Het Steen, Antwerp
Het Steen or The Stone is a medieval castle, built around the year of 1200, the oldest building in Antwerp. What you see today is just a small part of what it used to be. The castle used to control the access to the river Schelde and also served as a prison between 1303 and 1827 and became the museum of archeology in 1890 and in 1952 annex was added to house the National Maritime Museum. You’ll also find a war memorial to the Canadian soldiers in WWII.
Het Steen or The Stone
Old Vessels
The Maritime museum also displays several old vessels.
The Lange Wapper - Antwerp version of the Boogie man
The giant in the entrance to the Steen Castle is Lange Wapper, a Flemish folklore legend. He is a mischievous shape shifter who can change from a small child to a giant. He terrified children, uses tricks to approach women to get their breast milk, and likes to leap at houses at night then peeps into houses to taunt his victim. Folklore has it that he especially dislikes drunkards.
