Antwerp

(ant'wairp.) [Flem. Antwerpen; Fr. Anvers.] A famous fortified city and seaport of Belgium, and the centre of its foreign trade, C. of a p. of same name, on the Scheldt, 45 m. above Flushing at the mouth of the river, 27 m. N.of Bru els; Lat. 51° 13' 2" N., Lon. 4° 24/ 2" E. It is a fine, handsomely built place, with a cathedral which is one of the finest specimens of Gothic architecture in Europe, with a noble spire 403 ft. high. It sport was greatly improved by Napoleon I. Shipbuilding is extensively carried on, and the diamond-cutters ofA., like those of Amsterdam, are celebrated. In the 16th cent., A. was the richest and most commercial city in Europe. It was taken by the Spaniards in1576; and by the French in 1792 and 1796. In 1832 its citadel was captured by the French marshal Gérard. P.(1875)145,101. [s. 37]