Merksem (; former spelling: ''Merxem'') is a

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 ...

. It has 44,808 inhabitants as of 2021.

History

The history of Merksem goes back to

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization (cultural), Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire in Roman Gaul. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, Roman culture, language ...

times. During that period the region was mentioned as ''Merk'' (border) and ''Heim'' (settlement) being part of the

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

Kamerijk. Merksem has for centuries been part of a larger community together with

Schoten Schoten () is a Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located in Antwerp Province, Belgium. The municipality only comprises the town of Schoten proper. As of 1 January 2020 Schoten has a total population of 34,311. The total area is which gi ...

and Sint-Job-in-'t-Goor. During the Spanish period Merksem used to be a

Dominium means "dominion; control; ownership". Use in legal Latin is used in some phrases and maxims in legal Latin: *Dominium directum – Direct ownership, that is control of the property, but not necessarily with right to its utilization or alienati ...

, a known ''Lord of Mercxem'' is Anthony van Stralen. In the 16th century Merksem was separated from

Middle Ages

Around the year 600, the

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

started colonizing the area near the local Saint-Bartholomew's Church, which was the highest point of Merksem at the time. In 750, the

Scheldt The Scheldt ( ; ; ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to Old Englis ...

river finally started settling itself into its current river bed, which resulted in parts of Merksem becoming peat

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and musk ...

(a type of

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

). Current street names of these areas still refer to these wetlands. (The 1998 and 1999 floods of some residential areas were due to Merksem's geographical location. This would later result in the deepening of the Schijn

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

). In May 1561, Merksem and

were split up. The current ''Bredabaan'' (

Breda Breda ( , , , ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. ...

Road) functioned as a gate between

and cities located to the north. In 1742, the road would become a

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and ...

19th century

At the beginning of the 19th century, Merksem was a very rural area with a population of 750. Local farmers mainly provided the nearby city of

with

straw Straw is an agricultural byproduct consisting of the dry wikt:stalk, stalks of cereal plants after the grain and chaff have been removed. It makes up about half of the crop yield, yield by weight of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, ry ...

, giving the inhabitants of Merksem the nickname "stroboeren" (straw farmers). In 1874, the area became more industrialized, and most of the land was bought by S.A. Etablissements Industriels et Commerciaux de Merxem. The company would construct the local industry dock (known as 'het dokske'). Due to its ideal location, multiple industrial and commercial companies started to establish themselves in the area, contributing to the population increase.

20th century

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Merksem was occupied by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

from 20 May 1940 until its liberation on 4 October 1944. The local population was affected by

political repression Political repression is the act of a state entity controlling a citizenry by force for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing the citizenry's ability to take part in the political life of a society, thereby ...

deportation Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people by a state from its sovereign territory. The actual definition changes depending on the place and context, and it also changes over time. A person who has been deported or is under sen ...

, hunger, bombings etc. Many locals opposed the occupation. Resistance fighters were deported to the nearby

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

Breendonk Breendonk is a village in the municipality of Puurs-Sint-Amands in the province of Antwerp, Belgium, with a population of 3,000, halfway between Brussels and Antwerp. History Its name stems from the medieval ''Bredene Dunc,'' which translates as ...

Bredabaan

The road currently known as ''Bredabaan'' (

Road), once a major northern access to

, begins in Merksem and goes up north, all the way up until the border with the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. It ends in the Dutch city of Breda (hence the name). Other major axes would include Lambrechtshoekenlaan, Groenendaallaan, Maantjessteenweg and Ringlaan. Together with ''Bredabaan'' they could be considered as the boundaries of the centre of Merksem. Another main axis, that constitutes most of the southern border of the district, is a canal called the

Albert Canal The Albert Canal (, ; , ) is a canal located in northeastern Belgium, which was named for King Albert I of Belgium. The Albert Canal connects Antwerp with Liège, and also the Meuse river with the Scheldt river. It also connects with the Des ...

, which connects the

Port of Antwerp The port of Antwerp is the port of the city of Antwerp, Belgium. It is located in Flanders, mainly in the province of Antwerp, but also partially in East Flanders. It is a seaport in the heart of Europe accessible to capesize ships. It is Eu ...

to the river

Meuse The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...

near

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

and is an important connection for inland freight shipping.

Economy

When Delsey Airlines (

VG Airlines VG Airlines, later Delsey Airlines, (airline code IV, later assigned to Windjet) was a short-lived airline with its head office in Merksem, Antwerp, Belgium. History VG Airlines was founded in 2002 to operate flights from Belgium to North Am ...

) existed, its head office was in Merksem.Contact us in Belgium:
Delsey Airlines. 3 December 2002. Retrieved on 8 September 2010.

Sport and culture

The

Sportpaleis The Antwerps Sportpaleis () (to be renamed to AFAS Dome effective 1 September, 2025), also called Sportpaleis Antwerpen, Sportpaleis Merksem or simply the Sportpaleis, is an arena in Antwerp, Belgium. It is a multipurpose hall used for organizin ...

and the

Lotto Arena Lotto Arena is an arena in Antwerp, Belgium. It has a seating capacity for 8,050 people for concerts and 5,218 for sporting events. The arena opened on 10 March 2007 after nine months of construction.

are both located in the district of Merksem and host major sporting events, live music and festivals. The football team of Merksem is "SC City Pirates Antwerp". They play in the fourth division of the Belgian league pyramid system.

Gallery

File:Merksem park 3.jpg , Bouckenborgh Castle File:Bibliotheek van Merksem.jpg, Library File:Merksem kanaal 5.jpg, Canal and industry File:208294 Districtshuis van Merksem.jpg, District house

References

External links

* Official site of Merksem: http://merksem.antwerpen.be/MIDA (this site is in the

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 ...

language). * Newssite about Merksem: http://www.stroboerke.be (this site is in the

language). {{Authority control Districts of Antwerp Populated places in Antwerp Province