The largest city and the capital of the province of Flanders, also known as the diamond capital of the world, Antwerp is both a city and a municipality with a population of over 475,000 called “Sinjoren” (derived from the Spanish word “senor” which means mister).

The market square of Antwerp, surrounded by the typical medieval guild houses, is the historical center of town. The city hall is designed in special architectural style with a combination between Gothic and early Renaissance. This style is almost exclusively found in this region of Europe. The area is still the heart of the old city. In the background the tower of Our Lady’s Cathedral completes the magnificent view.

The houses of the Guilds are unfortunately not the original ones. A large part of the Grote Markt burned down in 1576. Most of the houses were rebuilt afterwards by Hans Vredeman, the town architect, in Flemish Renaissance style. In the 19th century the houses were again renovated.

The house which ranks the first in beauty is the house number 7 which happened to be the house of the guild of Archers and is crowned by the statue of St. George. House number 25, a reconstruction of a house that used to stand at the ‘Meir’, stands on the spot where an Inn used to stand. This Inn was mentioned in the medieval play of  ‘Marieken van Nieumwhegen’.

Antwerp-Rubens House Museum stands at a place which happened to be the residence of Rubens for a major period of his lifetime. Most of his paintings (around 25000) were created by him and his students (with the likes of Anthony Van Dyck and Jacob Jordeans) here only.

The museum not only houses some of the greatest works of Rubens but also gives us an insight of the lifestyle of high class society in the 17th century. You can also admire the office of the master himself as well as the atelier where the actual work was performed.

The house has been designed in Baroque style. In 1930, the Government of Antwerp purchased this house and renovated it and opened it for the public as a museum. The museum is open every day (except Mondays), from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is closed on certain public holidays: 1st & 2nd January, Ascension Day, 1st & 2nd November, 25th & 26th December.

The museum has an entrance fees but the ticket to the Rubens Museum gives the visitors free access to the Museum Mayer van den Bergh. The visitors also get a free access to this museum on each last Wednesday of every month.