Het Steen, Medieval fortress in Antwerp, Belgium
Het Steen is a medieval fortress on the banks of the River Scheldt in Antwerp with thick stone walls and defensive towers. Inside, a paved courtyard leads to rooms now used for exhibitions about the city's past.
The fortress was built around 1200 as a defensive gateway to protect the harbor. It later became a prison where people were held for several centuries before it transformed into a cultural venue.
The name Het Steen means "the stone" and was first used around 1520, after Charles V rebuilt the gatehouse as 's Heeren Steen. In a niche above the entrance arch stands a statue of Semini, a fertility god whose phallus was removed by Jesuits in the 17th century; women once prayed to him for children. Since 1963 a statue of the giant Lange Wapper, who according to folklore lived in the castle, stands at the entrance.
The building sits by the river in the old town center and is easy to reach on foot. Access is straightforward for most visitors, and you should plan for a couple of hours to see the exhibitions comfortably.
Only a small portion of the original structure remains today because large sections were demolished during the river expansion in the 1800s. These changes reveal how much the city reshaped itself to expand its port.
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