Bite: Rubensmarkt
Antwerpenaars go medieval once a year on 15 August
Robyn Boyle on Flemish food and drink
This weekend’s 46th edition of the event is no different from previous years. Visitors will find stall holders decked out in 17th century garb, selling every tasty thing that Antwerp – and the rest of Flanders – have to offer: from cookies (Antwerpse handjes) and liqueur (Elixir d’Anvers) to the city beer (De Koninck), plus karakollen (sea snails), dried sausage, local cheeses and plump bunches of grapes. There are also clothes and shoes, watches and jewellery, antiques, books and all the same products you find in regular markets.
True to tradition, the opening of the market is preceded by a torchlight parade through the historic centre of Antwerp, with the towering Cathedral of Our Lady as a painting-worthy backdrop for the event. The parade is a sort of group prayer to the weather gods, one which, when answered with clear skies, is a guarantee for big crowds at the Rubensmarkt and even bigger sales, especially in ice cream and cold beer.
A market for mother
The medieval market happens to fall every year on Mother’s Day (in and around Antwerp only, unlike in the rest of Flanders, they’ve been celebrating Mother’s Day on 15 August for more than 100 years). That means you’ll also find plenty of gifts for mama, including stands overflowing with flowers or chocolate and salesmen demonstrating the latest model of potato peeler.
“We come every year with the family,” Bart Stuer of Edegem told Het Gazet van Antwerpen. “First we go to mass in the Cathedral, and then we head to the Rubensmarkt to buy flowers for Mother’s Day before going to eat a waffle.”
Aside from the market itself, there’s plenty to do in Antwerp on this Catholic feast day. Boats like Flandria and the Riverstar take visitors for scenic rides up and down the Scheldt, kids are entertained by street theatrics and most of the city’s museums are open.
But in the true spirit of Rubens, the idea is to eat, drink and be merry.
15 August, 8.00-23.00
Across Antwerp
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Beer & Food Writer
