The New Student's Reference Work/Antwerp

Ant'werp, the main seaport of Belgium. Its cathedral is a fine specimen of Gothic architecture. The paintings in it are by Rubens; among them is his best work, The Descent from the Cross. Antwerp is over a thousand years old. It is to-day the chief military arsenal and the principal commercial city and seaport of the kingdom. The province of the same name (Antwerp or Anvers), has an area of 1,093 square miles, with a population of 825,156. At the beginning of the 16th century the city was at the height of its prosperity, with a population of over 200,000, a world-wide commerce, and having 2,500 ships at a time in its harbor. Its noted citadel was built by the Duke of Alva, and has endured many sieges, especially one of thirteen months by the Duke of Parma. Population, 317,171.