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Antwerp Province

Coordinates:51°13′N04°25′E/ 51.217°N 4.417°E/51.217; 4.417
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Antwerp Province
(Dutch:Provincie Antwerpen)
Province
Flag of Antwerp Province
Flag
Coat of arms of Antwerp Province
Coat of arms
Official logo of Antwerp Province
Brandmark
Location of Antwerp Province
Coordinates:51°13′N04°25′E/ 51.217°N 4.417°E/51.217; 4.417
CountryBelgium
RegionFlanders
Capital
(and largest city)		Antwerp
Government
• GovernorCathy Berx(CD&V)
Area
[1]
• Total2,876 km2(1,110 sq mi)
Population
(1 January 2024[2])
• Total1,926,522
• Density670/km2(1,700/sq mi)
GDP
[3]
• Total€107.413 billion (2022)
ISO 3166 codeBE-VAN
HDI(2021)0.950[4]
very high·3rd of 11
Websitewww.provincieantwerpen.be

Antwerp Province(Dutch:Provincie Antwerpen[proːˈvɪnsiˈɑntʋɛrpə(n)],French:Province d'Anvers,German:Provinz Antwerpen), between 1815 and 1830 known asCentral Brabant(Dutch:Midden-Brabant[ˌmɪdə(m)ˈbraːbɑnt],French:Brabant-Central,German:Mittel-Brabant), is the northernmostprovinceboth of theFlemish Region,also calledFlanders,and ofBelgium.It borders on theNorth Brabantprovince of theNetherlandsto the north and the Belgian provinces ofLimburg,Flemish BrabantandEast Flanders.Its capital isAntwerp,which includes thePort of Antwerp,the second-largestseaportin Europe. It has an area of 2,876 km2(1,110 sq mi), and with over 1.92 million inhabitants as of January 2024, is the country's most populous province. The province consists of threearrondissements:Antwerp,MechelenandTurnhout.The eastern part of the province comprises the main part of theCampineregion.

History

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During the earlyMiddle Agesthe region was part of theFrankish Empire,which was divided into severalpagi.The territory of the present-day province belonged to severalpagiof which the region around what would become the city ofAntwerpbelonged to the Pagus Renesium. ThePagus Toxandriastretched fromNorth Brabantinto theCampineregion. To the south there was the Pagus Bracbatinsis and thePagus Hasbaniensis.In 843 theCarolingian EmpireofCharlemagnewas divided among his sons and the riverScheldtbecame the border betweenWest FranciaandEast Francia.In 974Otto IIestablished theMargraviate of Antwerpas a defence against theCounty of Flanders.

The aftermath of the plundering of the village ofWommelgemin 1589.Eighty Years' War,painting bySebastiaen Vrancx.

In 1106,Henry Vgranted the Margraviate toGodfrey I of Leuven.His descendants would from 1235 onwards become the Dukes of Brabant and the region itself was the northern part of theDuchy of Brabant.In 1430 the Duchy became part of theDuchy of Burgundyuntil 1477 when it fell to theHouse of Habsburg.In 1713, at the end of theSpanish Succession Warthe region became part of theAustrian Netherlandsuntil 1794, with in 1790 the short livedUnited States of Belgium.On 1 October 1795 the former Austrian Netherlands were annexed by France under theFrench Directory.

The modern province was created as theDepartment of the two Netesduring theFirst French Empire(when theSouthern Netherlandswere part of France). After the defeat ofNapoleon,the territory became part of theUnited Kingdom of the Netherlandsas the province ofCentral Brabant,distinguishing it fromNorth BrabantandSouth Brabant.In 1830, afterBelgium's independencethe province was renamed Antwerp (after its major city and capital).

Prefects from 1800 until 1814

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Prefects of theDepartment of the two Netesduring theFirst French Empire

Governors from 1815 until 1830

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Governors of the province of Antwerp during theUnited Kingdom of the Netherlands

Governors since 1830

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Governors of the Belgian province of Antwerp

Population

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  • 1846: 406,354
  • 1856: 434,485
  • 1866: 456,607
  • 1880: 577,232
  • 1890: 700,019
  • 1900: 819,159
  • 1910: 968,677
  • 1920: 1,016,963
  • 1930: 1,173,363
  • 1947: 1,281,333
  • 2008: 1,715,707
  • 2010: 1,744,862

Language

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A Brabantian speaker, recorded inSlovakia.

