Antwerpen-Centraal Station
They call it a cathedral, not a station: a stone dome over the ticket hall, a sea of iron over the trains.
At a glance
Antwerpen-Centraal is the grand terminus of the Belgian port city, opened in 1905 to a design by Louis Delacenserie. The waiting hall sits under a great stone dome, rich in marble and gilding, while the platforms are covered by a soaring iron-and-glass shed. The mix of a palace at the front and an engineering hall behind has made it a favourite among the world’s stations.
Key facts
- Location: Koningin Astridplein, Antwerp
- Architect: Louis Delacenserie
- Opened: 1905
- Style: eclectic stone hall + iron train shed
- Function: working railway station
History
Antwerp’s wealth from its port demanded a terminus to match, and Delacenserie, a restorer of medieval Bruges, gave it a building that borrows from many styles at once. The stone head-building went up around a domed waiting hall.
Behind it, a wide iron-and-glass shed roofed the tracks. When high-speed trains needed through lines, the station was rebuilt on several levels below, keeping the historic halls above untouched. It reopened in this form in 2007.
What you see
The front hall is a riot of stone, more than twenty kinds of marble, a gilded dome and a grand staircase. Step through and the mood changes completely: a vast vault of iron and glass arches over the platforms. Few buildings stage the two faces of the railway age, palace and machine, so deliberately.
Practical information
- Open: daily, as a working station
- Cost: free to enter the halls
- Best for: the domed waiting hall and the iron shed
- Time needed: 20–30 minutes
Getting there
The station is at the head of the De Keyserlei, a short walk from the old centre of Antwerp, and is a hub for national and international trains. Trams and the pre-metro run beneath it.
Nearby
- Antwerp Zoo — the historic zoo right beside the station
- Diamond District — the trade quarter on the station’s doorstep
Sources
- Encyclopædia Britannica / Wikipedia — Antwerpen-Centraal
- NMBS/SNCB — station heritage information
- Wikimedia Commons — image source and licence
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