Mas Antwerpen

Mas Antwerpen or ‘Museum aan de stroom’ is a museum in Antwerp. This museum is located along Antwerp’s river Scheldt in the Eilandje district is the city’s largest and undoubtedly most unique museums. Although the city council decided to build the museum way back in the year 1998, the first brick wasn’t laid until September 14, 2006 and wasn’t completed and opened to the public until May 17, 2011.

Although it took quite a while to gather the many artifacts and collections from various other museums, it has surely been proven that the wait was well worth it looking at the popularity and success of it today. Designed by Nuetelings Riedijk Architects, the building stretches up to a total of 60 meters in height and houses a total of 470,000 objects. Although most of these objects are kept in storage, visitors of the museum are able to get the chance to have a look at approximately 180,000 items.

The central focus and purpose of the MAS is to house objects and items that point and highlight that of Antwerp. The main themes throughout the museum include Life and Death, Power, Metropolis and Antwerp’s long history of being a major international port. With information brought to visitors in five different languages including French, Dutch, English, Spanish and German, it allows for more people to become educated on what the museum has to offer. The MAS is a definite must for anyone visiting the lovely city of Antwerp!

Mas Antwerpen in brief

Trivia

Did you know that it is the largest museum in Antwerp?