Excavations indicate that people lived on the site of the current city as long ago as the 2nd or 3rd century. As with most Flemish cities, Antwerp stemmed from two distinct earlier settlements; in this case the Aanwerp - where the city most likely takes its name - and Caloes, half a kilometre to the south. A fort was built near the river around the seventh century that was later destroyed by the Norman's in the ninth century, when Antwerp became part of Lorraine.
Today the Steen still has remains dating from the tenth-century, when Antwerp became part of the Holy Roman Empire. The Cathedral can be traced to the twelfth century, when Saint Norbertus founded St. Michael's Abbey in Caloes.
The city later became part of the Duchy of Brabant and continued to expand in circular ring sections; the marks of which are still visible today. The first economic boom came about in the fourteenth century as Antwerp became the most important trading centre in Western Europe.
In 1356 the city became part of the County of Flanders and, as a result, lost many of its advantages as it started to compete with Bruges for business. The tide soon turned however and Antwerp again became a metropolis for world trade in the 15th century as the city started to emerge as an important centre for the diamond industry.
The city witnessed a good deal of struggle between Protestants and Catholics - as was typical throughout Europe at the time - culminating in the fall of Antwerp in 1585 and the closing off of the Scheldt river. This led to a relatively bleak period as the population decreased and much of the commercial and cultural life diminished.
With the exception of the years during the two world wars, the city maintained steady economic growth in the twentieth century and came to prominence as recently as 1993 when Antwerp had the honour of being named the Cultural Capital of Europe.
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