Zuid, Antwerp

The Zuid ("South") in Antwerp is a currently fashionable area of Antwerp. Revived in the mid-1980s, it has an attractive street plan and a few Art Nouveau buildings, such as the former Volkshuis (or Maison du Peuple) on the Volkstraat, but which now houses the Rudolf Steiner school. Three museums, numerous commercial art galleries, fashionable cafes and restaurants, two arts' centres and a sprinkling of up-market shops add to the attractions of the area.

Antwerpen Zuid (Antwerp South) came into being as a distinct neighborhood with the demolition of Antwerp Citadel, known locally as the Zuidkasteel, which had originally been built by the Spanish. Demolition works were started in 1874. The street plan was approved by Royal Decree in 1875. It is said to have been inspired by Haussman, giving rise to the nickname “Le Petit Paris”. Work was started on the excavation of the Zuiderdokken (Southern Docks) in the same year. The area was developed over the next 25 years, with most of the major public buildings being completed in the final decade of the century. Landmarks in the history of the area include:

The Petit Paris cachet, the agreeable street plan, its monuments and cultural attractions made “het Zuid” or “Le Midi” a fashionable place to live until the Second World War. During the war the area sustained considerable V bomb damage, with the first bomb to hit Antwerp landing on the corner of the Schildersstraat and the Leopold De Waelplaats.

After the war the area went into a long period of decline. Probable reasons include the flight to the suburbs, the decline of the Southern Docks, and the closure of the South Station, with the latter being demolished in 1965.

The low rents made the area attractive to both immigrants and those seeking a bohemian lifestyle. The rock bottom prices, for example, made it possible for Anny De Dekker to open the “Wide White Space Gallery” (1966–1976) on the ground floor of Het Bootje, an architecturally eclectic house on the corner of Schildersstraat and Plaatsnijdersstraat, and now a listed monument.

The Southern Docks were filled in 1968 and 1969, and became parking space. A new building for the Court of Appeals was built on the former access to these docks. This and the demolition of the Hippodrome in 1972 sealed the fate of “het Zuid” as a forgotten area of town with only a certain faded charm to offer.

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