City Europe
Antwerp
Antwerp is a big port city in Belgium, in Europe. Ships sail up a river called the Scheldt to reach it.
Antwerp is a city in Belgium on the Scheldt river, and Universalis calls it the second port of continental Europe, after Rotterdam. Belgium's statistics office estimated 565,615 people in the city on 1 January 2026. In the 1500s it was one of Europe's great trading cities.
Antwerp grew from a settlement on a small rise by the Scheldt into a major trade fair in the 13th and 14th centuries and an international trading center in the 15th and 16th. Its port-industrial zone covered 14,100 hectares in the early 2020s; the municipality had 565,615 people on 1 January 2026 (estimate).
Photo: Debot, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Antwerp
Antwerp is a city in Belgium. It is a port, where big ships come to load and unload.
More than half a million people live in Antwerp.
Antwerp is a city in the north of Belgium, on the Scheldt river. Belgium's statistics office estimated 565,615 people in the city on 1 January 2026.
Universalis calls Antwerp the second port of continental Europe, after Rotterdam. Its docks have spread north along the river all the way to the Dutch border, and now across to the left bank too.
City Population (Statbel) gives the municipality of Antwerp 540,494 people at the census of 1 January 2021 and 565,615 in the official estimate for 1 January 2026; the whole Province of Antwerp had 1,931,891 (2026 estimate).
Universalis (Christian Vandermotten): the port-industrial zone covered 14,100 hectares, water included, at the start of the 2020s, and Antwerp is the world's second petrochemical center after Houston.
- Country
- Belgium
- People in Antwerp (estimate, 1 January 2026)
- 565,615
- People in Antwerp (census, 1 January 2021)
- 540,494
- Port
- second in continental Europe, after Rotterdam (Universalis)
Antwerp from the sky
This photo was taken from high up in an airplane. Look at the wide river curving through the city!
Thousands of buildings fill the land, and white clouds float above.
This photo shows Antwerp from high in the air on 18 May 2005. The broad Scheldt river curves across the lower left, with fields and tall apartment blocks on its far bank. On the near side, thousands of streets and rooftops spread out, crossed by railway lines and roads, and small white clouds float above.
Universalis says the spire of the city's Gothic cathedral tower rises to 123 meters.
Commons: 'Aerial view of Antwerp', 18 May 2005, own work by Debot at nl.wikipedia (GFDL and CC BY-SA 3.0); categories 'Aerial photographs of Antwerp', 'Scheldt in Antwerp'. The file names no building, so none is pointed out here.
Universalis: Antwerp raises the spire of its Brabantine Gothic cathedral tower (123 m) above the polders of the Scheldt.
- Photo
- an aerial view of Antwerp, 18 May 2005
- Cathedral tower
- 123 m high (Universalis)
- Museum Plantin-Moretus
- a museum and World Heritage Site (Wikidata)
A golden age of trade
Long ago, traders from all over Europe came to Antwerp to buy and sell. Famous painters lived and worked here too.
Today it is one of Europe's biggest ports.
Antwerp grew from a small settlement on a low rise by the Scheldt, Universalis says. By the 13th and 14th centuries it was a very important trade fair, and in the 1400s and early 1500s merchants from all over Europe came, after Bruges lost its trade as its waterway silted up.
Later the Scheldt was closed to sea ships for a long time, and Amsterdam took the lead. Painters such as Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck still made the city famous for art in the 1600s.
Universalis: a Carolingian settlement on a promontory a few meters high, by the Steen, grew again toward the end of the 10th century; a first-rank trade fair in the 13th–14th centuries; an international boom in the 15th and first half of the 16th, when Bruges silted up and Europe's economy turned toward the Atlantic; decline after the 1648 Treaty of Münster confirmed the closing of the Scheldt; the river was reopened in the French period, and a Dutch toll on it was bought out in 1863, after which port and industry grew strongly.
Universalis also names Hans Rückers and Christophe Plantin among the city's famous 16th-century names.
- A major trade fair
- 13th and 14th centuries
- International trading boom
- 15th century and first half of the 16th
- Scheldt toll bought out
- 1863
Central Station and the docks
Trains arrive at a big station in the middle of the city. Ships sail up the river to the long rows of docks.
