Railway Station XX, a photo from Antwerpen, Flanders

Photographer's Note

2017 - All rights reserved. The photos taken by photographer John Maenhout are registered and copyrighted. Use in any form (web, paper publication, public exposure, etc.) is strictly forbidden without the written permission of the photographer. To contact with photographer please use TE Contact Me

JHM New site Aug 2017 – 2018

2009, this picture comes out of my archive

Antwerp railway station
In the middle of the twentieth century the building was in poor condition. However, a possible demolition was averted when the station received the status of a protected monument around 1975, but due to the poor condition of the roof that was worse month after month, the NMBS decided on 13 December 1985 that Antwerp-Central would be closed for safety reasons on 31 January 1986. close if no decision was made about the restoration of the platform roof and facades. Finally, on December 20, 1985 it was decided that SNCB would carry out the necessary restoration work. That restoration began on March 24, 1986 and lasted until shortly before the large conversion in 1998. The glass of the roof was replaced by polycarbonate sheets, so that the safety of the passengers would be ensured. The foundation of the arches was restored and rebuilt where necessary. Steel was cleaned and repainted.

The American weekly Newsweek placed the station at the world's top in February 2009. The Americans visited a number of prestigious stations and came to the conclusion that the Antwerp railway cathedral is worth a fourth place.
Antwerp Central Station was chosen as the most beautiful station in Europe by 2010, by visitors to StedenTripper.com. In 2014, the station was declared the most beautiful train station in the world by the British American news site Mashable.

I hope you can enjoy.

Camera Model
Canon EOS 5D
Shooting Date/Time 11/11/2009 14:35:59
Manual Exposure
Tv(Shutter Speed)
1/250
Av(Aperture Value)
5.6
ISO Speed
100
Lens
EF16-35mm f/2.8L USM
Focal Length
16.0mm
Image Size
4368x2912
Image Quality
RAW
Flash Off
Picture Style
Landscape

ikeharel, COSTANTINO, rychem, pierrefonds, pajaran, cornejo, Cricri, PaulVDV, alvaraalto, ricardomattos, mcmtanyel, papagolf21, Buin, Royaldevon, danos, Fis2, tyro, macjake, ChrisJ, Periko, worldcitizen ha contrassegnato questa nota come utile

Critiques | Translate

COSTANTINO (116604) 2018-01-27 8:42

Hello dear John and have a niice time
and a happy weekend
this building is a real miracle of
architecture presenting the railway
station of Antwerpen you notes are
really useful and impressive
and the building a worthseeing
building in which the foundation
of the arches was restored and rebuilt
where necessary
welldone
regards
Costantino

rychem (72187) 2018-01-27 8:45

I like it very much, I am happy that this building has been preserved, beautiful architecture details, high quality photo
regards Ryszard

pierrefonds (114556) 2018-01-27 9:17

Hi John,

The wideness of the station is giving depth to the composition. The point of view is showing the details of the architecture of the interior of the Antwerp train station. It is clear and sharp. Have a nice day.

Pierre

pajaran (116011) 2018-01-27 9:23

Dobro vece, gospodine.
Lep pogled, interesantan i dobar tekst ...
Lepo pokazan enterijer, dobra perspektiva i kontrast, lepe boje, lepo uhvacen trenutak.
Lep enterijer zeleznicke stanice i detalji.
Dobar tekst o koriscenoj tehnici i elementima snimka.
Zelim vam mirnu noc, sve najbolje.
Pja.

mesutilgim (0) 2018-01-27 10:26

Hello dear John,
Another topclass capture and perfect TE entry in your gallery.
Very good layout and sharpness as well as light management.
Nice framing and many interesting and usefull notes.
TFS and have a nice weekend
MESUT ILGIM

cornejo (61504) 2018-01-27 10:46

Hello John, very good photograph of this beautiful and interesting Antwerp station, very well captured in this interesting image, with good sharpness, depth, light, color and quality. Very good and interesting work perfectly done, my congratulations my friend. Thank you for sharing this beautiful work.

Good night and happy Sunday.
Warm greetings from the south of Spain.
Angel.

