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Padenghe Castle is situated on a hill from where it enjoys a beautiful panorama, has retained its original structure built between the 9th and 10th century on the ruins of fortifications of Roman times. What we can now admire is a reconstruction of the 13th and the 14th century. At the time, the castle was surrounded by a moat, and in it there were houses on three parallel rows, built with the walls. In 1154 it was recognized among the goods granted by Emperor Federico Barbarossa to the bishop of Verona Teobaldo and until 1328 was among those often contended between Brescia and Verona, when it became Scaliger; Later, however, they contested the Duchy of Milan and the Republic of Venice but remained in the hands of the Serenissima from 1520 to 1796. Subsequently, the original ditch was built in defense of the castle, while in the 1960s it was completely restored. Not far away is the medieval church of Sant’Emiliano.
The castle has preserved its original structure. With solid walls made of large stones, there are three towers (the middle one has collapsed) on the north-western side. The plain square main tower rises above the entrance, which still has visible traces of openings for the drawbridge and a footbridge. The chatelaine and troops lived in the castellino ('little castle'), which was built at a later date within the castle walls.
References:Het Steen is a medieval fortress in the old city centre of Antwerp. Built after the Viking incursions in the early Middle Ages as the first stone fortress of Antwerp, Het Steen is Antwerp's oldest building and used to be its oldest urban centre.
Previously known as Antwerpen Burcht (fortress), Het Steen gained its current name in around 1520, after significant rebuilding under Charles V. The fortress made it possible to control the access to the Scheldt, the river on whose bank it stands. It was used as a prison between 1303 and 1827. The largest part of the fortress, including dozens of historic houses and the oldest church of the city, was demolished in the 19th century when the quays were straightened to stop the silting up of the Scheldt. The remaining building, heavily changed, contains a shipping museum, with some old canal barges displayed on the quay outside.
In 1890 Het Steen became the museum of archeology and in 1952 an annex was added to house the museum of Antwerp maritime history, which in 2011 moved to the nearby Museum Aan de Stroom. Here you’ll also find a war memorial to the Canadian soldiers in WWII.
There are some beautiful plaques on the back side of the Steen Castle at Antwerp. Canadian visitors will especially want to see the plaques thanking the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry for their part in the liberation of Antwerp, in 1944.
At the entrance to Het Steen is a bas-relief of Semini, above the archway, around 2nd century. Semini is the Scandinavian God of youth and fertility (with symbolic phallus). A historical plaque near Het Steen explains that women of the town appealed to Semini when they desired children; the god was reviled by later religious clergy. Inhabitants of Antwerp previously referred to themselves as 'children of Semini'.
At the entrance bridge to the castle is a statue of a giant and two humans. It depicts the giant Lange Wapper who used to terrorise the inhabitants of the city in medieval times.