Onze-Lieve-Vrouwe Cathedral, Antwerpen (Belgium)

Onze-Lieve-Vrouwe Cathedral, Antwerpen (Belgium), originally uploaded by aibek_dunaev.

(Wikipedia) The Cathedral of Our Lady (Dutch: Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal) is a Roman Catholic parish church in Antwerp, Belgium. Today's see of the Diocese of Antwerp was started in 1352 and, although the first stage of construction was ended in 1521, has never been 'completed'. In Gothic style, its architects were Jan and Pieter Appelmans. It contains a number of significant works by the Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens, as well as paintings by artists such as Otto van Veen, Jacob de Backer and Marten de Vos.
The cathedral is on the list of World Heritage Sites.
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Video of the Day: Antwerpen, Belgium

Antwerpen, Belgium, originally uploaded by aibek_dunaev.

According to one legend, there used to live a giant who would cut people's hand and throw them into a river nearby. But one young hero cut off the giant's own hand and flung it into the river. And that's where the name of the city comes from - Antwerpen (Ant=hand, werpen=throw). In the video you see the statue of this young hero throwing the giant's hand.

Antwerpen is another beautiful Belgian city which is famous for being the center of diamond trade industry. Although today there are other centers of diamond trade emerged, the city is still full of diamond shops and trade centers. And mostly these are ruled by Jews. I spent almost half day in a diamond museum that exhibits basically everything you need to know about diamonds; how they are formed, extracted, shaped, traded and so on. You get to know about the types of the diamonds; brilliants, rubins, emeralds, sapphires, etc.

What I also liked is the dynamism and trendiness of the city. It doesn't look boring and grey like Brussels. More colorful and vibrant, it is for sure more happening. And it has a very beautiful historical city center. Onze-Lieve-Vrouwe Cathedral at the Groenplaats is one of the highest gothic cathedrals in Europe, and I can bet that it is one of the most beautiful ones. Main square Grote Markt is another point where you get swept away by the view. It is surrounded by guildhouses, City Hall and the cathedral. Also, the symbol of the city is the statue of a man throwing a hand, and it stands above the fountain in the center of the square.

After visiting Antwerpen and Brugge, I said to myself: "Wow, I never thought that Belgium could be so interesting!"

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