PaulVDV (62978) 2018-01-27 11:05

Hallo John,
Precies niet tijdens de spitsuren genomen. Zodoende kunnen we de prachtige architectuur goed bewonderen.
Het station van Antwerpen werd inderdaad al meerdere keren gekozen tot één der mooiste ter wereld. De restauratie is geweldig geslaagd.
Ik heb er ook al enkele foto's genomen ... doch nog nooit met een resultaat om hier te tonen.
Je presenteert het interieur hier heel helder en scherp.
Mooi gedaan!
Vele groeten, Paul

Cricri (176) 2018-01-27 11:08

Bonjour John
Et bien j'ai justement parler d'aller a Anvers voir la gare et les alentours dans des jours meilleurs ....
Intéressante architecture , beaucoup de verrières, riche en détails, bon POV, prisse de la lumière, excellente présentation
Belle soirée
cricri

alvaraalto (42804) 2018-01-27 11:16

Dag John
Je prachtige foto laat de grote schoonheid van dit bijzondere station volledig tot zijn recht komen. Je moet er niet aan denken dat dit historisch erfgoed zou worden afgebroken. Het is een typisch voorbeeld van de stations architectuur uit deze tijd.
Een fijne zondag toegewenst, Groet Rob

carlo62 (81265) 2018-01-27 13:59

Ciao John
che bella questa stazione, l'architettura è splendida e ben inglobata con la grande cupola in metallo.
Buona domenica
Carlo

Hunkar (7440) 2018-01-27 14:00

a very nice architectural scene filled with interesting details,
Best regards,

ricardomattos (17460) 2018-01-27 16:14

Hi John,

What a beauty of architectonic setting. Very nice facade in its interior.

Congratulations

Ricardo

mcmtanyel (68647) 2018-01-27 18:04

Hello John,
It is a magnificent building, I can see you called it a railway cathedral. Very well rendered, bravo!
Regards,
MT

abmdsudi (95869) 2018-01-27 18:18

Hi John
A breath taking piece of architecture which takes you through each level of this magnificent station. Great perspective where the figs is completely overwhelmed by that huge 'cage' enhancing the feel of depth. As always your light balance is so seamless. Wonderful hot, Congrats
Best wishes

emka (158204) 2018-01-27 23:20

Hello John,

Splendid view of this beautiful railway station. If it is the most beautiful in the world - I am not sure. But I can't at the moment my favorite. Spectacular presentation. attractive composition, stunning sharpness.

Kind regrad s MAlgo

papagolf21 (152607) 2018-01-27 23:21

Bonjour, cher ami John,
Encore (et c'est toujours un grand plaisir) une prise de vue qui est édifiante (j'ai appris que cette gare est classée parmi les plus belles d'Europe) !
Il faut reconnaître que la gare est très belle après sa réhabilitation.
Amitiés.
Philippe

Tue (92482) 2018-01-27 23:24

Hallo John,
Prachtige foto van het indrukwekkende station van Antwerpen. De vele details van de gevel zijn goed te zien evenals de constructie van de grote overkapping. Het was een rustig moment zodat er geen passagiers in de weg lopen.
Lars

holmertz (102800) 2018-01-28 1:23

Hello John,
If I had entered this railway station I could have been confused whether I was actually in a cathedral. That was my first reaction before I saw that you call it "railway cathedral" in the note. That short wall is masterpiece of design and it has been carefully restored. The roof allows the light to stream through perfectly and you managed a wonderfully clear and sharp photo.
Kind regards,
Gert

Nicou (193806) 2018-01-28 1:28

Hello

fAntastique vue et intérieur de cette gare avec toute la partie en voûte et toute vitrée ce rendu au sol cette facade avec l'horloge quelle iamge des personnages sueprbe.
Bravo et très beau dimanche
Nciou

Buin (42580) 2018-01-28 1:41

Hallo John!
What a "cathedral" of rail traffic, what an impressive building! The facade nearly looks like a castle. Perhaps I would have cropped a bit of the large floor area in foreground here.
An interesting contribution!
See you! Have a nice week!
Frank

lousat (139342) 2018-01-28 2:39

Salut John,encore une capture excellente depuis ton archive,cette fois pas un paysage ou une ville,mais depuis on depart pour visiter des autres places. Vraiment magnifique la riche architechture de la gare d'Anverse,composition tres riche et details impressionants malgre' la difficile lumiere. Belle journee' et merci,Luciano

Royaldevon (85932) 2018-01-28 3:23

Hello John,

Well, in the light of it becoming such a prestigious station, the renovations were very worthwhile.
Stations do have such a presence! They are big, bold buildings, created when lots of money was available for this new, fast way of travel and are grand meeting places.

The huge, arched polycarbonate ceiling allows in lots of light and, it hasn't lost its period design. There are many features that do appear Victorian , like the mearl work and the many arched features.

Thank you for sharing both the photograph and the interesting notes,
Bev :-)

Silvio1953 (221751) 2018-01-28 8:13

Ciao John, great view of fantastic station, fine detailss, good perspective, wonderful colors, excellent clarity and splendid light, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

danos (110407) 2018-01-28 8:36

Hello John,
good view of the interior of the railway station with the facade of it to be presented perfect.The passing by poeple add scale in the image.

