The Antwerp "Grote Markt"
Around the irregularly shaped marketplace (Grote Markt) stand proud 16th and 17th century guild houses with high stepped and curled gables and golden statues. Some of them are reconstructions because a large part of the Grote Markt was destroyed by a fire set by mutinous Spanish soldiers in 1576.
The fountain on the market is decorated with a statue of the Roman soldier Silvius Brabo. It is connected with a legend about the origin of the city's name. The giant Druoon Antigoon demanded a toll from every skipper who passed on the Scheldt. When a skipper was unable or unwilling to pay, the giant captured him and cut off his right hand, which he threw into the river. Then the brave Salvius Brabo appeared. He fought Antigoon and overcame him. Brabo, in turn, cut off the giant's hand and aimed it into the Scheldt. Antwerpen owes its name to this (from “hand werpen” in Flemish or “hand-throwing”)… according to the legend.
The Antwerp "Grote Markt"
Around the irregularly shaped marketplace (Grote Markt) stand proud 16th and 17th century guild houses with high stepped and curled gables and golden statues. Some of them are reconstructions because a large part of the Grote Markt was destroyed by a fire set by mutinous Spanish soldiers in 1576.
The fountain on the market is decorated with a statue of the Roman soldier Silvius Brabo. It is connected with a legend about the origin of the city's name. The giant Druoon Antigoon demanded a toll from every skipper who passed on the Scheldt. When a skipper was unable or unwilling to pay, the giant captured him and cut off his right hand, which he threw into the river. Then the brave Salvius Brabo appeared. He fought Antigoon and overcame him. Brabo, in turn, cut off the giant's hand and aimed it into the Scheldt. Antwerpen owes its name to this (from “hand werpen” in Flemish or “hand-throwing”)… according to the legend.