Netherlands/Belgium Trip - Dordrecht      25th June:

Leaning Grote Kerk

    There was a chill in the air when we arose, and ominous black clouds loomed over us in the early dawn. Having paid the harbour master for another two nights, we made the short journey to the Grote Kerk. From the front its lean was clearly visible (we saw quite a few leaning towers on our Dutch tour in the previous year). Two lovely old dears were on reception, and they gave us the most cheery, warm welcome you could possibly imagine, all in Dutch of course.
    The Grote Kerk (Great Church) was the most well-known monument of Dordrecht, and a landmark in the city. The church was built on the site of an early medieval chapel, construction beginning in the early 14th century. Some hundred years later, around 1450, work had proceeded as high as the gallery, but then in 1457 fate struck. Both church and tower were seriously damaged during an enormous fire that raged through half the city. Having to rebuild the tower, however, offered an opportunity to change the design resulting in a Brabantine Gothic style. The tower was to get an octagonal stone crowning and to attain a height of no less than 108 metres. But as the tower started to subside, the idea was dropped. The freestanding western entrance to the tower was a reminder of this 16th century plan to tear down the tower in order to enlarge the church building. But this part of the plan was abandoned too. Finally, in 1626 construction came to an end with the installation of four colossal Baroque clock faces that still outline the silhouette of "the Dordtse dom, the city's cathedral".
    During the 1953-1973 restoration, the slow subsidence process was brought to a standstill. The original traceries were reapplied too, and the buildings surrounding the tower were restyled and given a function in accordance with the use of the tower. At the time of writing, the 68 metre tower was 2.25 metres off plumb.

Choir-Stall Carvings. The Top Right Depicts an Egg Puller at Work

    This was a truly beautiful building inside. The Grote Kerk was the only church in Holland with stone vaulting and one of the largest churches in the country, with a length of 108m and a height of 24m. The beautiful interior had 56 columns with cabbage-leaf capitals.

Jerusalem Chapel: Left - St Elizabeth's Day Flood of 1421, Centre - Great Fire of 1457, Right - Surprise Attack by English Troops Led by Jan van Egmond in 1480

    In the high choir, which was closed by a Baroque brass choir-screen made out of copper and marble, presented to the church by one Diodati in 1744, were magnificent oak choir-stalls, carved in Renaissance style by a Flemish craftsman, Jan Terwen, in 1538-41, which were the finest of their kind in the Netherlands. The carvings on the north side depicted secular triumphal processions, including that of the Emperor Charles V, king of Spain and ruler of the Low Countries. On the south side the risen Christ was represented in a triumphal car drawn by the four Evangelists, preceded by Old Testament figures (including Adam and Eve, Noah and Moses) and followed by Death and Sin, in fetters, and martyrs, monks and Fathers of the Church. The procession ended with the triumphal chariot of the Church, drawn by Faith, Love and Hope.
    Around the choir stood 12 chapels. In the Jerusalem Chapel at the east end were three stained glass windows depicting important events in the history of the town: on the left the St Elizabeth's Day flood of 1421, in the center the great fire of 1457 and on the right the surprise attack by English troops led by Jan van Egmond in 1480. The windows in the south transept also had beautiful stained glass on historical themes, reflecting the important role played by Dordrecht in the history of the Netherlands. The figures of two Sea Beggars recalled the liberation of the town from Spanish rule in 1572, and there were also representatives of the Dordrecht Synod. The chapels on the south side of the nave were built at the expense of the town's guilds (the cloth-dealers, the merchants, the bakers, the fur-dealers, the dyers).

South Side Chapel Windows Representing the Town's Guilds

    Also of note was the large organ, built in 1671 by Nicolaas Hagen of Antwerp. The organ-case was decorated with the coats of arms of Dordrecht and of former burgomasters. On the magnificent, lavish pulpit (1765) were scenes from the life of Christ.
    We rested our feet for a while to watch a video of the internationally famous Dordrecht carillon being played, renowned for its good acoustics and pure tone, and apparently since January 2000 had had the largest and most sonorous carillon in Europe. This was quite unusual considering the tower had not had a carillon for almost three centuries. The carillon consisted of 67 bells, the oldest of which dated from the 15th century. All these bronze bells weighed approximately 55,000 kilos, and were located in the age-old wooden belfry inside the huge bell-chamber measuring 10x10x14 metres, positioned 45 metres above the ground. The video showed the carillon player at an instrument that resembled an organ, but he struck pegs downwards instead of a keyboard. The speed that he could play this instrument was most impressive.
    After a strenuous climb up 275 steps to the gallery at the top of the tower, we were rewarded with a spectacular view of the historic city centre and the surrounding area. The tall buildings of Rotterdam could be clearly seen, and beyond those lay Europoort. Poor Rex has a fear of heights, and he hugged the wall of the tower as he circulated the gallery. He did well to make it to the top, but going towards the ramparts of the gallery was a no-no for him. Hmm... perhaps we should train him with mast climbing for a few days to help him overcome his fears. On second thoughts, that's not going to work.

