Citadel. Across the Scheldt the Bulwark of Flemish Head (FH) defended the river.

The city of Antwerp part 3: the inclusion of the suburbs

The development of Antwerp gained pace during the 13th century with many merchants flocking to the city with its easily accessible wharf and new harbour of St Pietersvliet. The growth of Antwerp coincided with the increasing territory, wealth and might of the Dukes of Brabant. At the end of the thirteenth century plans are drawn to expand the city of Antwerp even further. The aim of this plan was to include many of the suburbs and religious institutions extra muros within the confines of the city. Expanding the area within the city walls also meant that more people would count as residents, making the settlement a larger city, but also increased the potential revenue for the city council.

From 1291 onwards a waterside wall was erected along the wharfs of the Scheldt river. The direct result of this expansion was that the inner burg was no longer the stronghold for the residents of Antwerp. The area was also far too small to accommodate all the people so it was logical that it would be transformed into part of the city. In 1298 work starts directly south of the Abbey of St Michael where a new moat is dug and a wall is built. A large area of fields and gardens were incorporated into the city area. The moat was dug towards the Hospital of St Elisabeth, but passed directly north of the existing Courts Beguinages following a natural depression in the landscape. As digging the new outer moat proved costly, technically difficult as a result of it cutting through high ground, and time consuming to build. To keep the defences in order a wall was proposed linking the outer moat at Klapdorp and the moat at the Hospital. In 1314 the new city gates are completed, together with several defensive towers (Verlorenkosttoren, Huidevetterstoren, Visverkoperstoren,  Backerstoren and Jan Blauwbaardtoren to name a few). The completion of the outer moat and the further outward expansion of the city starts in 1317 and would take until 1415. Although these works are part of the same plan they are most commonly seen as two separate expansions of the city of Antwerp (numbers 3 and four to be precise).

With the erection of the new city walls the surface area of the city increased threefold from 46 ha to 156 ha. The area within the new outer moat was much bigger increasing the urban area to over 200 ha. The original city measured only 20 ha. Expansion 3 consisted of a new wall (shown in red) and parts of a new moat. Later the defensive structure was completed by excavating an entire moat and erecting a new section of wall (shown in orange) alongside it. The finished city defences comprised of 4 towers, 7 land gates and 7 water gates. The structure started with the Kostverlorentoren (T1) in the south near the Scheldt and continued to the Vingerling (T4) via Kronenburgpoort (P1), Begijenhol (P2), St Jorispoort (P3), Blauwtoren (T2), Huidevetterstoren (T3), Buiten Kipdorppoort (P4), Rodepoort (P5), Slijkpoort (P6) and Posternepoort (P7). Along the river gates were made in the wall to give access to the wharfs: Westpoort (p1), Bierpoort (p2), Maaigatpoort (p3), Sandersgat (p4), Houtwerfpoort (p5), Scheldekenspoort (p6) and Hooipoort (p7). At some distance to guard the dam in the Schijn river a sconce (S) was erected.

This time there was no clear structure in naming the sections of the new encircling moat. This is probably due to their separate excavation. Excavation started in the south up to the Blauwtoren (Blue Tower). This work was later repeated in the low lying area north of the city to form a new harbour Brouwersvliet (literally: Brewers Fleet) and a new moat up to the much older Falconrui that follows part of an old Schijn-river arm. The section of moat dug trhrough higher ground was known as vest and was, like the rest of the outer moat, subdivided in to several separately named sections.

The sections of the outer moat were named after their position near a pre-existing building or settlement, or after their use. Kronenburgvest (1) was named after the defensive structure of the Abbey called Kronenburg. The Begijnenvest (2) was named after the Courts Beguinages (Begijnhof) directly next to it. The Sint Jorisvest (3) named after the Church of St George. The Kipdorpvest (4) was named after the suburb of Kipdorp. The Ankerrui (5) alludes to the use as an anchoring place for flat boats. The origins of the name of the Oude Leeuwenrui (6) is unclear. The Brouwersvliet (7) was named for the brewing houses near it. After completion of the new defences the land behind it was used for fields, market gardens and orchards. The names are often a hint at the most common form of land use there: Blijdenhoek (B), Gasthuisbeemden (G), Hopland (H), Ramenveld (R), Hoogveld (Hv), Kauwenberg (K) and Falconbroek (F).

Much of the area within the new wall or later the new outer moat and outer new wall remains undeveloped for many years giving the area outside the city limits of 1290 a village-like atmosphere with working farms and market gardens. All the markets and official buildings were located within the vesten and ruien. Here the streets and markets had all been cobbled by 1320. Building work on the gothic Cathedral Church of Our Lady started in 1351 and would last until 1521. It is situated on an oval church freedom, as is usual. Much of the area around it remained undeveloped until around 1400. The filling in of the areas between the incorporated suburbs and institutions would start in earnest at the end of the 15th century. This marks the start of Antwerp's so-called Golden Age, that lasted from 1490 until 1565.

As a riverside city, the development of Antwerp was only possible by several technical interventions into the drainage system. By damming the Schijn river a controlled flow of water could be redirected towards the city moat. This Damme (D) sits next to Dambrugge (DB). A new dyke (d) was raised north of the existing polder Steenborgerweert (Sbw) linking two older polders and making the area in between suitable for agriculture. The floodplain across the city was also empoldered by raising a dyke around what was hence known as the Borgerweertpolder (B).On the former mud flats and along the moats quays were constructed: Berdenerwerf (Q1), Wharf (Q2), Haring Staple (Q3), Meekaai (Q4) Werf (Q5), Maaigatkaai (Q6) and Hout- en Hooikaai (Q7). To improve the water supply for the inhabitants and brewers a new canal was dug from the Schijn river in Deurne to the city edge. This canal was known as the Herentalse Vaart (HV) and was dug between 1486  and 1491. This canal connected to the Oude Vaart or Vuilrui (V) completed in 1490 and the Meirrui (M) completed in 1431.

