Red Star Line Museum

Red Star Line Museum in Antwerp tells the story of emigration from Europe to North America, housed in the original waterfront warehouses of the former Red Star Line shipping company in the city's Eilandje district.

What was the Red Star Line?

The Red Star Line was a Belgian shipping company that, between 1873 and 1934, carried nearly two million passengers from Antwerp to the United States and Canada. Ships departed from the port of Antwerp bound for New York and Philadelphia, offering a transatlantic route to thousands of people seeking a new life overseas. The museum stands exactly where the company's warehouses and processing halls once stood — three buildings along the water where emigrants waited for their voyage, underwent medical checks, and completed administrative formalities before boarding.

Who were the emigrants?

Passengers of the Red Star Line came mainly from Germany and Eastern Europe, and it is estimated that roughly a quarter of them were Jewish, many fleeing persecution in search of better living conditions elsewhere. Belgians themselves made up only a small share of travelers, around one in ten. For many passengers, Antwerp was just one stop on a much longer journey that had begun hundreds of kilometers away, in towns and villages across Central and Eastern Europe.

What can you see at the museum?

The permanent exhibition, open since September 2013, guides visitors through the successive stages of an emigrant's journey: leaving the home country, the long and often exhausting trip to Antwerp, a temporary stay in the city before departure, the ocean crossing itself, and finally arrival in America. The museum places personal stories and belongings of real people at the center of its narrative — letters, photographs, travel documents — making the visit feel deeply personal rather than purely factual.

The buildings that house the museum are themselves part of the story: these are the original port warehouses where boarding procedures actually took place. Walking through the halls, visitors are literally standing where millions of individual life stories once passed through.

Why visit?

The Red Star Line Museum tells a universal story of hope, dreams, and the pursuit of happiness — a theme that resonates regardless of a visitor's own background. It is also an important stop in Antwerp for anyone interested in 20th-century migration history and the city's maritime heritage.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the museum located? The museum is located in the Eilandje district of Antwerp, in the former Red Star Line warehouse buildings along the waterfront.

What period does the exhibition cover? Mainly the years 1873–1934, when the Red Star Line shipping company was in operation.

Where did the emigrants come from? Mostly from Germany and Eastern Europe, with a significant Jewish population among them; Belgians made up only a minority of passengers.

When did the museum open? The permanent exhibition opened in September 2013.