Long Wapper

At the Steen, there has been a bronze statue of the mischievous spirit Lange Wapper since 1963, created by the Antwerp sculptor, medalist, and jewelry designer Albert Poels. Lange Wapper is a somewhat whimsical ghost from Antwerp folklore. One of his tricks was that he could stretch himself so tall that he could look through the windows of the highest floors. He is depicted in this way as well. The legend has it that this troublesome spirit mainly appeared at night and would chase drunken men. At first, he would follow them as a small figure, but he could make himself bigger and bigger until he towered above the houses. When the drunkard returned home, panting and sweating, Lange Wapper would peer through his window. Sometimes he also disguised himself as a small child to drink mother’s milk. But when the mother tried to put him back in his crib, he would grow so large that he no longer fit in the room. Another legend associated with Lange Wapper explains why there are so many statues of Mary on the facades of houses in the city center. The Antwerpians, tired of Lange Wapper's pranks, discovered that the troublesome spirit absolutely disliked Mary. Therefore, they all placed little statues of Mary on the facades of their houses. The statues caused Lange Wapper to flee further away until he eventually fell into the Scheldt and drowned.

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