Van den Bergh en Cie (which originally traded as De Gulden Klok and later La Cloche - De Klok) was an Antwerp malt house, beer brewery and jenever distillery.
History
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The business was founded by Jean (Jan) Jacques Van den Bergh-Aerts (1768-1844). He was also involved in the shipping company Van den Bergh et Fils and was a municipal councillor, alderman, senator and consul of Greece. His family had already been active as brewers and distillers for three centuries.[1]
In 1843, shortly before Jean’s death, his sons Maximilian Van den Bergh (1802-1873) and Jean Félix Van den Bergh (1807-1885) bought the brewery from him.
Well-known Antwerp locations were 7-11 Oudeleeuwenrui for the brewery and 26-32 Brouwersvliet for the jenever distillery. A fire insurance map by Gervais from 1898, confirms the presence on Oude Leeuwenrui of, among other things, beer cellars, ovens, a workshop, a machine room, a cooperage and a forge.[2] [3]
The company subsequently passed – presumably after the brothers' death – into the hands of Louis Lysen, a well-known banker and a relative by marriage.
In 1919 the warehouses, designed by Frans J.H. Bex, were sold to the Werf- en Vlasnatie and renamed 'Magazijn Albert'.[4]
On the corner of Oudeleeuwenrui and Hessenplein there is a yellow building Magasins et Entrepôts Réunis La Cloche. This was designed by architect Joseph Hertogs in 1909 and built in 1910. The name La Cloche is a reference to the former brewery, the original 17th-century gate of which was saved and reused.[5]
References
edit- ^ "Fritz Mayer van den Bergh". 2018-06-28. Archived from the original on 2018-06-28. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
- ^ Vervoort, Robby. Archeologische opgraving Antwerpen – Oude Leeuwenrui.
- ^ Scheerlinck, Karl (2016). Jenever & likeur: affiches die blijven hangen. Lichtervelde: Hannibal. ISBN 978-94-92081-70-4.
- ^ "Magazijn Albert". inventaris.onroerenderfgoed.be (in Dutch). 2019-03-29. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
- ^ "Magasins et Entrepôts Réunis La Cloche". inventaris.onroerenderfgoed.be (in Dutch). 2019-03-29. Retrieved 2024-07-31.