Hoboken, Antwerp

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Hoboken is a southern district of the city of Antwerp in Belgium, situated along the Scheldt river. The district covers about 10.7 square kilometers and has around 41,850 residents.

Name and origins
The name Hoboken comes from Medieval Dutch, meaning High or Tall Beeches. There is a hospital in Hoboken named Hoge Beuken. A local folk tale says the name came from a boy who dropped his sandwich into the Scheldt and shouted “Ho, boken!”

Brief history
Hoboken is first mentioned in records from 1135. It used to be part of Wilrijk in the Duchy of Brabant. In 1983, Hoboken became a district of Antwerp. A key moment for the area was the construction of the Cockerill shipyard in 1873, which helped it grow industrially. In World War I, Antwerp faced a siege and Hoboken saw fighting around Fort 8; the city was controlled by Germany until 1918.

Today
Today Hoboken is one of Antwerp’s districts, located to the south of the city center. It developed from a small village into an important urban area and is divided by the railway line 52 into different neighborhoods.