Fort Sint-Marie is one of the oldest forts around Antwerp, built from 1584 on behalf of Spanish general Alessandro Farnese to defend the Scheldt together with Fort Sint-Philips and to protect a floating raft bridge over the Scheldt.
The name of the fort is attributed to the grandson of Emperor Charles V. The first name was: “Sint-Mariaschans”. It is said that Farnese gave this name out of veneration for Mary. His deceased wife was also called Maria. On the right bank of the Scheldt, Farnese had the Sint-Philipsschans built, named after his uncle, King Philip II of Spain. For environmental reasons, the remains of the Fort Sint-Philips lie in a sarcophagus, at the current Total oil refinery.
In 1865 a new fort was built as part of Henri Alexis Brialmont's Great Walls and between 1881 and 1882 the fort was equipped with the only torpedo installation in Belgium. Unfortunately, the fortress cannot be visited.