The city of Antwerp part 2: the expansion of religious institutions and the city

The triangularly shaped first city of Antwerp initially had a clear functional separation between the inner burgh with the domanial church, ducal residence, clerical house of refuge and the market next to the wharf. The outer burgh functioned as a subsidiary settlement with houses, shops, public houses and workshops. As the stronghold increased in importance, so did the number of residents. Increased demand lead to increasing costs and as such to the erection of buildings along mayor roads outside of the city moats.

As the parish church of the city wasn't located within the city -the domanial church was for the use of the overlord only- but as some distance at Caloes a small Romanesque chapel was erected on a slight elevation directly adjacent to the city moat. This chapel dedicated to Our Dear Lady (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekapel) was built in the second half of the 11th century. In 1124 monastery is founded next to the Church of St Michael at Caloes and also a subsidiary college of canons was created aimed at founding the new city parish of Our Dear Lady. A few years prior -in 1116- the Chapel of St George was built on the edge of the Hopland along the route to Broekzele (now Brussels). The expansion of the religious institutions and foundation of new ones coincided with large scale land reclamation in the Scheldt estuary by raising dykes and thus empoldering sections of the floodplain. The so-called sea dyke north of Antwerp was closed in 1119. This gave the city more potential with a much larger fertile hinterland suitable for food production.

This drawing of the city of Antwerp in its surroundings around 1200 shows the inner burgh (ib) with the domanial Walburgiskerk (W) surrounded by a moat and the outer burg (ob) surrounded by a wide moat comprised of the Suikerrui-Boterrui (1), Kaasrui (2), Achterrui (later Minderbroedersrui - 3) and Koolvliet (4).Directly south of the city stands the Chapel of Our Dear Lady (L), the Elizabeth Hospital (E) on the edge of 't Zand (z). The Groenendal (Green Vale - g) separates this higher ground from the higher ground beyond and has had a water course dug trough it to drain the Meir swamp an better regulate a log watering pond known as Houtmeer (H). On the edge of the higher ground of Caloes (c) stands the Abbey of St Michael (M) and on the edge of the Elst stands the Chapel of St George (G). North of the city a winding dyke (d) links the higher ground of Kattenberg (k) across the Blauwbroek (b) with the city and secures the former floodplain of the Schijn river (s) as a new polder.

As a result the riverside stronghold or inner burgh is strengthened around 1200. The wood-built ducal residence is rebuilt as a stone keep known as 't Steen (literally the Stone) and work starts on replacing the earth banks with paling by a high brick wall. The urban area is also expanded southwards by excavating a new moat (Vest in Dutch) between 1201 and 1216. In 1204 the Hospital of St Elizabeth (Sint Elisabethgasthuis) is founded on an oblong piece of land near the Chapel of Our Dear Lady. This is followed in 1220 by the designation of a large field within the moat of the outer burgh as the forum novum or market place.  In 1221 Antwerp receives city rights from Henry I duke of Brabant, margrave of Antwerp and a city freedom was established over which a council of 12 aldermen would rule. These city rights in part affirmed the position of the existing urban settlement, but also importantly freed the residents from feudal law, established urban law and gave the city the right to demarcate the city limits. 

Between 1243 and 1250 the domains of Kraaiwijk, Dries, Leguit and Lisgat to the north of the city are drained and surrounded by a moat. An existing tidal inlet is appropriated by dredging as the new harbour as St Pietervliet (St Peter's Fleet). This harbour basin forms part of the new city moat on the north side.

The city of Antwerp around 1250 still consists of an inner burgh, now fortified with a wall (shown in red) and a larger outer burg that has been secured by a moat and a wall between the several city gates: St Janspoort (P1), Kammerpoort (P2), Meirpoort (P3), Kathelijnepoort (P4), Wijngaardpoort (P5) and Koepoort (P6). The irregular outline on the north side arose as a result of the inclusion of Kraaiwijk (1), den Dries (2), Leguit (3) and 't Lisgat (4).

The city rights bestowed on the outer burgh lead to the foundation of many new institutions such as the Cloth Hall (Lakenhalle - 1226), Asylum for the Sick (Ter Siecken - 1231) outside the moat, Shipping House (Scheepshuis - 1240), Monastery of the Dominican Order of Preachers (Predikherenklooster - 1243), Court Beguinages Mount Sion (Begijnhof Berg Sion - 1245), Meat Hall (Vleeshuis - 1250), Church of St Willibrord (1264) in the Hoogveld outside the moat, Dominican Church (Predikherenkerk - 1276), Convent of St Margaret's Vale (Klooster St Margrietendal - 1280) outside the moat and the so-called Giants House the seat of the Teutonic Knights (Reuzenhuis der Duitse Orde - 1284) within the inner burgh. 

The city of Antwerp at the end of the thirteenth century has definitively broken the confines of the inner burgh. There the so-called Reuzenhuis (Giants House - R) is built not far from the ducal residence 't Steen (S). Next to the inner burgh the Vleeshuis (V) was built. At the end of the new market (m) the Lakenhalle (L) was erected. Further south around the parish church of Our Dear Lady (C) the Koornmarkt (Corn Market - m2) and Veemarkt (Cattle Market - m3) were located. The Monastery of the Dominican Preachers (P) was built across the former moat. Outside the gates lay two villages named Kipdorp (Kd) and Klapdorp (Kl) respectively. Towards the Abbey of ST Michael (A) a small suburb was forming. Beyond the waterlogged meadows a religious cluster with the Hospital of St Elisabeth (H), Chapel of St George (G) and Court Beguinages (B) stood along a main thoroughfare.