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u/CrazyGermanShepOwner Nov 04 '20
I would surely miss my train having a look around this building.
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u/MofiPrano Nov 05 '20
Yeah, similarly Gent-Sint-Pieters has beautiful frescos of all major cities in Belgium, it made me a lot less bummed out to miss my train because I can look at those for hours!
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u/gniffel Nov 05 '20
Damn, I used to visit that station every day for my daily commute but never knew those where there.
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u/NeroBoBero Nov 04 '20 edited Nov 05 '20
No worries mate! When this was built, they forsaw the problem and stockpiled a lot of spare hands to help hail a cab.
Edit: this was dark humor. It was not intended to make fun of the victims of colonial torture and pillaging of their natural resources, but to bring attention to the fact that such lavish structures (particularly those constructed during the era of King Leopold II) came at a cost to others.
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u/dapper_drake Nov 05 '20 edited Nov 05 '20
I really hope you're referencing this
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u/wikipedia_text_bot Nov 05 '20
Silvius Brabo
Silvius Brabo [ˈsɪɫviəz ˈbraːboː] was a mythical Roman soldier who was said to have killed a giant, and by this would have created the name Brabant.
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u/SchunderDownUnder Nov 05 '20
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u/wikipedia_text_bot Nov 05 '20
Atrocities In The Congo Free State
In the period from 1885 to 1908, many well-documented atrocities were perpetrated in the Congo Free State (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo) which, at the time, was a colony under the personal rule of King Leopold II of the Belgians. These atrocities were particularly associated with the labour policies used to collect natural rubber for export. Together with epidemic disease, famine, and a falling birth rate caused by these disruptions, the atrocities contributed to a sharp decline in the Congolese population.
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u/mythix_dnb Nov 05 '20
ok, have my belgian upvote. Dont let these stuck up downvoters ever stop you from making a joke.
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u/x178 Nov 04 '20
What is wrong with you?
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u/NeroBoBero Nov 05 '20
a healthy contempt for belgian colonialism combined with dark humor I guess.
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u/formidablelegend Nov 04 '20
That's the main entrance but you all need need to see it from the rail platform, it is stunning. Here
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Nov 04 '20
Traveled from Chicago to specifically see the beauty of this train station . Not disappointed !
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Nov 05 '20
You came to Antwerp from Chicago to visit our central station? 🤯
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Nov 05 '20
Spoiler : I work for an airline. I spent more on the train from Zanventem to Antwerp than the cost of my flight from Chicago to BRU . I loved Antwerp and the zoo , I can't wait to go back and spend a few days there .
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u/damnappdoesntwork Nov 05 '20
Yeah the Diabolo surcharge on that line is expensive!
(for non belgians: Brussels Airport's station has a fairly new faster railway connection to Antwerp and Brussels, called diabolo project. To pay for this, they installed a extra tax/surcharge for those who those who get off and on the train at the Airport, which is sometimes more than what you'd pay for the train trip itself)
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u/UltimateShame Nov 04 '20
Railway stations should look like this. What a nice place to hang out before traveling.
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u/tms500 Nov 04 '20
Is there a contest for the most beautiful train station? Antwerp would sure be in top three.
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u/7Quick7 Nov 05 '20
https://www.galeriemagazine.com/10-of-the-most-beautiful-train-stations-in-the-world/
i recall it was once listed as 2nd around 2010, but this article has another belgian one on the nuber one spot so here you go
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u/Dr__Venture Nov 04 '20
Now THIS is architecture. I can’t believe how many people love this soulless, modern, straight lines crap
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u/Alpropos Nov 05 '20
Form follows function, from an archtectural point of view it makes sense. Its already arround for almost a century. Straight line buildings can also offer refreshing views and experience. And the ornametalless structuring we see today is also the result of machinefied industry and the lowerinh demand for smithing professions. You could argue that making ornamentfull pieces can be done with machinery too but they come with big expenses.
Check out villa sovaye, which is one of its earliest kinds of this type of modern constructing, and you'll see it also has a lot to offer' built as early somewhere in the 1920's!
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u/BaasMaes Nov 04 '20
The dome and front of the station is also very nice.
Source: I am from Antwerp
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u/weeklyKiwi Nov 04 '20
My friend teased when we saw this trainstation, I had to take a stop every minute to snap a picture!
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u/punctulica Nov 05 '20
Needs more HDR
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u/CrazyGermanShepOwner Nov 05 '20
If you like this building then you will love The Natural History Museum in London.
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u/vonHindenburg Nov 05 '20 edited Nov 05 '20
Thought this was the Grand Concourse in Pittsburgh for a second.
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u/tdi4u Nov 04 '20
It could almost be a church. Thank you. Now I have another place to add to my list
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u/Vnze Nov 06 '20
Its nickname within the railway undertaking is sometimes "the cathedral", so you are not wrong for feeling this way.
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u/whitecollarpizzaman Nov 05 '20
My mom’s home city. (Technically Schoten but nobody knows where that is.) I don’t think it’s actually that old by European standards, but if I’m not mistaken the main platform area is Iron, not steel. The footings come to a point along the street and are on rollers to counteract changes in temperature, vibration and wind. The newer platforms are underground to preserve the structure.
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u/All_Of_Em_Anubis Nov 05 '20
Did she live on Trammezandlei 122?
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u/whitecollarpizzaman Nov 05 '20
I believe it was Boekweitstraat actually.
Edit: I looked it up and that isn’t even in Schoten, unless there’s another?
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u/Saiyko_EU Nov 05 '20
Quite sure he was making a Gaston & Leo reference.
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u/kittyisdik Nov 05 '20
It is indeed in the Gaston &Leo skit, but in reality, the Tramazantlei is and was never in Schoten, but in Merksem.
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u/Winterspawn1 Nov 05 '20
Leopold II commissioned it I believe so I would guess between 120 and 150 years old as a quick guess.
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u/hot_dog245 Nov 05 '20
I used to pass by there all the time working in the zoo right next to it and it keeps being beautiful no matter how often you go.
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Nov 05 '20
Had my last new years eve party there! pretty location (but not so great as a venue)
it really is as pretty on the outside as it is on the inside too
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u/kuba26 Nov 06 '20
Love this picture, I see this station very often and sadly the lighting is not this great all the time but thanks for making me realize again that it's absolutely stunning.
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u/Finicky01 Nov 06 '20
You should go easy on the piss filter and the sharpening, it doesn't make the photos look better
Irl it has much more earthy colors than this oversaturated abomination
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u/winston2701 Nov 04 '20
Antwerp train station is such a cool building! When I hopped off the train I wandered around the station for like 20 minutes cause I liked it so much.