Belgiëlei is a broad avenue in the southeast of the Antwerp district in the city of

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

History

It was officially opened in 1859 by

Leopold I of Belgium Leopold I (16 December 1790 – 10 December 1865) was the first king of the Belgians, reigning from 21 July 1831 until his death in 1865. The youngest son of Francis, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Leopold took a commission in the Imperial Rus ...

. The avenue created a link between Koning Albertpark and Harmonie Park on one hand and

Antwerp Zoo Antwerp Zoo () is a zoo in the centre of Antwerp, Belgium, located next to the Antwerpen-Centraal railway station. It is the oldest animal park in the country, and one of the oldest in the world, established on 21 July 1843. History Since its ...

on the other. It also took the traffic that had previously been on the now Lamorinièrestraat en Provinciestraat between

Berchem Berchem () is a southern Districts of Antwerp, district of the municipality and city of Antwerp in the Flemish Region of Belgium. Berchem is located along the old ''Grote Steenweg'' (Dutch language, Dutch for 'Big Paved Road') that has connected ...

and

Borgerhout Borgerhout () is the smallest districts of Antwerp, district of Antwerp, Belgium. , the district housed 45,769 inhabitants on 3.93 km². It was an independent municipality until January 1983. The postal area code for Borgerhout is 2140. Geography ...

, two suburbs of Antwerp. In 1919, the avenue was renamed Belgiëlei.

Belgiëlei today

The avenue forms the border between Haringrode and Klein-Antwerpen. It is part of the city's priority cycle network, as well as bus and tram routes.

Notable buildings on Belgiëlei

* Museum Ridder Smidt van Gelder on Belgiëlei 91, a collection of interior and luxury industry from 1650 to 1900, now recognised as a Cultural Heritage Site since 2005 (closed since 1987 following a fire) * The house of

Lieven Gevaert Lieven Gevaert (28 May 1868 – 2 February 1935) was a Belgian industrialist. His father died when he was only three years old. He started his career in the company he founded together with his mother in 1889, which produced photographic paper ...

, famous Belgian industrialist * Several 19th century and early 20th century mansions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belgielei Avenues (landscape) Streets in Antwerp