Antwerp-Central railway station opened on 11 August 1905, Wikidata says. Antwerp Zoo stands right next to it.
Universalis says the port moved long ago from the old center to docks farther north. After 1945 many new docks were dug, and by the early 2020s the port and its industries covered 14,100 hectares, water included.
Wikidata: Antwerp-Central railway station opened 11 August 1905; Antwerp Zoo (founded 21 July 1843) 0.17 km ESE of it.
Universalis: port activity long ago left the historic center for the docks to the north, which reach the Dutch border on the right bank and now also spread on the left bank; the post-war decades brought a large expansion of new docks and of the port-industrial zone.
- Antwerp-Central railway station
- opened 11 August 1905 (Wikidata)
- Port-industrial zone
- 14,100 hectares, early 2020s
- Docks reach
- the Dutch border on the right bank, and now the left bank
Mild and often rainy
Antwerp has cool winters and mild summers. Rain can fall in any month of the year.
Belgium's Royal Meteorological Institute (KMI) gives Antwerp about 853 millimeters of rain a year (1991–2020), spread over all twelve months: from 43 millimeters in April to 91 in December. Rain of at least 1 millimeter falls on about 133 days a year.
July and August highs average about 24 °C. In January, lows average about 1 °C, and there are about 44 frosty days a year.
KMI climate statistics for the municipality of Antwerp (1991–2020): mean temperature 11.1 °C; average highs 6.8 °C (January) to 23.6 °C (July and August); lows 1.2 °C (February) to 14.2 °C (July); rainfall 852.9 mm on 132.8 days with at least 1 mm, from 43.1 mm (April) to 90.9 mm (December); 44.2 frost days, 34.6 days of at least 25 °C and 6.9 of at least 30 °C a year.
- July, average high (KMI, 1991–2020)
- 23.6 °C
- January, average low (same table)
- 1.3 °C
- Rainfall in a year
- 852.9 mm
Museums, a zoo and famous painters
In Antwerp you can visit the house where the painter Rubens lived. There is also a zoo right next to the train station.
The Rubenshuis, the painter Peter Paul Rubens's former home and studio, is now a museum, Wikidata says. The Museum Plantin-Moretus is a World Heritage Site, and the Museum aan de Stroom (MAS) opened in 2011.
Antwerp Zoo, founded on 21 July 1843, sits right beside Central Station.
Wikidata: Rubenshuis (museum since 1946) 0.81 km W of Antwerp-Central; Museum Plantin-Moretus (museum from 1877; World Heritage) 1.61 km W; Museum aan de Stroom (opened 17 May 2011) 1.76 km NW; Antwerp Zoo (21 July 1843) 0.17 km ESE.
Universalis: the names of Rubens and Van Dyck show that the city's artistic and intellectual influence of the 16th century lasted into the 17th.
- Rubenshuis
- Rubens's former home and studio, now a museum
- Museum aan de Stroom (MAS)
- opened 17 May 2011 (Wikidata)
- Antwerp Zoo
- founded 21 July 1843 (Wikidata)
Antwerp on the map
Find Europe on the globe. Belgium is in the west of Europe. Antwerp is in its north, near the Netherlands.
Antwerp lies at about 51.2° north, on the Scheldt river in the north of Belgium. Its docks stretch north all the way to the border with the Netherlands. Measured from Antwerp-Central station, the Rubenshuis is about 800 meters west, the Museum Plantin-Moretus about 1.6 kilometers west and the MAS about 1.8 kilometers northwest.
The zoo is right next to the station.
Antwerp lies at about 51.22° N and 4.40° E. From Antwerp-Central station (Wikidata points): Antwerp Zoo 0.17 km ESE, Rubenshuis 0.81 km W, Antwerp's own point 1.56 km WNW, Museum Plantin-Moretus 1.61 km W, MAS 1.76 km NW.
Universalis: the city stands in the polders of the Scheldt; early settlement was on the concave bank of a bend in the river.
- Latitude
- about 51.2° north
- Longitude
- about 4.4° east
- Setting
- on the Scheldt, in its polders, with docks reaching the Dutch border
Amazing facts
-
The tower of Antwerp's cathedral is 123 meters tall!
Universalis says the spire of Antwerp's Gothic cathedral tower rises to 123 meters above the flat land by the Scheldt.
