Berchem () is a southern

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

of the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

and 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 ...

in the

Flemish Region The Flemish Region (, ), usually simply referred to as Flanders ( ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—alongside the Wallonia, Walloon Region and the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region. ...

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 ...

. Berchem is located along the old ''Grote Steenweg'' (

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

for 'Big Paved Road') that has connected

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

to Antwerp for several centuries; the town borders the districts of Deurne,

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 ...

Wilrijk Wilrijk (; former, original spelling: ''Wilrijck'') is a district of the municipality and city of Antwerp in the Belgian province of Antwerp. Wilrijk had been a separate municipality before January 1, 1983; the enlarged municipality of Antwerp wa ...

and

and the municipality of

Mortsel Mortsel () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city close to the city of Antwerp located in the Belgium, Belgian province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the city of Mortsel pr ...

. Berchem itself consists of three quarters, ''Oud Berchem'', ''Groenenhoek'' and ''Nieuw Kwartier''. The 'Ring', Antwerp's circular motorway which follows the track of the former city defense walls, cuts Berchem in two parts, separating the urban inner city area of Oud-Berchem (''intra muros'') from the more residential and suburban areas Groenenhoek, Pulhof and Nieuw Kwartier (''extra muros'').

Political structure

After the decentralization of Antwerp in 2000, Berchem became a semi-independent district with its own legislative body, the so-called

District A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

sraad (''District Council''), and its own executive college. The District Council includes 25 members, directly elected for six-year terms by popular vote. The executive college comprises six

Aldermen An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking membe ...

(''Districts

schepen A schepen (Dutch, ; . ') or échevin (French, , ) or Schöffe (German, ) is a municipal officer in Belgium and formerly the Netherlands, where it has been replaced by the (a municipal executive). In modern Belgium, the ''schepen'' or ''échevin'' ...

en''), including a District Mayor (''Districtsburgemeester''), who are installed by the District Council.

Points of interest

The

Zurenborg Zurenborg is an area in south-east Antwerp largely developed between 1894 and 1906 that features a high concentration of townhouses in Art Nouveau and other fin-de-siècle styles.Alex Elaut, ''Zurenborg Walk'', Antwerp: Toerisme Antwerpen, .d. ...

area hosts a high concentration of

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

and other fin-de-siècle style townhouses, many built between 1894 and 1906. The main streets of interest are ''Cogels-Osylei'', ''Transvaalstraat'', and ''Waterloostraat''. After the area was slated for demolition in the 1960s, to be replaced with a business and office complex, demolition was prevented when the area got monumental status in the 1980s. In recent years, the area has become an attraction for architecture-minded visitors. The ''Driekoningenstraat - Statiestraat'' is the main shopping and commercial area of Berchem. Though suffering competition from suburban shopping centers, the retail highstreet still has an interesting mix of Belgian, local, and international convenience and non-food stores. The highstreet has recently been refurbished, giving more space to pedestrians. The Groenenhoek is home to the

Flemish Tram and Bus Museum The Flemish Tram and Bus Museum ( Dutch: Vlaams Tram- en Autobusmuseum, abbreviated as VlaTAM) is a museum of public transport that exhibits historical trams and buses. The museum is situated in the Berchem district of Antwerp, in the former tram ...

Transport

The railway station of Antwerpen-Berchem, located within the district, is the second largest station in the city of Antwerp. With a few exceptions, such as the

Thalys Thalys (French: ) was a brand name used for high-speed rail, high-speed train services between Paris Gare du Nord and both Amsterdam Centraal and German cities in the Rhein-Ruhr, including Aachen, Köln Hauptbahnhof, Cologne, Düsseldorf Hauptba ...

high-speed train, almost all trains stopping in Antwerp have a stop at Antwerpen-Berchem station. The district of Berchem is also served by the

Antwerp tram The Antwerp tramway network () is a network of tramways forming part of the public transport system in Antwerp, a city in the Flemish Region of Belgium. The network is operated by the Flemish region's transportation company De Lijn. As of April 2 ...

routes 4,7, 9, 11 and 15, and numerous bus lines, which connect Berchem with the bordering districts and communities, and are operated by the

Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...

transport company

De Lijn Vlaamse Vervoersmaatschappij De Lijn (, ), more commonly known as De Lijn, is a state-owned enterprise run by the Flemish government in Belgium to provide public transport with about 2240 buses and 399 trams. De Lijn was founded in 1991 after the ...

Sports

The local football team is Koninklijk Berchem Sport.

Notable people

See the :People from Berchem.

References

External links

Berchem District Official WebpageGreater Antwerp Official Webpage
{{Authority control Districts of Antwerp Former municipalities of Antwerp Province