202 Route 13. ANTWERP. Bank of the Scheldt.

Along the river extend the handsome and busy Wharfs, or Quais,
which were constructed in 1879-85 and extended in the direction
of Hoboken in 1900-1904, and are now about 3)/p M. in length
(tramway No. 4, see p. 166). The largest vessels can lie alongside
the quays. The steamers and merchantmen receive and discharge
their cargoes with the aid of gigantic and noiseless hydraulic cranes,
which transfer the goods directly to or from the railway-trucks.
The cranes are worked by a subterranean aqueduct, which is used
also in opening and shutting the sluice-gates, in shunting the
trains, ete. There are two engine-houses in connection with the
aqueduct, one at the N. and one at the S. harbour. These alter-
ations have, along with the new Docks, made Antwerp one of the
first harbours in the world.

Above the dock-sheds on the Quai Van Dyck (PI. B, 4, 3) and
Quai Jordaens (P1. B, 3) run the *Promenoirs, or elevated terraces,
which afford an extensive view of the busy shipping in the Scheldt,
as well as of the Steen (see below), the Cathedral (p. 172), and the
Boucheries (p. 178). At the Quai Van Dyck lie the fine steamers
of the North German Lloyd (admission-tickets, 50c., at the agent’s).

Opposite the S. end of the S. Promenoir stands the Porte de
VEscaut (P1. B, 4) or Waterpoort, a gateway built in 1624 from
designs by Rubens and adorned with a seated figure of the river-god
by A. Quellin the Elder, which formerly stood a little farther to the
N. It bears an inscription in honour of Philip IV.

Another relic of the past is the Steen(PI. B, 3), originally part
of the Castle of Antwerp, through which the ascent to the N.
Promenoir from the Quai Van Dyck now leads. The castle dates from
the 10th cent. and remained in the hands of the lords of the soil till
1549, when Charles V. made it over to the burghers of Antwerp.
It was afterwards the seat of the Spanish Inquisition. The dungeons,
‘oubliettes’, etc., still bear sombre witness to its former history.
The old chapel is also extant. An addition was built in 1889 on
the N., in the style of the original.

The interior is occupied by the Museum van Oupnepen, or Musée
@ Antiquités; adm., see p.1€8; stick or umbrella 40c.; catalogue (1894),
1 fr. — In the rom to the lett on the groundfoor are furniture and house-
hold utensils. — Hight rooms on the first floor contain furniture, fayence,
medals, ecclesiastical utensils, musical instruments, ornaments, and cary-
ings in wood and ivory. In Room 2, besides the glass manufactured in
Antwerp from Venetian patterns. we observe the heads of the giant Anti-
gonus (p. 177), by P. Coecke (1535), and his wife, by Herreyns (4765), which
formerly figured in all civic processions, until they were superseded by
new heads in 1872. — On the second floor are antiquities, views of Ant-
werp, weapons, and uniforms. — We descend again to the first floor. In
the anteroom are memorials of the Belgian Antarctic Expedition under
De Gerlache (1897-99); in the room to the left are ornaments, fans, and
lace. — The main room on the groundfloor contains Egyptian antiquities
(catalogue, 1894, 1/2 fr.); also, weapons, armour, instruments of torture, etc,
— The dungeons also are shown (adm., incl. candle, 10 c.).

Near the Steen is a small monument erected in 1890 to W. Ogier,
a Flemish poet of the 17th century.