Zurenborg (Antwerp (municipality))

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In 1866 Edouard Osy and John Cogels inherited from their father Baron Jean Osy farmland situated in the Zurenborg area, outside of Antwerp. Osy and Cogels realized that the area had a great potential for development and sold it to the company for the development of the eastern quarter of Antwerp.

A new company started to urbanize the district, and between 1892 and 1900, hundreds of houses were built and offered for rent. By the end of the 19th century the main avenue was named 'Cogels-Osy' Lei and it became the heart of the new posh area' of Antwerp.

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. All the houses were built at the time when the neo-styles were very popular all over Belgium. This somehow showed that Belgium rediscovered its ancient glory of the 15th and 16th centuries when it was one of the most important European commercial centres.

A lot of houses escaped demolition. In the 1970s a change came about. The collection of neo-styles was more appreciated again 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' (turn of the century) of the late 19th century.

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