In the slipstream of Greek sailors

Walks

City walks

We regularly walk in different neighbourhoods of Antwerp.

We have defined three walks, each of which is a separate chapter in the Greek city presence. Our aim is for these walks to continue even after the project ends, albeit in a different format.
These walks are excellent opportunities for us to interact with the walkers. As a matter of fact, they very often provide us with new data and contacts!

Walk 1:
The Station Quarter

Sailors do not necessarily arrive by boat! Many Greek sailors often arrived in Antwerp by train to embark -whether after a long time or not. They waited for a ship as was often noted on their official papers by the police.

There were several Greek hang outs in the station neighbourhood. In the early 1970s, the Greek Seamen’s House also settled here. Top of the bill was The Rhodos Palace. In this bouzoukia, the finest Greek artists performed. Customers sometimes came from far and wide for this.

Walk 2:
The Skippers’ Quarter

This walk starts from the current Greek Seamen’s House on Vlasmarkt 28. By the way, in recent years we have seen an increased Greek presence in Hoogstraat and Sint-Jansvliet. These are the so-called ‘New Greeks’ who have settled in Antwerp since the Greek crisis. We follow the river Scheldt northwards as far as the Koolkaai and Sint-Paulusplaats, where the pounding heart of the Greek colony was located, with the infamous ‘Koumiotis’, also known as ‘the Rotterdam’, as its central point of reference.

Walk 3:
The Greek church

Belgium’s oldest Greek Orthodox church is in Antwerp (1900). There must surely be a specific reason for this, as well as why the church is situated so far south (near the courthouse). This walk is the shortest but, as with the other walks, you will learn a lot about the Greek presence and, as a bonus, there is a church visit.