Hessenhuis

The building you're standing in front of tells a story that most history books overlooked for centuries. The Hessenhuis, this solid 16th-century warehouse of brick and ambition, was commissioned by Anna Janssens, a woman who turned widowhood into one of Antwerp's greatest entrepreneurial careers.

When her husband Hendrik van Duysborch died, Anna inherited his breweries, two in Antwerp and one in nearby Merksem, along with a network of trade contacts across Europe. Most women of that era stepped quietly to the side. Anna stepped forward. She expanded the business, deepened the partnerships, and invested in infrastructure that would shape Antwerp's commercial future.

This building was central to that vision. Wine and grain from the Rhineland flowed through its doors, linking Antwerp to the German trading world. But Anna didn't stop there. She also traded with England and the Canary Islands, building a web of commerce that stretched across an entire continent.

For the 16th century, this was genuinely extraordinary. Trade was a man's world, and Anna operated at its highest levels without apology.

The Hessenhuis still stands, sturdy and unapologetic, much like its founder. If there had been a Forbes list in 1550, Anna Janssens would have been on it.