December decorations

Many city centres dramatically change their appearance in December for the festive season. In the Low Countries this starts at the end of November with the Saint Nicolas decorations. But this is mostly limited to shop windows. The big impact comes when all the Christmas decorations are installed. In many cities large light ornaments adorn buildings and shopping streets to entice people to these areas and create a pleasant atmosphere during "the days of darkness". The aim of course is to boost sales and create revenue.

In Amsterdam the December decorations vary, but all have a rather classic iconography. In front of the Central Station al large Christmas tree shines in blue led lights. Between this tree at the station and the one on Dam Square the Damrak is decorated with these light banners with stars. The main Shopping street has garlanded chandeliers of lights bridging the narrow street.

On the origins of so-called "Dutch" gables

Amsterdam -and for that matter the other historic trade cities in Holland- are famed for their streetscapes of tall narrow houses with decorative gable tops. Often all examples of decorative shapely gable ends are gathered under the term "Dutch gable". The most abundant of these, the stepped gable, should however not be included. The stepped gable is not particularly Dutch, nor is it typical for townhouses.

Stepped gables were already used in Romanesque and Gothic architecture, especially in continental Europe, for decorative facades (Schmuckgiebel or Prunkgiebel in German) on castles, grain stores, monasteries, convents, churches and gate buildings. The steps are usually elongated or capped, in Gothic architecture they often terminate in a pinnacle or finial,  or they are crenelated. The use of stepped gables is closely linked to high pitched roofs in a climate with high rainfall. So when the city authorities tried to prevent fire by banning houses built in wood and with thatched roofs the new stone or brick-built houses were often adorned by a more decorative stepped gable on the front facade than the standard triangular gable end. This process was pushed through first in the cities and towns of the Rhineland and the Low Countries.

Especially in the Flemish cities the governing elite and merchants used their houses as a representation of their wealth and status. This lead to an inventive use of stone elements in combination with brick, the use of coloured bricks and the use of intricate brick bond patterns. Also the gable end becomes a feature, in particular in cases where an older house was updated by erecting a new facade on the side of the street. A high gable end could in those cases serve as an effective means of hiding the older roof from sight. A Dutch gable (or Flemish gable) is a gable end whose sides have been reworked to flank a central elongated section of the facade that is topped by some sort of pediment or fronton. Most of the gables of this type should be classed either as a Clock gable (Klokgevel) or Neck gable (Halsgevel). The Spout gable (Tuitgevel) is a very restrained variation on the triangular gable end with raised "shoulders" and a flat-topped elongated section that replaces the gable tip (the "spout").

The stepped gable is historically speaking not a type of Dutch gable, but this type does dominate the older buildings in the Low Countries. On the left two 17^th century examples from Geertruidenberg (NL). The house on the right has replacement windows, the facade on the left shows the original arrangement. In the middle two much older examples from Lièrre (B) with stone casements around the windows. The example from Herentals (B) shows that stepped gables weren't only used for gable end but could also be utilised for emphasizing the entrance by a crow-stepped dormer.

The so-called Dutch gable was a notable feature of Renaissance architecture in the Low Countries and the Rhineland. The more decorative and elaborate types with their curves and volutes are quickly absorbed into Baroque architecture. The spread of these Neck, Clock, and Spout gables was mainly the result of the spread of commercial enterprise and merchants, who brought with them their fancy brick-built facades. The first Neck gable to be built in Amsterdam in 1638 was by (Flemish-born) Philip Vingboons. This was no less than 70 years after the type had been pioneered in Antwerp (the Neck gable on the City Hall dates from 1565). 

On the left to examples of elaborate gables in Antwerp. The left is best characterised as an elevated Clock gable with a crowning fronton and double voluted corners. The same volutes are used on the underside of the tiered, elongated Neck gable on the right with curved and voluted flank pieces with additional obelisks, balls and a crowning statue atop a closed fronton or pediment. This row of houses on the Old Market of Antwerp (middle) shows the Renaissance Stepped gables with a revival-style Neck gable with rounded pediment and decorative balustrade ending in vases. This row of houses on the Market in Ekeren just north of Antwerp (right) shows that Dutch gables were also used in small towns. Between the three Stepped gables we see an example of a broken or stepped Spout gable with decorative balls on each shoulder and a larger bal atop the "spout".

Until about 1550 all houses in Amsterdam had been constructed in wood, despite regulations against this. After the destructive fire of 1452 the city council had decreed that henceforth all dividing walls should be built in brick. Houses were still built in wood with planked facades and triangular wooden gable ends. Between 1600 and 1650 -after the city had been overrun by Flemish immigrants after the fall of Antwerp and other southern cities- all gables in wood were replaced by Stepped gables (Trapgevel) in brick or Spout gables in brick and stone, often with ornamented side extensions and a fronton or ornament on top. Especially in the second half of the 17th en the whole of the 18th century the Neck gable and Clock gable become the height of fashion, becoming more elaborate, sometimes even tiered and adorned with carved stone coifs and gilded ornaments and statues. These types of Dutch gables are very shapely and were constructed using both brick (for the central part of the "bell" or "neck") and sandstone or plastered brick for the voluted sides, for the clawed inserts (of the Neck gable), for the fronton or coif and for the trims and bandings.

After 1800 the so-called Dutch gable fell out of fashion and many were taken down and replaced with parapet gables. During the age of revival architecture around 1900 many new examples of Dutch gables were built, often in a mixed idiom that was purely decorative.

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.