Het Steen
Het Steen stands beside the Scheldt in Antwerp as the city’s oldest building, with weathered stones and a surviving entrance gate. The fortress began as a defended site in the ninth or tenth century, guarding the river against Viking raids.
A stone castle rose here in the early thirteenth century, then Emperor Charles V ordered major changes around 1520. Demolition, especially during the nineteenth century, removed much of the stronghold, while the gate remained to mark its former control over river traffic. The walls later held an archaeological museum and maritime collections, with old canal boats still visible outside.
Today, a play centre and educational space bring families and children into the historic setting. The same entrance that once managed movement along the Scheldt now leads you toward laughter, workshops and discovery.
- City
- Antwerp
- Content updated
Take this page with you
The myTuur app is free, and once you are standing at a spot its story starts by itself.
Spots like this one are the stops myTuur strings into tours through Antwerp. In the app, each story begins where you stand: walk up to a spot and it starts, read it on screen or listen as you go, then follow the route to the next one.
What is myTuur?
myTuur is a free city-guide app. Its tours are built from spots, and each spot carries a story that starts when you get there, to read or to listen to as you like.