Antwerpen Centraal (Railway Station)
Koningin Astridplein 27, 2018 Antwerp, Belgium
Antwerpen-Centraal railway station also called the 'Middenstatie' or 'Railway Cathedral' by Antwerp residents, was inaugurated in 1905. The steelwork covering the platform and stone station building are combined in an eclectic style. In 2007, a tunnel opened under the station, enabling further, ongoing travel from Antwerpen-Centraal. Centraal Station has been voted one of the most beautiful stations in the world on several occasions. Antwerpen-Centraal railway station is also called the 'Middenstatie' or the 'Railway Cathedral' by Antwerp residents. This grandiose piece of architecture at Astridplein consists of a steel platform canopy and a stone station building. The platform canopy was designed between 1895 and 1899 by Clément Van Bogaert. The canopy is 43 meters high, 186 meters long and 66 meters wide. The stone station building was built between 1899 and 1905 by Louis Delacenserie in an eclectic style. Delacenserie was inspired, among other things, by the Pantheon in Rome. The highest point (75 meters) is a large dome. The station opened on 11 August 1905. In 1975, it became a protected monument and from 1986 it was thoroughly renovated. Between 2000 and 2009, the railway hall doubled in capacity to include platforms on two underground levels. Trains used to have to go in and then out again. Now they can continue, thanks to the railway tunnel between the station and the north of the city. The station has been voted one of the most beautiful in the world on several occasions, including by Newsweek, Mashable and The Telegraph.
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