Klooster van de Grauwzusters

1. Requesting a quotation
   You can request a quotation for your chosen venue by contacting Congreszalen or calling +32 3 265 56 55. You can also request a quotation for catering, decoration and audio-visual equipment at the same time. This quotation is valid for three weeks. 
    
2. Final reservation of the venue
   You can confirm your reservation by sending the following information in an email:
   - Name of the activity
   - Estimated number of guests
   - Start and end time
   - Invoice details
   
   We will draw up a contract for you and send it along with a technical form, where you can indicate your preferences regarding room layout, decoration, audio-visual equipment and an overview of timing.
    
3. Sending through the information
   Please return the contract, technical form and catering details at least 20 working days before the event. You can make changes up until one week before the event.
    
4.  One week before your event or convention
   - Please confirm the final number of guests one week before the event.
   - Minor changes (a difference of 10 guests maximum) can be communicated up to two working days in advance.
   - Your event plan will be checked by the venue coordinator, who will also be present throughout the entire event to provide support and answer any questions you may have.
    
5. After your event
   After your event, two invoices will be sent to the invoice address you provided on the contract: one for catering and one for renting the venue.

The Klooster van de Grauwzusters in Antwerp’s Lange Sint-Annastraat has a rich history.
Long ago, nuns cared for victims of the plague within the cloister’s gloomy, grey walls. But when the last ‘Grey Sister’ left the cloister in 1999, the Flemish Government sought a new purpose for this building. The condition was that the new occupants should continue the building’s great tradition of providing services to society. It was the ideal place for the University of Antwerp, which was looking for premises in the city centre at that time.

Symbiosis of historic and modern architecture
The façade of the Klooster van de Grauwzusters has remained almost unchanged, and its interior has also retained its authentic intimacy. This doesn’t mean, however, that architects Van Broeck and Meuwissen didn’t manage to find a balance between historic and modern architecture: the courtyard, with its glass roof, is now a stylish reception and catering space.

Around the patio run criss-crossing galleries, formed by removing the glass in high window arches. Walking through the highest corridor, you come across a number of strange grey blocks lined with bright red cushions. Even further up, we see that the architects have envisioned the wooden roof structures as decorations, cheering up the convention rooms below.

The cellars way down in the lowest level of the building have been transformed into an ultramodern auditorium (Graduation Hall) and an extra space for catering at conventions. The deconsecrated chapel has been restored to its original state and now serves as a convention room and concert hall with a piano.