Belgium · Flanders · Antwerp
Ekeren, Antwerp — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Ekeren is a northern district of Antwerp, first recorded as Hecerna in 1155 and perhaps named for the oaks the Vikings used.
About Ekeren
Where to stay in Ekeren
Each area has its own feel; here's who each one suits.
Ekeren keeps two kinds of address. The Sint-Lambertuskerk stands over the old village ground, where the streets are older and tighter, while the Sint-Vincentiuskerk and the Heilig Hart van Jezuskerk anchor the housing that filled in later around them. Kannekenslaan runs through that newer fabric.
Beds are thin here. Most visitors sleep in Antwerp proper and come north for the parishes.
About Ekeren
What are the main landmarks in Ekeren?
Ekeren counts its landmarks in churches. The Sint-Lambertuskerk holds the old parish, and the Sint-Laurentiuskerk, the Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Boodschapskerk and the Sint-Vincentiuskerk each serve a quarter that grew up around that core, giving the district a spread of parishes rather than one dominant monument. Two later dedications follow: the Heilig Hart van Jezuskerk and the Sint-Theresia van het Kind Jezuskerk.
A Mariakapel sits among them. One row house on Kannekenslaan breaks the pattern.
What is the history of Ekeren?
The name comes first. Ekeren appears in the written record in 1155 as Hecerna, and one account traces that name to Vikings who settled the ground in the ninth century and put its oak trees to use. The village kept its own identity for centuries before Antwerp absorbed it as a district.
In 2005 Ekeren marked eight and a half centuries since that first mention. The Sint-Lambertuskerk carries the parish through all of it.
Where is Ekeren?
Ekeren sits north of central Antwerp in the Flemish Region, its churches and the Mariakapel scattered across the district rather than massed in one core.
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More areas in Antwerp
Updated September 2026