Past meets present inside this sprawling 7,000 sq ft Antwerp townhouse, which previously housed satirical Flemish theatre company De Zwarte Komedie and has undergone a top-to-toe renovation.

Constructed circa 1866 by famous Belgian architect J A Hompus as a hotel in the city’s historical centre, the building is a designated Flanders monument. It housed theatre De Zwarte Komedie until 2015 but following its restoration, it’s now on the market via Belgium Sotheby’s International Realty for €1.79m, as a single-family house – or licensed as five residential units, an office and a workshop.

The Antwerp property’s original façade has been reinstated and its former theatre doors lead into a large hallway at street level, housing a stately staircase that climbs the height of the five-bedroom mansion.

A long ‘multipurpose’ space with original mouldings, fireplace and decorative elements fills the ground floor, and has access to a patio and read building.

Meanwhile, the first and second floors each house a two-bedroom apartment, complete with terraces, mouldings, and restored 19th-century elements.

Two more apartments sit beneath soaring timber trusses in the double-height attic level at the top of the building. Here, while period elements have been retained there’s a more contemporary feel thanks to exposed brickwork and wooden floors.

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