Hogere Zeevaartschool

Hogere Zeevaartschool stands beside the Scheldt bend in Antwerp, near the former Noordkasteel and the busy port. Its modernist campus faces the Antwerp roadstead. Josse and Maurice Van Kriekinge designed the building, which opened in the early 1930s after winning a national architecture competition. Protected heritage status preserves its Belgian stone, brickwork, and maritime character.

The school traces its maritime education back to the Napoleonic era and Belgian re-establishment. Separate nautical and engineering departments once included chart rooms, drawing rooms, a smithy, laboratories, dormitories, and observation spaces. A library, gymnasium, dining hall, archives, and two stairwells completed the carefully planned campus.

Today, bachelor’s and master’s programmes cover nautical sciences and marine engineering in Dutch or French. International maritime standards shape the training, while experienced specialists connect classroom learning with life at sea. The largest shipping simulator in Belgium brings the port’s working world into the academy.