The oldest mention of a place called Middelheim in Antwerp dates back to 1342. From the sixteenth century, many Antwerp families had their summer residence there. The small castle was converted into a Louis XVI-style building in the 18th century, probably to plans made by Parisian architect H. Guimard and has since then not undergone any significant changes.
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| Picture by Harry Fabel |
In 1910, the city council of Antwerp bought the entire domain and opened it as a public park. Later parts of the site were made available for the establishment of the Middelheim Hospital, the University of Antwerp, and the Pastoral and a Theological Center. In 1950 an international exhibition was held in the Middelheim Park of 20 ha. On Mayor Lode Craeybeckx's proposal, the city council decided to set up a permanent open-air museum for sculptures.
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| Picture by Harry Fabel |
Now the castle park has an extensive collection of sculptures with a beautiful overview of modern sculpture. It houses sculptors like Jean Arp, Emile-Antoine Bourdelle, Alexander Calder, Pablo Gargallo, Barbara Hepworth, Floris and Oscar Jespers, Aristide Maillol, Giacomo Manzu, Henry Moore, Louise Nevelson, Reinhoud, Auguste Rodin, Jesus Rafael Soto, Rik Wouters, Ossip Zadkine.
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| Picture by Harry Fabel |
The museum is open daily, except on Mondays. Inside the castle, there is a tourist office and a grand café.