Antwerp

Antwerp's cultural history connects international trade, printing and the arts. The Plantin-Moretus House-Workshops-Museum Complex preserves a publishing enterprise that operated on the same site from 1576 to 1867. Associated with Christophe Plantin and the Moretus family, this UNESCO World Heritage property retains the material setting of a major Renaissance and Baroque printing business, including its buildings, collections and documentary heritage.

Music is another part of the city's international identity. The Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, established in 1955, has its home at the Queen Elisabeth Hall. Its programmes range from Baroque works to contemporary music, with particular attention to Flemish heritage and the nineteenth- and twentieth-century symphonic repertoire. Alongside concerts and recordings, the orchestra develops education and outreach activities, including performances for people unable to attend the concert hall.