The Antwerp fortress is the fortified settlement, in which Antwerp originated. The fortress was enclosed by the Scheldt quays, the moat around the fortress and Palingbrug.
The Brewers’ House was built by 1553 by Gilbert Van Schoonbeke. It supplied the breweries in Nieuwstad with water from the ditches around the fortifications and Herentalse Vaart.
Bonaparte Lock, which dates from 1811, was Antwerp’s first tidal lock. It was built at the same time as Bonaparte Dock and Willem Dock, which were commissioned by Napoleon.
Bonaparte Dock or the Small Dock (Klein Dok) was built in the sixteenth-century Nieuwstad district. This was a 25-hectare site with canals and a residential neighbourhood, called “Boerenkwartier” or the farmers’ neighbourhood.
The Blue Tower was built in the fourteenth century as part of the third city wall. The floor plan of this tower was incorporated in the newly-built Blauwtorenplein.
The palace served as the bishop’s residence until the French transformed it into a hotel for government officials. Napoleon spent the night there on several occasions.
The Bastion of Keizerspoort is part of the Spanish ramparts. After its excavation in 2003, it was preserved in the car park under the National Bank, where the public can visit it for free.
The Bastion of Kattenberg was the northern-most point of the sixteenth-century Spanish ramparts and connected to the Scheldt river bank. Nothing was preserved above ground level.
When Suikerrui was rebuilt in 2012, the Archaeology Department was given the opportunity to conduct research in the Aldermen’s House and “Den Teerling” city block.