Regards,Danos

willperrett (14215) 2018-01-28 10:00

Hello John

It is certainly a remarkable building for a railway station, that actually reminds me of St. Pancras in London. Not sure about the large area of blank floor space in the foreground, but it may speak of the size of the place and the lack of passengers at this time of day.

Regards

Will

Fis2 (170885) 2018-01-28 11:15

Witaj John!
A very interesting interior.
Amazing construction, I love it.
Wonderful facade and ceiling.
Good frame colors and light.
Very well done.
Good evening.
Krzysztof

tyro (30513) 2018-01-29 1:27

Hello John,

A beautiful photograph from your archives dating back over eight years and a very interetsing and informative note to accompany it.

This must have been quite a difficult subject to photograph but, using your wide angle lens at its widest setting (16mm), you have managed to produce a wonderful composition in which we see the beautifully restored façade of this railway station as well as the glorious detailed glass roof and windows.

The light and colours are beautiful, your exposure perfect and the details and sharpness are exquisite.

Beautiful!

Kind Regards,

John.

carper (96) 2018-01-29 2:26

ja mooi,
Het is een prachtig station john,

mooie interieur plaat ervan, knappe foto.
gr. jaap

Ilonka1974 (10307) 2018-01-29 5:06

Hi John,
Very nice the view as the presentation of the central railway station in Antwerp.I like its fascinating architectural style.
Perfect sharpnes and composition.
Best regards
Janusz

LuisGustavoLima (5184) 2018-01-29 5:43

Olá, John!

A nitidez da foto é impressionante, assim como a luz. As várias linhas na parte superior da foto deixam a foto bem interessante. Ótimo ângulo.
Boa foto!

claudeD (47754) 2018-01-29 9:16

Hello John,

very fine interior architecture view of the well known Antwerpen railway station. Very good composition, fine sharpness and clarity.Very well done.TFS.

With regards from Luxembourg

JCl

ikeharel (113453) 2018-01-30 8:59

Railway station always an intriguing subject, and this picture has no exception to this, John.
The magnificent old facade on the far side, than built the typical European-style half-round structure above the platform, shown marvelously with light and contrast.
Good evening,
Ike

macjake (98456) 2018-01-31 13:47

Hi John
all I can say is WOW! I have always wanted to see Belgium, but now I'm seriously wanting to visit and i'll start right here.
what a beautiful station. Any more photos of it? so much to explore visually here. excellent sharpness and illumination. cheers
Craig

ChrisJ (171888) 2018-01-31 14:40

Hi John,

Looks similar in style to many German railway stations also with the domes and glass. Excellent sharpness and the bg facade of arches is nice. Tfs!

Periko (9107) 2018-02-01 17:22

Hello John
This space is clean, beautiful and neat. The façade is wonderful. The station really deserves being the number one in the world.

Best wishes

Muse (35030) 2018-02-07 5:12

Hello John,
Cette gare est de toute beauté! Un fleuron d'architecture en parfait état.
Très belle mise en valeur de cette oeuvre d'art.
Bonne fin de journée
Amitiés,
Denise

worldcitizen (16106) 2018-02-07 12:14

Hello John,
I can see why this station has won so many awards. :-) I have never seen this kind of complete facade inside a station before, and the details are wonderful. I also like the graphism created by the ceiling and windows. I'm sure photographers can spend many hours taking photos here. :-)

jmdias (115280) 2018-02-11 5:55

john

amazing the internal façade. I liked these many details we can enjoy.nice job.

take care

jorge

Miguel82 (47110) 2020-10-01 5:18

Hallo John, Antwerpen railway station is a vast historical building. The glass roof allows the light to enter inside the building. It can receive thousands of passengers. Fine colors, good sharpness, regards.

mkamionka (74577) 2022-01-30 9:46

Hi John,
I remember seeing photos of this magnificent train station, maybe even in your gallery. It looks so beautiful, so elegant as if it was a temple and not just train station. Yes I am not surprosied that people voted it to be the most beautiful in the world.
Lovely wide composition which allows us to see it in the context of the hall in front of it.
Excellent work,
M

Photo Information

Copyright: John Maenhout (jhm) (211736)
Genre: Luoghi
Medium: Colore
Date Taken: 2009-11-11
Categories: Architettura
Camera: Cannon EOS 5D, Canon 16-35mm f2.8 L USM, Sandisk EXT.III4GB, B+W 77 010 UV-Haze 1x
Esposizione: f/5.6, 30 secondi
Versione Foto: Versione Originale
Date Submitted: 2018-01-27 8:08