ANTWERP CENTRAL IS THE MOST ROMANTIC RAILWAY STATION

ME News - Antwerp Central may call itself the most romantic railway station in Europe.

According to Hotels.com, the building has a perfect backdrop for saying goodbye. For the ranking, they looked at their architectural attractiveness.

Architecture

Antwerp Central is the most important train station in the Belgian city of Antwerp. ​The original terminal station building was constructed between 1895 and 1905 as a replacement for the first terminus of the Brussels-Mechelen-Antwerp railway. The stone-clad building, with a vast dome above the waiting room hall, were designed by Louis Delacenserie. The viaduct into the station is also a notable structure designed by local architect Jan Van Asperen. A plaque on the north wall bears the name Middenstatie, an expression now antiquated in Dutch.

Expansion

In 1998 large-scale reconstruction work began to convert the station from a terminus to a through station. A tunnel was excavated between Berchem railway station in the south of the city and Antwerp Dam railway station in the north, passing under Antwerp Central, with platforms on two underground levels. This allows high-speed trains to travel through Antwerp Central without the need to turn around. The major elements of the construction project were completed in 2007, and the first through trains ran on 25 March 2007.

Previous awards

In 2009 the American magazine Newsweek judged Antwerp Central the world's fourth greatest train station. In 2014 the British-American magazine Mashable awarded Antwerp Central the first place for the most beautiful railway station in the world. ​The railway station was also awarded a Grand Prix at the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards in 2011.

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TEXT & PICTURES
Thierry Hanan Scheers

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Thierry Hanan Scheers

Thierry Hanan loves to travel without something to plan in advance and let everything just be what it is. Thierry Hanan has no fears to leave just on foot or by hitchhiking. Destination? Somewhere, nowhere and everywhere.

#traveller #backpacker
​#storyteller

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