The Rampart, The Traffic Artery, and the Park; Designing for the city regions of Antwerp

dyke has been made to cater to the chaussee road connecting Antwerp to
Ghent, and that this has been connected, quite pragmatically, to the historic
road in Zwijndrecht. The creation of this chaussee, in the 18th century, also
establish the visual axis with the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal (Cathedral of
Our Lady) still present today. We also see that the train has made its entrance,
with a connection to Ghent from Vlaamsch Hoofd. And the Iron Rhine (IJzeren
Rijn), which connects Antwerp to Weert and Roermond, and Mönchengladbach
(Broeders, et al., 2017, p. 287). And the Railway to Roosendaal.
1897
The map to the left shows Antwerp’s time as National Redoubt. Antwerp’s
appointment as National Redoubt was a measure to centralise the defence of
Belgium after its independence in 1939. As defending the whole country would
be unrealistic. In the even that Belgium would come under attack, the King,
parliament, the army, and other important members of society, could retreat
to Antwerp. Awaiting foreign aid. Antwerp was chosen over other city’s like
Brussels due to its position along the Scheldt (Nagels, 2012, p. 48; Busschots,
2014).
The Grote Omwalling is now enclosing the city, and thereby replaces
the Spaanse Omwalling which has now been incorporated into the fabric of
the city as the Leien and the city park (1). The Grote Omwalling increased the
Figure 1.18
Antwerp’s entire defence system during
its period as the Belgium’s National
Redoubt (Van de Sijpe, n.d.).
Figure 1.19
Map of Antwerp around 1897 (Topotijdreis,
n.d.; Felix-Archief, n.d.).
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