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Article: Belgium: Jewel of Europe; Diamonds, architecture, art sparkle.(TRAVEL)
- Article from:
- The Washington Times (Washington, DC)
- Article date:
- October 22, 2005
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 The Washington Times LLC. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Corinna Lothar, SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Once upon a time, a giant named Antigonius lived on the shore of the River Scheldt. He demanded a tribute from every ship passing his perch. If the boatman did not pay,
Antigonius cut off his hands.
One day, a brave young Roman soldier named Silvius Brabo slew the giant and cut off both his head and his hands and threw the hands into the river. In Dutch, the words for hand and throw are "hand" and "werfen," and that's how the city became Antwerpen, or as we call it, Antwerp.
Hands have become the symbol of Antwerp, Belgium's second-largest city and the world's most important ...