Universalis: the tower (123 m) of Antwerp's Brabantine Gothic cathedral rises above the Scheldt polders.
-
Antwerp Zoo is right next to the main train station.
Antwerp Zoo, founded in 1843, is only about 170 meters from Antwerp-Central station, Wikidata's map points show.
Wikidata: Antwerp Zoo (founded 21 July 1843) lies 0.17 km ESE of Antwerp-Central station (opened 11 August 1905).
-
Antwerp's trade boomed when another city's waterway filled with sand.
Universalis says Antwerp boomed in the 1400s and 1500s partly because nearby Bruges was silting up and losing its trade.
Universalis: Antwerp's international rise owed much to the silting and decline of Bruges as Europe's economy shifted toward the Atlantic.
-
Rain falls in Antwerp in every month of the year.
In the KMI's 1991–2020 table, even Antwerp's driest month, April, gets about 43 millimeters of rain.
KMI: April 43.1 mm is the driest month and December 90.9 mm the wettest; 852.9 mm a year.
Words to know
- port
- a town or harbor where ships load and unload goods
- dock
- an area of water beside a quay where ships are loaded and unloaded
- polder
- low, flat land taken from the sea or a river and protected by banks
- silt up
- to fill slowly with fine mud and sand
- trade fair
- a big market where merchants meet to buy and sell
- toll
- money paid to use a road, bridge or waterway
Discovery challenge
-
Antwerp is a city in which country?
Antwerp is a port city in which European country?
Antwerp's port is second in continental Europe after Rotterdam. In which country is Antwerp?
- Belgium
- Spain
- Greece
Show the answer
Belgium
Belgium!
Belgium.
Belgium.
-
What is the name of Antwerp's river?
On which river does Antwerp stand?
Which river was closed to sea ships after the 1648 Treaty of Münster, hurting Antwerp's trade?
- The Thames
- The Scheldt
- The Danube
Show the answer
The Scheldt
The Scheldt!
The Scheldt.
The Scheldt.
-
Which famous painter's house can you visit in Antwerp?
The Rubenshuis was the home and studio of which painter?
Which 17th-century painter's former home and studio is now the Rubenshuis museum?
- Peter Paul Rubens
- Vincent van Gogh
- Claude Monet
Show the answer
Peter Paul Rubens
Rubens!
Peter Paul Rubens.
Peter Paul Rubens.
-
How tall is Antwerp's cathedral tower?
How high is the tower of Antwerp's Gothic cathedral?
Universalis gives the height of the Brabantine Gothic cathedral's tower as how many meters?
- 23 m
- 123 m
- 523 m
Show the answer
123 m
123 meters!
123 meters.
123 m.
-
What is right next to Antwerp's main train station?
Which attraction, founded in 1843, stands right beside Antwerp-Central station?
What lies about 170 m from Antwerp-Central station, according to Wikidata's map points?
- A zoo
- An airport
- A beach
Show the answer
A zoo
A zoo!
Antwerp Zoo.
Antwerp Zoo.
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate Antwerp on the Scheldt in northern Belgium.
- Explain how a river can make a city rich, and how closing it can hurt trade.
- Read a climate table where rain falls in every month.
- Name artists who worked in Antwerp.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Antwerp grew when Bruges's waterway silted up. How can changes in nature move trade from one city to another?
- Closing the Scheldt hurt Antwerp for a long time. Why do rivers matter so much to port cities?
- Antwerp's zoo is right next to the train station. What are the good sides of putting attractions near stations?
Try at home or in class
- River model: in a tray of sand, make a river and watch how sand can block its mouth.
- Rain chart: plot Antwerp's monthly rainfall and compare it with the rain where you live.
- Painter's palette: mix your own colors and paint a small picture, as a nod to Antwerp's painters Rubens and Van Dyck.
Key vocabulary: port, dock, polder, silt up, trade fair, toll
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
- Belgium: Antwerpen (province, arrondissements and municipalities) , City Population (Thomas Brinkhoff), from Statbel
- Anvers , Encyclopaedia Universalis
- Klimaatstatistieken van de Belgische gemeenten: Antwerpen (1991–2020) , Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium (KMI)
- File:België, Antwerpen 2005-05-18 7593.jpg (Debot, 18 May 2005) , Wikimedia Commons
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.