As in allFlemish provinces,the official and standard language of the Antwerp province isDutch.As withFlemish Brabant,North BrabantandBrussels,the local dialect is aBrabantianvariety.

Religion

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Religion in Antwerp (2008)[5]

Roman Catholicism(73.3%)
Non-religious (24.1%)
Other religion (2.6%)

According to theInternational Social Survey Programme 2008: Religion IIIby theAssociation of Religion Data Archives,[5]73.3% of Antwerp's population identify themselves asCatholics,24.1% asnon-religious,2.6% identify themselves as of other religions.

Government

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The province of Antwerp has a provincial council, elected every six years, and an executive deputation headed by a governor. The current governor isCathy Berx,appointed in 2008 by theFlemish Government.

Thelast electionswere held on 14 October 2018. The following parties were elected to the 36-member council:

Party or alliance 9 October 1994[6] 8 October 2000 8 October 2006 14 October 2012 14 October 2018
Vote share/seats % 72 % 72 % 72 % 72 % 36
PVV1/ VLD2/ VLD-Vivant3/ Open Vld4 10.9 7 9.1 2
AGALEV1/ Groen!2/ Groen3 9.3 6 14.3 5
SP1/ sp.a-Spirit2/ Stadslijst (sp.a-CD&V)3/ sp.a4 12.8 10 8 2
CVP1/ Antw'94 (CVP-VU)2/ CD&V-N-VA3/ CD&V4 16.8 13 15.4 6
VU1/ VU&ID2/ N-VA3 35.9 27 32.8 14
Vlaams Blok1/ Vlaams Belang-VLOT2/ Vlaams Belang3 10.9 7 14.2 6
PVDA1/ PVDA+2 3.4 2 4.5 1
D-SA - - - - 0.6 0
Piratenpartij 0.5 0.6 0
Be.One - - - - 0.2 0
SamBA - - - - 0.2 0
USE - - - - 0.1 0
Total votes 1,105,274 1,137,390
Turnout %
Blank and invalid %

Geography

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Transportation

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The province has a network of roads, railroads, canals and rivers which provide a modern infrastructure. Historically, the traffic infrastructure was an important element of connecting thePort of Antwerpwith theRuhr AreainNorth Rhine-Westphalia,Germany. Both theIron Rhinerailroad and theE313(KingBaudouinhighway) andE34highwayconnect Antwerp with the Ruhr Area.

Of theInternational E-road network,theE313,E19,andE34run through parts of the province. TheKennedy Tunneland theLiefkenshoek Tunnelconnect the highway network of the province withEast FlandersandGhent.In addition a newOosterweelconnectionis under consideration.

The railroads connect the major cities of the province, such as Antwerp,Mechelen,Herentals,TurnhoutandMol.TheIron Rhineconnects Antwerp withMönchengladbachin Germany. The newHigh Speed TrainconnectsAntwerpen-Centraal railway stationwithBrussels(HSL 4) andAmsterdam(HSL-Zuid) at high speed.Antwerp International Airport,located inDeurne,is a regional airport.

The riverSchelde,an importantwaterway,connects the Port of Antwerp with theNorth Sea.TheAlbert Canalconnects the Scheldt in Antwerp with theMeuseandLiège.Other canals are the CanalDessel–Kwaadmechelen,Schoten– Turnhout – Dessel, and Herentals –Bocholtwhich flows into the Nete canal.

Tourism

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City ofAntwerp.Main tourist attraction.

The province contains several historical cities, such as Antwerp, Mechelen, Turnhout, Herentals andLier.The Campine region is becoming a popular destination for tourists searching for a quiet and relaxed weekend. Old farms were transformed into bed and breakfast-hotels, the restaurant and café business is very active and an ingenious network for bicycle tours has come to life in recent years. Here and there are still areas of large heathland - and forests, such as theKalmthoutse Heide(E: Kalmthout heathland) inKalmthout,themoorsaround Turnhout, theLiereman(Oud-Turnhout) and thePrinsenparkinRetie.In a number of villages one can still see the typical Campinelanggevelboerderijen(E:long facade farms).

