In World War I, Antwerp held off German invaders long enough for the Belgian army to regroup south of the IJzer. Antwerp today is Europe's second-largest port and has much of the zest often associated with a harbor town. The city has traditionally taken pride in being open to influences from abroad and in welcoming newcomers. Antwerp is also known as the City of the Madonnas. On almost every street corner in the old section, you'll see a high niche with a protective statuette of the Virgin.
People tend to think that because Belgium is linguistically split it is also religiously divided.
This emphatically is not so. Rubens is ever-present in Antwerp, and a genial presence it is. His house, his church, the homes of his benefactors, friends, and disciples are all over the old city. His wife also seems ever-present, for she frequently posed as his model for his portraits of the Virgin Mary. Rubens and his fellow Antwerper Anthony Van Dyck both dabbled in diplomacy and were knighted by the English monarch.