National Maritime Museum

The National Navigation Museum is located in the medieval castle of Stan. The Navigation Museum is an opportunity to delve into the history of the city and the country, and not only look at models of ships, maps and navigation tools.

The impregnable medieval Castle Stan, located in the heart of Antwerp, is one of the architectural attractions of this city. According to some historical evidence, the castle was built in the XII century, but the exact time of construction of the fortress is unknown. Archaeologists managed to find out only that the walls of the citadel were laid in the IX century.

Once Castle Stan played a significant role in the defense of the city, but over time it became just a monument of the era. Now in the castle building there is an exposition of the National Museum of Navigation, which tells about the formation and development of maritime affairs in Flanders. Inside are models, and outside are real barges and boats and even a Belgian patrol ship of the 50s. Near Stan Castle there is a monument to the folklore character Long Wapper, frightening the townspeople who behave badly, especially drunkards. In anger, Wapper can grow to giant sizes, and given the city's tradition of hand-to-hand, meeting him can have unpredictable consequences.