Education and research

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The province is home to severaleducational institutionsand theUniversity of Antwerp.Several research institutions are located in the province, such as theSCK•CEN,the EuropeanInstitute for Reference Materials and Measurements(IRMM) and theFlemish Institute for Technological Research(VITO).

International schools in Antwerp includeAntwerp International SchoolandLycée Français International d'Anvers.

Economy

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TheGross domestic product(GDP) of the province was 88 billion € in 2018. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was €41,900 or 139% of the EU27 average in the same year.[7]

The Port of Antwerp is the economic heart of the province. Until the agricultural crisis of 1880, the eastern part of the province was a largely agricultural region. The industrial development of the eastern part of the province, part of theCampineregion, started at the end of the 19th century when industry established itself in the region. The availability of cheap labor, new roads, canals, tramways and railroads such as theIron Rhine,stimulated the settlement of new industry. Abrickmakingindustry was established alongside the canals, paper and printing business in Turnhout, as were non-ferrousmetallurgyin Balen-Nete, dynamite factories inArendonkandBalen,tobaccoand cigar factories in Arendonk, and the first shoe factory in Herentals. During the 1920s, the industrial expansion of the region continued with theradiumandcopperfactories inOlen,the glass factory in Mol-Gompel and the diamond industry inGrobbendonkandNijlen.

In the 20th century the first nuclear installation in Belgium was established at theSCK•CENin Mol in 1962. The EuropeanInstitute for Reference Materials and Measurements(IRMM), one of the EUJoint Research Centres,was founded inGeelin 1957 as a result of theTreaty of Rome.Innotekis a technology centre located in Geel and is part of the European Business and Innovation Centre Network (EBN). Industry in the Campine region of the province is mainly located alongside theE313,theE34and theAlbert Canal.

Unemployment

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The unemployment rate stood at 5.9% in 2017 and was lower than the national average.[8]

Year 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
unemployment rate
(in %) 		5.7 5.0 4.6 5.7 6.0 5.7 5.3 6.2 6.1 6.1 6.1 5.9 4.3

Chemical industry

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AfterWorld War IIthe Port of Antwerp was expanded, and on its premises several chemical factories andoil refinerieswere established, including facilities ofBayer,BASF,andMonsanto.The chemical andpetrochemical industryis widely represented in the port region and comprises the world's second-largest cluster petrochemical industry cluster, after that ofHouston(United States). Amoco Chemical Belgium N.V., now part ofBP,was founded in Geel in 1967.

A pharmaceutical industry was founded inBeersein the 1960s, withJanssen Pharmaceuticaand more recently withGenzymein Geel.Soudal(silicon) in Turnhout andRavago(plastics) inArendonkbecame leading companies in their markets.

Diamond

[edit]

Thediamondindustry and trade is traditionally located inAntwerp.At the end of the 19th century Hendrik Cassiers founded a diamond-cutting company outside Antwerp, inGrobbendonk.Hendrik Cassiers and Frans Dela Montagne laid the foundations of the diamond industry in the Campine region. The industry would settle inNijlen,Herenthout,Bevel,Kessel,VorselaarandBerlaar.

Paper

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The region around Turnhout became famous for its printing business, with companies such asBrepols,which roots date back to 1796 whenPieter Corbeelsestablished his printing business in Turnhout.[9]In 1833,Van Genechten N.V.,Splichal N.V. in 1856, Mesmaekers Freres in 1859, Meses-Goris in 1872,L. Biermansin 1875, Poupaert in 1881, La Belgica N.V. in 1907,H. Proost & Coin 1913, J. Van Mierlo-Proost in 1918, Lityca in 1932 and Veloutex in 1951. More recently in 1970,Cartamundiwas established, a world leader in playing cards.

Metallurgies

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WhileWalloniawas famous for its steel industry, theCampineregion became renowned for itsnon-ferrousmetallurgies.TheCampineregion was scarcely populated in the 19th century, but with the establishment ofcanals,theIron Rhineand cheap labor, several metallurgies were established in the region.[10]In 1888-1889 the metallurgyLa Vieille Montagnewas founded inBalen-Nete,close to the Iron Rhine and the canal toBeverlo.The company had its roots in the exploitation of thezincmines ofMoresnet.

