The oldest building in Antwerp is an 800-year old castle known as 't Steen (the stone). What remains today is only a fraction of the once mighty castle that formed the nucleus of the city.
Now standing rather desolate at the quays, the building was once the center of the city's oldest neighborhood - known as the Oude Werf - with narrow streets, gates, towers and a fish market.The Steen was built around the year 1200 at the site of an older, 9th century fortress. It was named Steen as it was the first large building constructed in stone. What we see now is only a small part of this castle, which at one point was almost six time the current size. It served as the home of the burggrave of Antwerp and included a church (St. Walburgis), a courthouse, a warehouse, a monumental gate and several other buildings. The complex was surrounded by a large defensive wall.