The stars of Antwerp: The Zurenborg District - COGELS-OSY – Styles

The multitude of architectural styles and decorations is breathtaking.
One can find a house in neo-gothic style standing right next to a house in Art Nouveau style (a.k.a JUGENDSTIL).

All the houses were built at the time when all over Belgium the neo-styles were very popular (neo-classicist, neo-gothic, neo-renaissance, etc).

It somehow showed that Belgium (as a relatively new state) rediscovered its ancient glory of the 15th and 16th century when it was one of the most important European commercial centres.
One style, however, was new: the ART NOUVEAU style. This style was developed out of the gothic and pre-Raphaelite styles.
In Belgium it was perfected by the architect Victor Horta. Some of the most beautiful art nouveau constructions in Belgium are the houses of Horta in Brussels.
But, whereas Victor Horta created an entirely new house-concept, the art nouveau decorations in the Zurenborg district in Antwerp were only there to impress the passers-by. The inside of the houses in Zurenborg is very often completely traditional and even old-fashioned.

In the 1950's and 1960's the entire area was considered to be out of fashion and was therefore often ridiculed. A lot of houses escaped demolition. In the 1970's a change came about. The collection of neo-styles was again more appreciated and seen for what is really was: a perfect example of the mentality and taste of a certain epoch, in this case the 'fin de siècle' (end of the century) of the 19th century.