Borgerhout

Borgerhout (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌbɔrɣərˈɦʌut] ^ⓘ)^[2] is the smallest district of Antwerp, Belgium. As of 2025, the district housed 47,188 inhabitants on 3.93 km².

It was a separate municipality until 1983. On 1 January 1983, it was absorbed into the municipality of Greater Antwerp whereby Borgerhout became one of the 9 districts.

In 2025 Time Out named it the second coolest neighborhood in the world.^[3]

Borgerhout is divided into two parts by a highway and the historical walls.^[4] The part inside those walls is "intra muros," meaning (within the walls). It is built around a big boulevard, the Turnhoutsebaan.

Borgerhout has an extremely diverse population, with 63% of inhabitants having non-Belgian ancestry, mostly Moroccans and sub-Saharan Africans. Of the nine districts of Antwerp, it has the highest population density.^[5]

Borgerhout was first mentioned in the year 1214 in an act written by the Duke of Brabant. It was then named 'Borgerholt'.^[6]

"Borger" likely comes from the old spelling for citizen or city dweller; currently, the Dutch word for this is "burger". It might also refer to the word "borgh", meaning a fortress or fortified building. Borghmeester (1254) or borgermeyster (1286) are mentioned in written sources as the word for "mayor", literally "master of the fortress" or "master of the citizens".^[7] "Hout" (or previously "holt") means "wood". It is similar to some naming conventions in English, for example "Hollywood". It refers to a time when Borgerhout was still much greener, and had not yet merged with greater Antwerp. It likely also explains the tree on the coat of arms.

• Bachir Boumaaza (born 1980), known by his pseudonym Athene, gaming social activist and internet personality
• Guillaume Geefs (1805–1883), sculptor
• Floris Jespers (1889–1965), painter
• Nahima Lanjri (born 1968), politician
• Sister Leontine (1923–2012), pioneer of palliative care^[8]
• Milow (Jonathan Vandenbroeck) (born 1981), singer-songwriter
• André Nelis (1935–2012), sailor
• Joris Note (born 1949), writer
• Stan Ockers (1920–1956), cyclist
• Hugues C. Pernath (1931–1975), poet
• Maria Rosseels (1916–2005), journalist and actor
• Michel Seuphor (1901–1999), artist
• Paul van Morckhoven (1910–1990), dramatist and theatre critic
• Robert Van Straelen (born 1934), economist
• Thomas Vinçotte (1850–1925), sculptor
• Eddy Wauters (born 1933), football player

• Tom De Cock (born 1983), writer and radio–DJ
• Saskia De Coster (born 1976), writer
• Bart Martens (born 1969), politician and a member of the SP.A
• Alfred Ost, (1884–1945), artist
• Anne Provoost (born 1964), writer
• Wouter Van Besien (born 1972), politician, chairman of the ecologist party Groen!
• Tom Van Laere (born 1974), musician
• Erik Van Looy (born 1962), film director
• Rik Van Steenbergen (1924–2003), racing cyclist
• Carl Verbraeken (born 1950), president of the Union of Belgian Composers
• Reuskens van Borgerhout
• Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven (born 1951), artist
• Danny Devos (born 1959), artist

• Town hall until 1890
• Reuskens of Borgerhout

• Official website