Slipways

After visiting Antwerp in 1803, Napoleon ordered that a flotilla be built. Ten slipways were constructed to the north of the citadel, for building and launching ships. In 1806, the first frigate was completed. The shipyard delivered larger war ships soon after. The French were defeated but the shipyards remained operational for quite some time. The last traces of these shipyards disappeared under the new quays when the Scheldt’s banks were re-aligned around 1880. They were partly preserved there. In 2004, archaeologists identified the wooden foundation posts of the eighth slipway.