Borgerhout

In 2025 Time Out named it the "second coolest neighborhood in the world".

• Name — Borgerhout • Type — District of Antwerp • Image Flag — Flag of Borgerhout (district).svg • Image Shield — Blason ville be Borgerhout.svg • Mapframe — yes • Mapframe Marker — none • Map Caption1 — Location of Borgerhout in Antwerp • Pushpin Map — Belgium#Belgium Antwerp • Subdivision Type — Country • Subdivision Type1 — Community • Subdivision Name1 — Flemish Community • Subdivision Type2 — Region • Subdivision Name2 — Flemish Region • Subdivision Type3 — Province • Subdivision Name3 — Antwerp • Subdivision Type4 — Arrondissement • Subdivision Name4 — Antwerp • Subdivision Type5 — Municipality • Subdivision Name5 — Antwerp • Area Total Km2 — 3.93 • Population As Of — 2025-01-01 • Population Total — 47188 • Population Density Km2 — auto • Postal Code Type — Postal codes • Postal Code — 2140 • Area Code Type — Area codes • Area Code — 03 • Website — https: www.antwerpen.be/nl/overzicht/district-borgerhout/nieuws Borgerhout (Nl-Borgerhout.ogg) 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".

"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". "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.

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

Borgerhout is divided into two parts by a highway and the historical walls. 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.

• 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 • 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

• Illustration — Town hall until 1890 • Illustration — Reuskens of Borgerhout