Antwerp City Hall
Antwerp City Hall | |
---|---|
Stadhuis van Antwerpen (Dutch) | |
General information | |
Type | Town hall |
Architectural style | Renaissance |
Town or city | Antwerp |
Country | Belgium |
Coordinates | 51°13′17″N 4°23′57″E / 51.2213°N 4.3992°E |
Construction started | 1561 |
Completed | 1564 |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Cornelis Floris De Vriendt and others |
The City Hall (
History
In the 16th century, Antwerp became one of the busiest trading ports and most prosperous cities in Northern Europe. The municipal authorities wished to replace the city's small medieval City Hall with a more imposing structure befitting the prosperity of the great port city. The local architect Domien de Waghemakere drafted a plan (c. 1540) for a new building in a style typical of the monumental Gothic town halls of Flanders and Brabant.
The threat of war, however, prevented any progress on the project. The building materials intended for the City Hall were instead used to shore up the city's defenses. It was not until about 1560 that new plans were developed. In the meantime, Gothic architecture had gone out of fashion, so the City Hall was designed in the new Renaissance style. Completed in 1565, the building lasted hardly a decade before being burnt to a shell in the Spanish Fury of 1576. It was restored three years later.
Description
The low arcaded ground story is of rusticated stone, and at one time housed little shops. Above are two stories with
Renovations during the late 19th century by architects
Influence abroad
Antwerp's City Hall became an exemplar for the new Renaissance style in architecture in the Netherlands and Northern Europe. The Stadhuis of Vlissingen and of The Hague in the Netherlands and the design of the Rathaus of Emden and the portico of the Rathaus of Cologne (1557) in Germany and the Green Gate (designed by Regnier or Reiner of Amsterdam) in Gdańsk, Poland were inspired by this new style.[4][5]
References
- ^ "World Heritage List | Belfries of Belgium and France". UNESCO. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
- ^ De Inventaris van het Bouwkundig Erfgoed, Stadhuis van Antwerpen (ID: 4032) (in Dutch)
- ^ Frescos in the Leys Hall Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine (in Dutch)
- ^ Rutger Tijs, Renaissance- en barokarchitectuur in België’, Lannoo Uitgeverij, 1999, p. 105 (in Dutch)
- ISBN 90-6550-527-X.
Further reading
- B. Fletcher, History of Architecture (London, 1921)
External links
- Antwerp City Hall – detailed description and history
- Town Hall, Antwerp – overview and photo gallery
- Antwerp City Hall on BALaT - Belgian Art Links and Tools (KIK-IRPA)