The city of Antwerp part 2: the expansion of religious institutions and the city

The triangularly shaped first city of Antwerp initially had a clear functional separation between the inner burgh with the domanial church, ducal residence, clerical house of refuge and the market next to the wharf. The outer burgh functioned as a subsidiary settlement with houses, shops, public houses and workshops. As the stronghold increased in importance, so did the number of residents. Increased demand lead to increasing costs and as such to the erection of buildings along mayor roads outside of the city moats.

As the parish church of the city wasn't located within the city -the domanial church was for the use of the overlord only- but as some distance at Caloes a small Romanesque chapel was erected on a slight elevation directly adjacent to the city moat. This chapel dedicated to Our Dear Lady (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekapel) was built in the second half of the 11th century. In 1124 monastery is founded next to the Church of St Michael at Caloes and also a subsidiary college of canons was created aimed at founding the new city parish of Our Dear Lady. A few years prior -in 1116- the Chapel of St George was built on the edge of the Hopland along the route to Broekzele (now Brussels). The expansion of the religious institutions and foundation of new ones coincided with large scale land reclamation in the Scheldt estuary by raising dykes and thus empoldering sections of the floodplain. The so-called sea dyke north of Antwerp was closed in 1119. This gave the city more potential with a much larger fertile hinterland suitable for food production.

This drawing of the city of Antwerp in its surroundings around 1200 shows the inner burgh (ib) with the domanial Walburgiskerk (W) surrounded by a moat and the outer burg (ob) surrounded by a wide moat comprised of the Suikerrui-Boterrui (1), Kaasrui (2), Achterrui (later Minderbroedersrui - 3) and Koolvliet (4).Directly south of the city stands the Chapel of Our Dear Lady (L), the Elizabeth Hospital (E) on the edge of 't Zand (z). The Groenendal (Green Vale - g) separates this higher ground from the higher ground beyond and has had a water course dug trough it to drain the Meir swamp an better regulate a log watering pond known as Houtmeer (H). On the edge of the higher ground of Caloes (c) stands the Abbey of St Michael (M) and on the edge of the Elst stands the Chapel of St George (G). North of the city a winding dyke (d) links the higher ground of Kattenberg (k) across the Blauwbroek (b) with the city and secures the former floodplain of the Schijn river (s) as a new polder.

As a result the riverside stronghold or inner burgh is strengthened around 1200. The wood-built ducal residence is rebuilt as a stone keep known as 't Steen (literally the Stone) and work starts on replacing the earth banks with paling by a high brick wall. The urban area is also expanded southwards by excavating a new moat (Vest in Dutch) between 1201 and 1216. In 1204 the Hospital of St Elizabeth (Sint Elisabethgasthuis) is founded on an oblong piece of land near the Chapel of Our Dear Lady. This is followed in 1220 by the designation of a large field within the moat of the outer burgh as the forum novum or market place.  In 1221 Antwerp receives city rights from Henry I duke of Brabant, margrave of Antwerp and a city freedom was established over which a council of 12 aldermen would rule. These city rights in part affirmed the position of the existing urban settlement, but also importantly freed the residents from feudal law, established urban law and gave the city the right to demarcate the city limits. 

Between 1243 and 1250 the domains of Kraaiwijk, Dries, Leguit and Lisgat to the north of the city are drained and surrounded by a moat. An existing tidal inlet is appropriated by dredging as the new harbour as St Pietervliet (St Peter's Fleet). This harbour basin forms part of the new city moat on the north side.

The city of Antwerp around 1250 still consists of an inner burgh, now fortified with a wall (shown in red) and a larger outer burg that has been secured by a moat and a wall between the several city gates: St Janspoort (P1), Kammerpoort (P2), Meirpoort (P3), Kathelijnepoort (P4), Wijngaardpoort (P5) and Koepoort (P6). The irregular outline on the north side arose as a result of the inclusion of Kraaiwijk (1), den Dries (2), Leguit (3) and 't Lisgat (4).

The city rights bestowed on the outer burgh lead to the foundation of many new institutions such as the Cloth Hall (Lakenhalle - 1226), Asylum for the Sick (Ter Siecken - 1231) outside the moat, Shipping House (Scheepshuis - 1240), Monastery of the Dominican Order of Preachers (Predikherenklooster - 1243), Court Beguinages Mount Sion (Begijnhof Berg Sion - 1245), Meat Hall (Vleeshuis - 1250), Church of St Willibrord (1264) in the Hoogveld outside the moat, Dominican Church (Predikherenkerk - 1276), Convent of St Margaret's Vale (Klooster St Margrietendal - 1280) outside the moat and the so-called Giants House the seat of the Teutonic Knights (Reuzenhuis der Duitse Orde - 1284) within the inner burgh. 

The city of Antwerp at the end of the thirteenth century has definitively broken the confines of the inner burgh. There the so-called Reuzenhuis (Giants House - R) is built not far from the ducal residence 't Steen (S). Next to the inner burgh the Vleeshuis (V) was built. At the end of the new market (m) the Lakenhalle (L) was erected. Further south around the parish church of Our Dear Lady (C) the Koornmarkt (Corn Market - m2) and Veemarkt (Cattle Market - m3) were located. The Monastery of the Dominican Preachers (P) was built across the former moat. Outside the gates lay two villages named Kipdorp (Kd) and Klapdorp (Kl) respectively. Towards the Abbey of ST Michael (A) a small suburb was forming. Beyond the waterlogged meadows a religious cluster with the Hospital of St Elisabeth (H), Chapel of St George (G) and Court Beguinages (B) stood along a main thoroughfare.