TheUnion Minière du Haut Katangafounded the Société Générale Métallurgique de Hoboken inOlen,which was established along the Iron Rhine and theAlbert Canal.The factory producedradium,cobaltandcopperfrom the mines of the Union Minière inKatanga,Belgian CongoandRhodesia.Along the canal Turnhout-Schoten,the Métallurgique de la Campine was established in 1910 for the production ofleadandantimony.La Metallo-Chimique was established in 1919; this specialized in the production of copper.

Glass

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In 1872, the Sablières et Carrières Réunies (SCR), nowSibelco,was founded to extract thesilicasand layers in Mol for industrial applications (glass). In 1920 the glass bottle manufacturer Beles Réunios was set up in Mol-Donk.

In 1921, a group of Belgian banks, the Mutuelle Mobilière & Immobilière, theSociété Générale de Belgique,theBanque de Bruxellesand the Financière de Transport, together with the American groupLibbey-Owens,founded the Cie Internationale pour la fabrication mécanique de Verre inMol Gompel.In 1931, due to the economic crisis, the company merged into Glaces et Verres (Glaver).[11]In 1961, Glaver merged with Univerbel to formGlaverbel.

Dynamite

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Given that the Campine region was sparsely populated, severaldynamitefactories were established in the region. In 1875, the Societe Anonyme d'Arendonk was established which premises would later become part ofRavago.In 1881 La Forcite N.V. was established nearBalen,which was later acquired in 1920 by the Poudreries Réunies de Belgique (PRB). In 1887 a factory was founded near Herentals, which was closed due to the vicinity to the city. The factories produced explosives for theminesandquarries.The factories in the province are now closed down.

Textiles

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Historically,woolprocessing industry was based on the wool from thesheepwhich were kept on theCampineheath.The centre of the textile industry in the province could be found in Turnhout. Wool processing companies such as Wolspinnerij Van Iersel, Spinnerij en Weverij Van Hoof, and De Wollendekensfabriek Van Doren were located in Mol.

Tobacco

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At the end of the 19th centuryArendonkbecame the centre of the tobacco industry. Additional factories were founded in Turnhout, Mol, Geel and Herentals.[12]After World War II, the ALTO cigar factory was founded byFrans Van den Berghwho would also play an important role atJanssen Pharmaceutica.

Administrative subdivisions

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The province is divided into three administrativearrondissements(arrondissementeninDutch) containing 69municipalities(numbers refer to the location of the municipalities on the map shown in this section):

Arrondissement of Antwerp: Arrondissement of Mechelen: Arrondissement of Turnhout:

See also

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References

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  • Steve Heylen, Bart De Nil, Bart D’hondt, Sophie Gyselinck, Hanne Van Herck en Donald Weber,Geschiedenis van de provincie Antwerpen. Een politieke biografie,Antwerpen, Provinciebestuur Antwerpen, 2005, 2 volumes
  1. ^"be.STAT".bestat.statbel.fgov.be.
  2. ^"Structuur van de bevolking".Statbel.
  3. ^"EU regions by GDP, Eurostat".Retrieved18 September2023.
  4. ^"Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab".Archivedfrom the original on 2021-07-29.
  5. ^ab"Analysis | International Social Survey Programme 2008: Religion III | Data Archive | The Association of Religion Data Archives".www.thearda.com.Retrieved2017-04-17.
  6. ^"Verkiezingsdatabase".www.ibzdgip.fgov.be.
  7. ^"Regional GDP per capita ranged from 30% to 263% of the EU average in 2018".Eurostat.
  8. ^"Regional Unemployment by NUTS2 Region".Eurostat.
  9. ^De Turnhoutse Kempen, haar economische en sociale betekenis, Vlaams Economisch Verbond, pp. 88-90
  10. ^De Turnhoutse Kempen, haar economische en sociale betekenis, Vlaams Economisch Verbond, pp. 94-99
  11. ^De Turnhoutse Kempen, haar economische en sociale betekenis,Vlaams Economisch Verbond, pp. 102-104
  12. ^De Turnhoutse Kempen, haar economische en sociale betekenis, Vlaams Economisch Verbond, pp. 90-93
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