Ruihuis, Local museum in Suikerrui, Antwerp, Belgium.
Ruihuis is a museum building in Antwerp that provides access to an underground network of canals, vaults, and bridges running beneath the old streets. The system was originally constructed for water management and transport purposes.
The underground passages originated in the Middle Ages when Antwerp needed an extensive water network for its growing trade. Many of these passages were gradually sealed and built over during the 17th and 18th centuries as the city expanded above ground.
The name comes from a medieval word meaning sewers or drainage channels. Walking through the old streets today, visitors can see how the layout of buildings and squares above reflects the hidden waterways beneath.
The museum is only accessible through guided tours that navigate the tight underground corridors running beneath the street level. Visitors should wear comfortable shoes since the passages have uneven floors and low ceilings in some areas.
More than 8 kilometers of underground passages lie hidden beneath the streets, something most visitors would never suspect from walking above. The sections visitors explore today represent just a fragment of a much larger system extending throughout the old city.
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