The Grote Markt is the main square of Antwerp's old town, framed by the Renaissance City Hall and a row of tall guildhouses. In the middle stands the Brabo Fountain, a bronze hero hurling a severed hand: the legend that, so the story goes, gave Antwerp its name.
The Grote Markt at a glance
- Where: in the old town, a short walk from the Scheldt river and the Cathedral of Our Lady.
- Built: the City Hall in 1561–1565; most guildhouse façades were reconstructed in the 19th and early 20th centuries; the Brabo Fountain was unveiled on 21 August 1887.
- By: the City Hall was designed by Cornelis Floris de Vriendt; the fountain is by the sculptor Jef Lambeaux.
- What it is today: the city's main square, with cafés in the guildhouses and a Christmas market and ice rink in winter. The City Hall is part of the UNESCO World Heritage listing of the Belfries of Belgium and France.
- Time needed: 20–30 minutes to walk round, longer with a coffee on a terrace.
Burned, rebuilt and painted back to life
The City Hall went up between 1561 and 1565, when Antwerp was one of the richest trading cities in Europe. It did not stay intact for long: in 1576 mutinous Spanish troops sacked the city in the Spanish Fury, and the building was burned to a shell. It was restored within three years. Most recently the City Hall was closed for a four-year renovation and officially reopened in 2022.
The guildhouses around the square look older than many of them are. Most of today's façades are reconstructions from the 19th and early 20th centuries, modelled on old paintings of the square by Flemish artists. A few are genuine: Sint-Joris at number 7 is an original 16th-century building. The Brabo Fountain arrived in 1887. Jef Lambeaux based his hero's pose on Giambologna's famous statue of Mercury, and the bronze was cast in Brussels.
What to look for
- Brabo himself, balanced on one leg on top of the fountain, about to throw the giant's hand. The whole fountain is about 10.6 metres tall.
- The base of the fountain: three mermaids carry a ship and a castle with three towers, the elements of Antwerp's coat of arms. Below them lies the beheaded giant Antigoon, with a turtle, a dragon, a sea lion and fish around him.
- The centre of the City Hall façade: female statues of Justice, Prudence and the Virgin Mary, and the coats of arms of the Duchy of Brabant, the Spanish Habsburgs and the Margraviate of Antwerp.
- The guildhouses with their tall stepped and scrolled gables. Look for Sint-Joris at number 7, one of the originals, and De Mouwe, which houses a jazz club.
- The spire of the Cathedral of Our Lady rising above the rooftops at the corner of the square.
The legend of Brabo and the giant
According to a legend recorded in the 15th century, a giant called Druon Antigoon controlled the Scheldt. He made boatmen pay a toll, and those who refused had a hand cut off. A Roman soldier named Silvius Brabo fought the giant, cut off his hand and threw it into the river. In Dutch, hand werpen means 'to throw a hand', and the story claims this is where the name Antwerpen comes from. It is a legend, and historians prefer less dramatic explanations, but the city has embraced it: you will find hand-shaped biscuits and chocolates, the Antwerpse handjes, in shop windows across the old town.
Tips for your visit
- Come early in the morning for photos of the fountain and the guildhouses without crowds and café tables.
- Stand on the side of the square opposite the City Hall to fit the whole façade and the fountain into one shot.
- In winter the square fills with Christmas market stalls and an ice rink, which makes it busy but festive.
Nearby
- Cathedral of Our Lady: its 123-metre Gothic tower rises a minute away, and inside hang Rubens's Raising of the Cross and Descent from the Cross.
- Het Steen: the medieval castle on the bank of the Scheldt, a few minutes' walk away, with a statue of the giant Lange Wapper at its gate.
- Vleeshuis: the tall brick butchers' guildhall from the early 16th century, now a museum of music and sound.
- Plantin-Moretus Museum: a printing house and family home on the Vrijdagmarkt, on the UNESCO World Heritage list, with some of the oldest surviving printing presses in the world.
See Antwerp with World City Trail
Our Antwerp scavenger hunt turns the old town into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops and takes around 3 hours, with about 44 minutes of walking. The City Hall on the Grote Markt is one of the stops, along with the Cathedral of Our Lady and Antwerpen-Centraal station.
If you prefer a different format, there is also a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game in Antwerp.
Play the Antwerp scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Antwerp →
Play the outdoor escape game in Antwerp →
Facts checked in October 2026.