Antwerp British and International Women

About The Antwerp British & International Women

The ABIW is a friendly group of English-speaking women of various nationalities. We try to help expatriates who have recently arrived to find their feet and to learn something about life Antwerp and Belgium.

Many of our members are here permanently, either because they decided to make their lives here or they are married to Belgian men. This means that the friends you make will not all be disappearing after a year or so!

See our membership page for more information.

Upcoming Activities

Non-members are welcome to many of our events.

You do not need to be an expatriate to join us. Just speak English!

There is a 5 euro fee for first-time and "out-of-town" guests at our General Meeting and some other activities.
The fee is reimbursed if you join. The fee for other guests is 10 euros.

Use our Contact Form to let us know if you would like to come.

For non-ABIW activities, see our What's On page.

February

February 10th - Book Group

Venue: the coffee shop of FNAC, second floor of the Bazaar shopping centre on the Meir, at 10:15 am.

Please contact us if you wish to attend.

February 18th - Culture Club - Distillery of Elixir d’Anvers

This is one of the oldest and most famous distilleries in Belgium. The recipe for Elixir d'Anvers was perfected on 19 March 1863, in a house in an Antwerp suburb, by Francois-Xavier de Beukelaer, after many years of research. The liqueur – which quickly became world-famous because of its remarkable digestive and other beneficial effects – is still prepared according to the old traditional recipe.

Francois-Xavier was member of a family which had been established in Antwerp since 1280, when the first members of the Beukelaer family left the Alsace area of France to settle here.

Around 1500, a de Beukelaer held the title of vassal of the Duke of Brabant. Still later, in the 18th century, several members of this family were in the food industry.

Already in those days the name of de Beukelaer was a hallmark of quality. The present distillery has 138 years of tradition.

Meet: at the entrance of the distillery, Haantjeslei 132, Antwerp. Haantjeslei is close to the Jan van Rijswijcklaan.

Getting there: Take bus 25 or 26 from the Groenplaats.

Time: 10 o'clock. The tour will take about 2 hours.

Price: 7 euros.

To register: Contact us, or members, see your Grapevine.

Tuesday 23rd February - Coffee Morning

Venue: Hof van Eden, Groenplaats, Antwerp.

Meet: outside at 11 a.m.

No need to register—just turn up. Everyone welcome.

March

March 2nd - General Meeting

Dr Veerle Vanden Daelen will give us an inside view of the history of the Jewish people of Antwerp. The community nowadays consists of around 15 000 Jews. The majority of those who choose to identify themselves as Jewish belong to the traditional or orthodox streams.

Today Antwerp has a unique Jewish community, clearly visible in the streets around the City Park, the diamond district and the Central Station. In this lecture we will look into the history of Jewish life in the city – when did Jews come to Antwerp and how did the community develop?

Special attention will be paid to the years of the persecution and the consequences of the Holocaust, to the development of Orthodox Jewish life, and to the connection of Jews with the diamond business.

Venue: Salons de Laet, Lamorinièrestraat 240, 2018 Antwerp.

Meet: 10.00 am for coffee.

Non-members welcome on payment of the fee. See above.

Disclaimer

Antwerp British and International Women, its officers and its members cannot be held responsible for the correctness of information given on this web site. Neither does it specifically endorse any of the services, organisations or companies mentioned. The contents of the web site do not necessarily reflect the view of ABIW members.