Dordrecht, oldest city of Holland
Foreigners about Dordrecht, Poems and Legends
A foreigner wrote about Dordrecht
:
With some additional information added by me.
Dordrecht (also called "Dort") is Holland's Oldest City.
A MUST see if you are in the Netherlands, Many people go to Amsterdam to
see the canals, but the canals of Dordrecht are equally impressive and at some
points even more beautiful. There are only three (3) long canals, that divide the old town in several
islands. In fact the whole city stands on an island. It has not always been that way.
It used to be a "landcity" in marshlands near the river Thure, until the St.
Elisabeth flooding in 1421, that created a large inland sea (Biesbosch).
Dordrecht survived mainly thanks to its city walls, that kept the water out.
Dordrecht is Holland's oldest town (so NOT of the Netherlands, only of Holland).
It became a city in 1220 (1019). The City rights were given by Count Jan I of
Holland (Count Dirk III). Go to my page
History
of Dordrecht to read the whole story.
The 13th century saw the start of a long period of great prosperity. Dordrecht
became one of the richest cities of Holland and you can still see that in this
old town.
The canals are, like I wrote, amazing. It is like standing in Venice the
houses are literally standing in the water. You can walk down to water level
on ancient stairways and you get the feeling that you are back in 1600. No sound
of cars, no sounds of the modern world. Sadly modern world has intruded this city.
Between the Central Station and the old city-center you find nothing but
modern (and sadly not so pretty) buildings. But those who walk on to the "Groothoofdspoort"
at the big river will have a view that is unique in the world. This used to
be the place were people entered Dordrecht before the age of cars and trains.
They came by boat. This used to be the "front" of the city. Therefore two city
gates are located here. In fact this is were your journey should start. Take
a taxi (Cab) from Central Station to the "Groothoofdspoort" (Big Head gate).
It is not that far and it is not that expensive. Now you do as the old sailors
did. You enter town through this magnificent gate.
click image to enlarge
Now you go right into the direction of the Big church ("Onze Lieve Vrouwe
kerk"). You will see houses from the 17th/18th century that are even larger
than the canal houses of Amsterdam. Former warehouse "Stockholm" built in 1730
is absolutely amazing. It is a 7 (!) storey building. Nowadays we are used to
houses with even more floors, but in 1730 such a building must have been breathtaking.
Well, in fact it still is.
click image to enlarge
Famous is the "Oude Hof" "Old Court". This is were the Dutch decided to become
an independent Republic, this is were 12 cities decided to go to war against
Spain and become a free nation.
click image to enlarge
Dordrecht was still an important and very rich city in those days. In decades
that followed (17th century) nearby Rotterdam and far Amsterdam got more important.
Dordrecht lost the competition and time stood still there. It lasted till the
age of trains that the city started to grow again. Therefore there are almost
no parts of town that have 19th century buildings. It goes very drastically
from 17th century to 20th century architecture. This is sometimes shocking,
but still with almost 1.200 monuments along the three canals you will probably
fall in love with this city. Unique is the fact that no canals have been closed
here (except for a few unimportant ones). Not that there were ever many canals
(with the outer-defensive canal only 3), but still.
Dordrecht can easily be reached by train from Rotterdam (10 minutes) The
Hague (45 minutes) and Amsterdam (90 minutes), Brussels (1,5 hours) and Paris
(TGV - 3 hours).
If you like old Dutch houses, but not the touristic atmosphere of Amsterdam,
you should really pay a visit to Dordrecht. It will be worth it!
Windmills
The last remaining mill in Dordrecht, 'Kyck over den Dyck' (old fashioned
spelling, meaning 'view over the dyke'). It was built in 1713 and has recently
undergone a severe restoration. It is now fully functional, grinding flower
for local bakeries. (Photo courtesy of J.L.J. Tersteeg)
Windmill Kijck over den Dijck
click image to enlarge
click image to enlarge
Voorstraat, the longest street in Dordrecht (about 2.5 kilometers, roughly 1,5
miles) and also the main shopping street, the part you see on this photo the
northern part without shops and the only part you may drive.
An example of what happens when you build houses without proper support on
boggy ground. As you can see they have all started leaning, some forward and
some backward, which gives a very interesting overall effect But be sure that
these buildings will survive most modern buildings.
click image to enlarge
A view on part of the harbor, with the lifting section of the train bridge
to Zwijndrecht in the background. this section opens a few times a day to let
boats through that are too high to fit underneath the bridge. it is nicknamed
'the water organ', because of its resemblance to the pipes of an organ.
Interestingly the bridge to Zwijndrecht is called the 'Zwijndrechtse Brug'
(meaning as much as 'Bridge of Zwijndrecht') to inhabitants of Dordrecht, whereas
to inhabitants of Zwijndrecht it's called the 'Dordtse Brug'. The origional
name of this bridge is the Old Meuse bridge. Until the 60th, before the Drecht-tunnel
was opened, is was the most used bridge of Europe and part of the A16
(Amsterdam-Pairis).
click image to enlarge
Picture of Dordrecht with the Cathedral and the harbours and canals in the
foreground
A postcard with greetings from Dordrecht
On top at the middle of the picture you see that statue of Johan and Cornelis
de Witt, on the bottom left the City Hall of Dordrecht
A Poem
A poem about Dordrecht
Nightfall in Dordrecht
By
Eugene Field (1850-1895)
THE MILL goes toiling slowly around
With steady and solemn creak,
And my little one hears in the kindly sound
The voice of the old mill speak.
