P404 - Belgium - Market Place in Antwerpen

Market Place- Brabo- Houses of Corporations, Antwerpen, Belgium

Antwerp is a city and municipality in Belgium and the capital of the Antwerp province in Flanders, one of Belgium's three regions. Antwerp's total population is 472,071 (as of 1 January 2008)and its total area is 204.51 km2 (78.96 sq mi), giving a population density of 2,308 inhabitants per km². The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of 1,449 km2 (559 sq mi) with a total of 1,190,769 inhabitants as of 1 January 2008.

Antwerp has long been an important city in the nations of the Benelux both economically and culturally, especially before the Spanish Fury of the Dutch Revolt. It is located on the right bank of the river Scheldt, which is linked to the North Sea by the estuary Westerschelde.

According to folklore, and as celebrated by the statue in front of the town hall, the city got its name from a legend involving a mythical giant called Antigoon who lived near the river Scheldt. He exacted a toll from those crossing the river, and for those who refused, he severed one of their hands and threw it into the river Scheldt. Eventually, the giant was slain by a young hero named Brabo, who cut off the giant's own hand and flung it into the river. Hence the name Antwerpen, from Dutch hand werpen—akin to Old English hand and wearpan (= to throw), that has changed to today's warp.

安特卫普（荷蘭文：Antwerpen；法文：Anvers）是比利时最重要的商业中心、港口城市和法蘭德斯地区的首府。它有472,071 居民（2008年1月），市區面積204.51平方公里，是比利时第二大城市。都市區面積1449平方公里，人口1,190,769人(2008年1月)。

安德卫普以其独特的露天雕塑闻名于世。街头各处随处可见雕刻精美的人物雕塑，这里的露天雕塑公园里安放着数以百计的精致雕塑作品更是一座名符其实的露天雕塑博物馆，当人们漫步在这座绿树成荫的公园里，边走边欣赏着这些形态各异的雕塑作品时，实在是一种极具品味的文化熏陶。

市政厅前面的市集广场(Grote Market)中央，有一个附有布拉沃塑像的喷泉。布拉沃(Brabo)是布拉班特这个名字的起源，本是古代罗马士兵的名字。把在斯海尔德河作乱的“巨人的手ant”切断，“扔掉werpen”，安特卫普就是由这个传说而得。

References sources : wikipedia