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How old is Antwerp? Excavations
have shown that people were already living in
the bend of the River Scheldt as long ago as the
Gallo-Roman period (2nd and 3rd centuries A.D.).
The site must have been inhabited again around
650 during the Christianization of the region.
In 836 the Vikings destroyed this residential
nucleus. Later people migrated towards the 'aanwerp',
the alluvial mound at the height of the later
Steen castle from which the city probably derives
its name. Today's Antwerp developed from that
original nucleus.
In
the Golden 16th century, when the city was one
of the most important cultural and economic centers
in the world. Antwerp reached the peak of its
power after the decline of Bruges and emerged
as the most important trading port in the 15th
and 16th centuries. Ornate baroque mansions remind
us of the opulent merchants who commissioned tapestry,
paintings, silverware, and sculpture that can
now be found in its churches and museums.
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