Deurne () is the second largest district of the municipality of Antwerp, Belgium, (right after the Antwerp town district) and has 80.781 inhabitants (2021). Deurne is best known for its green environment with the biggest park in Antwerp Rivierenhof. History Ancien régime Deurne was said to be the place where the Irish missionary Fredigand was abbot of Kerkelodor Abbey in the eighth century. There are indications that Deurne existed in prehistoric and Roman times but the first tangible proof of Deurne only dates back to 1185. During the Ancien régime Deurne was nothing more than part of the Eastern hinterland of Antwerp. Like many dwellings it settled on the crossroads of a river (the Schijn) and a connection route (the 'Turnhoutse baan': the road from Antwerp to Turnhout). Deurne consisted mainly of sparsely populated farmland. However, as a direct result of the increasing wealth of the Antwerp population, many aristocratic estates were erected (the so-called "Hof van Plaisantie" was a specific rural estate, a bourgeois version of a château or country house). Typically, merchants, diplomats, wealthy artists (like Peter Paul Rubens f.i.) would escape to their Hof van Plaisantie. Some country houses in Deurne were : Sterckxhof, Papenhof, Lakbors, Bisschoppenhof, Gallifort, Inkborsch, Bosuil, Ertbrugge & Venneborg. Although most country houses were destroyed over the centuries (especially in 1542), some like Sterckxhof or Bisschoppenhof survived. Further surviving evidence of this aristocratic history of Deurne is the St Fredegand Church and the adjacent cemetery (the St-Fredegandusbegraafpark). Nineteenth century After the battle of Waterloo William of Orange started to connect the Antwerp port with its hinterland through the construction of a series of canals between Antwerp and Liège, connecting the Scheldt with the Maas. The work, started under his reign in 1823, was completed in 1874. The effect of this canal was to establish a permanent barrier north of Deurne (where the Kleine Schijn used to flow), separating it from Merksem. In the south the Grote Schijn would form the south barrier of Deurne. The effect of both barriers was to enhance an 'island feeling' for Deurne. This was further promoted by the establishment of the Brialmont fortifications around Antwerp. Deurne was split apart and the western part of Deurne (Borgerhout) was to become a separate municipality. The rest of Deurne now lay outside the enceinte and became physically and mentally more separated from Antwerp. Modern times Because of the barriers constructed in