Biddle (CG 34) - Naval Cruise Book

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Antwerp Antwerp, the eity of Peter Paul Rubens, is the great international port of Belgium, being the third largest port in the world. The port and crty fortresses ,ere built by the crusade leader Godfrey of Boulogne, (the Marquis of Antwerp) early in the eleventh century after a Norman invasion had wiped out the original A™enter of commerce and the arts, Antwerp has been coveted and conquered, destroyed and rebuilt, throughout its history. Despite one crisis after another, Antwerp was one of the most prosperous ports in Europe by the end ot the six- teenth century. The wealth and splendor of the city during its heyday are still reflected in the sixteenth century guild houses and churches the baroque fa- cades and the works of such masters as Rubens and VanDyke. Showplace of the city is the cathedral, begun in 1352, a repository for some of the greatest works of Flemish art. Also, St. Paul ' s Church and one of the most beautiful Belgian j churches is St. Charles Borromeo. The Town Hall dominates the central square and is the most impressive of all Renaissance buildings in Belgium. AC Today Antwerp is a flourishing port, famous for art treasures and diamond ) cutting workshops. , , j . j BruEjjes laced like Venice with canals, lined with step-gabled houses and patrician palaces, is the pride of Flanders. If not for people in modern dress, this medieval city would appear unchanged since the 15th century. Ghent a city often called The Florence of the North is built on small islands at the junction of the Lys and Scheldt rivers. Although Ghent is a pros- perous textile center, the medieval houses, narrow streets and canals, give the city a dream-like quality. Ghent is a city of art treasures and flowers. Brussels is the capital of Belgium, a city oppressed by the Spanish Duke of ( Alba destroyed by the French under Louis XIV and rebuilt by the Hapsburgs. Grandiose city planning, under Belgian Kings Leopold I and Leopold II gave the city its elegant eighteenth and nineteenth century architecture. , , The showcase is the Grand ' Place, the town hall square, where the Hotel de Ville or city hall, a 15th century architectural gem, is set in a surrounding ot fine 17th century mansions. And there stands the Little Boy, an internationally known statue known as Manneken Pis. Museums have superb collections and the King ' s Palace may be visited when the King is not in residence. The Atomiurn, the model of a molecular cluster and symbol of the Brussels World ' s Fair stands in the outskirts of the city. On the outskirts of the capital is Waterloo, where there is a museum filled with Napoleonic souvenirs and a mural of the famous battle where Napoleon met his final defeat at the hands of the Duke of Wellington.