While round and round those big white wings
Grimly and ghostlike creep,
My little one hears that the old mill sings
“Sleep, little tulip, sleep!”
The sails are reefed and the nets are drawn,
And, over his pot of beer,
The fisher, against the morrow’s dawn,
Lustily maketh cheer.
He mocks at the winds that caper along
From the far-off clamorous deep,—
But we—we love their lullaby song
Of “Sleep, little tulip, sleep!”
Old dog Fritz in slumber sound
Groans of the stony mart:
To-morrow how proudly he ’ll trot you round,
Hitched to our new milk-cart!
And you shall help me blanket the kine
And fold the gentle sheep,
And set the herring a-soak in brine,—
But now, little tulip, sleep!
A Dream-One comes to button the eyes
That wearily droop and blink,
While the old mill buffets the frowning skies
And scolds at the stars that wink;
Over your face the misty wings
Of that beautiful Dream-One sweep,
And rocking your cradle she softly sings
“Sleep, little tulip, sleep!”
A Legend
WHY THE INHABITANTS OF DORDRECHT ARE NICKNAMED SHEEP HEADS ('Schapekoppen')
The story of how inhabitants of Dordrecht got their nickname stems from a
few centuries back. In those days, Dordrecht claimed taxes for every sheep that
was brought into town and had not originated from within the city gates. Wherever
there's taxes there's people trying to avoid paying them, and likewise were
there a man and his son, intent on buying a cheap sheep at a farm outside of
town and smuggling it into the city... "Come," said the man one morning to his
son. "Today we're going to buy a sheep over at that farm we visited a few weeks
ago." The son snorted. "And pay taxes for it?" he asked. "We'd be cheaper off
just getting one at the market next week." "Ah, but no one has better sheep
than that farmer," his father replied, "besides, I know a way to avoid those
taxes..." He showed his son what he had in mind, the son agreed with a greedy
glint in his eye, and soon they were on their way. It was quite a walk to the
farm, and the day was clear and warm. The road was pleasant, and the journey
was made even more enjoyable by the anticipation of cheating the ever-present
and ever-watchful gates men. Ha! Only the fools paid taxes, the smart men would
never need to.
Once arrived at the farm, the father and son enjoyed a meal, picked the healthiest,
fattest sheep and paid the farmer. "You've chosen a good sheep," the farmer
remarked, "but I'm surprised you're getting it over here. The taxes Dordrecht
asks are high, you'd be cheaper off buying a sheep in town." "True, but we will
not be paying taxes," the father replied with a mischievous grin. He pulled
out the bundle they had been carrying with them and showed the contents to the
farmer: a pair of breeches, child-sized but baggy, a wide shirt and a big floppy
hat. "No one will need to pay taxes to bring their son into town, will they?"
the father said, and winked. The farmer was dumbfounded for a moment, but then
he slapped his thighs and emitted a roaring laugh. He complimented the father
on his cleverness, wished the pair the best of luck with their sheep and sent
them on their way again.
"We will wait until dusk before entering town," the father instructed his son.
"We'll take a different gate from the one through which we left town and will
dress up the sheep a short way before the gate." The son nodded and they went
on their way home in silence. They reached the designated spot for dressing
up the sheep shortly before sundown, and bided their time until it was dark
enough to their liking. Once the right time had arrived, they put the poor,
tired sheep in its breeches, its shirt and pressed the hat over its head so
it would hide its face. Then each of them took it by one of its forelegs, lifted
it up and made it walk, awkwardly on its hind legs, towards the gate. "Come,
little brother," the son said. "We'll be home soon, we're almost there..." They
reached the gate, where the guard was just lighting a torch. "Good grief," the
man exclaimed, "such a small child at this hour?" "Yes," the father replied,
"we were held up...Little Brother is very tired." The guard stepped aside to
let them through. "The poor child is far too tired," he remarked, noticing the
sheep's wobbling steps. "But it's no wonder actually - I must say he's rather
fat..." Father and son had passed him by then, and the father agreed over his
shoulder. But then Little Brother decided to give his opinion: "Beeeeehhhhh!"
he said. The guard was smart enough to understand that no child would talk like
that, not even a fat and tired child, and father and son were caught and had
to pay double taxes...
The story spread through the city, and then to the surrounding Countryside
like a flash fire. Within days everyone within a twenty-mile radius knew of
the two men and 'Little Brother'. And ever since that day, people from Dordrecht
have been known as 'sheep heads'.
Books
A book written by Alexandre Dumas "The
Black Tulip" reveals the story of the "Year of Disaster" 1672 in which
old Dordrecht plays an important role.
Of course there are a lot of other books and writings about historical
Dordrecht, in all languages available.
Next : Martyrs of Dordrecht
