Harbour cranes

A more than 100-year-old port crane waltzed around Antwerp's port docks until early this century.

A stone's throw from the Torre de Belém in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, you'll pass this historic harbour crane.

The Belgian city of Bruges developed into an economic powerhouse from the 11th century onwards, thanks to its Medieval Flemish cloth industry and its international port.

To highlight the industrial past of the former harbour docks, the city of Ghent parked several old harbour cranes around the water, including the ST1 crane at the disused Timber Dock (or Houtdok).

A 20-metre-high harbour crane casts its shadow over the new Matadi Bridge at the Handelsdok in Ghent. The crane, designed in 1988 by the Belgian firm Sobemai of Maldegem, casts its shadow over the new bridge.

About ten harbour cranes gather along the banks of the Scheldekaai in Antwerp, forming the largest (museum) collection of harbour cranes in the world.

In just a few years, the Schipperskaai, a traffic-free walking and cycling promenade, has undergone a true metamorphosis with the construction of a new urban district.

A blue harbour crane dominates Dock North. Built in 1973 by Boom Metalworks, it was the last crane installed at the Handelsdok.