    After a warm drink to still the nerves we walked up Nieuwe Haven, created in 1410, to the house of Simon van Gijn, now a museum. This business man, lawyer and collector lived here from 1864 until his death in 1922. He left his house and most of his collections to the Old Dordrecht Society. His wish was for the collections to be made publicly accessible and for his house to be converted into a museum.
    Van Gijn was born in Vlaardingen in 1836, and his family moved to Dordrecht in 1842, where Simon's father joined his father-in-law's banking firm. From a young age Simon took a keen interest in history, and was encouraged by his mother to start collecting historical prints. He also showed an interest in arts and crafts. After studying law in Leiden, van Gijn established himself as a lawyer in Dordrecht in 1863. That same year he followed his father as a banker in the family business. In 1864, he married and bought the house, and the couple created various period rooms. The collection included model ships, porcelain, glass, silver, furniture, prints and paintings, as well as antique toys in the attic. Domestic life was also reflected in the museum, with linen hanging on the washing line, the dinner table set with attractive crockery, and the copper pans gleaming in the kitchen.
    I made some enquiries of one of the lady curators regarding some of the paintings, and was impressed with her English. "Your English is excellent," I commented, "Where did you learn it?"
    "I learnt at school, but most was learnt from my husband who is Scottish. He refuses to speak Dutch, so that is the only language we can communicate in," she told me laughingly. She pointed out another artwork on a wall in one of the rooms, which looked like a bass relief sculpture and painting combined. The artist had a unique style, he would chew wall paper, and then sculpt it into the delicate shapes I could see. The maritime scene was impressive, a lot of patience had been taken and the artist was clearly gifted, but how on earth did he engage on that style in the first place?

The Unassuming De Munt Entrance

    The air was warming up now, and the black clouds had vaporised, so we took a leisurely stroll up to 't Vlak by the Dok Straatman, and then up by the Wolwevershaven, created in 1609. The Stokholm Warehouse stood high and proud with its gleaming red shutters. Just past it lay the Dordts Patriciershuis, a museum that allowed folk to experience how a Dordrecht patrician household lived at the end of the 18th century.
    A pause at the Groothoofd was obligatory, what else could we do at this major confluence of three important waterways? After passing through the historic Groothoofdspoort, we walked down Wijnstraat, stopping to have a look at 't Zeepaert. Built around 1495, this was Dordrecht's oldest dwelling, and one of the oldest in the Netherlands. It had been home to a soap maker, a brewer and various merchants. Now it had reached the pinnacle of its career, the restored building was used for conferences. How sad I thought, and to look at it, I for one would never have guessed as to its age or history.
    We crossed the Wijnhaven via the Nieuwebrug, admiring dwellings on either side of the bridge. On one side a garden overhung the Wijnhaven, and on the other, balconies of a small block of flats were adorned with three-dimensional gardens.
    Just off Voorstraat we found De Munt. The sandstone Muntpoortje gate, dating form 1555, on the Voorstraat gave access to the Muntgebouw (the Mint). Here, from 1367 up to its closure in 1806, the coins for Holland and Zeeland were minted. The Holland coat of arms hung above the entrance of the main building.
    Our hike naturally led us on to Het Hof (the Court) next. In the Middle Ages, Het Hof was the most important Augustinian monastery in the Northern Netherlands. What remained were the main building with the refectory, the sleeping quarters and the crypts. In 1572, an important meeting was held in Het Hof, participants being representatives of the cities of Holland that revolted against King Philip II of Spain. Their decision led to the independent Republic of the United Netherlands. While we were there, Het Hof was being renovated and restored before being reopened with a contemporary presentation of the history of Dordrecht, an exhibition hall and a reading room.
    Lazily meandering, we passed through the shopping district, and gazed at the almshouses between Bagijnhof and Vieisestraat. These were built for poor women around several courtyards, dating from 1755. They were now occupied by both men and women.

Het Hof

    Our objective was reached, the train station, where we checked up on the train times to Gorinchem. They were very frequent and cheap. This completely put the idea of taking the boat up there into touch, three bridges would have had to be negotiated in each direction rendering time consuming journeys.
    Making our way back to the boat, we stopped off for a drink at a cafe by the Spuihaven. Meryl wanted an Earl Grey tea. "No problem," replied the waitress. In no time at all she received a cup of hot water and a stick shaped packet that contained the tea leaves. The packet was perforated, but upon stirring the "stick" in the hot water, the herbal infusion was instigated. The result was a perfect cup of Earl Grey tea as far as Meryl was concerned.
    Back on board Duonita, after obtaining provisions and loading washing machines, Rex fell into conversation with the Dutch chap on the adjacent boat. The guy had an excellent book on the tidal flows within the Schelde and connecting channels, which he lent us. This enabled Rex to plan an efficient passage for later to the Haringvliet using tidal flows to our advantage. The fellow went walkabout, so Rex deposited his book back on board with a thank you note in his impeccable Dutch. Smart cookie, not only can he speak the language, he can write it too!
    After a delicious meal on board, we chilled out for a while listening to some of Rex's music from the 60s to the 00s, bliss. Rex was frantically dancing around the boat with his air guitar, a cool mover. The lad has an in-depth knowledge of music from this era, the bands and characters. As for me, I have my favourite songs, but am totally useless when it comes to all the nitty gritty details of who, what, where and when. Life is too short.
    Suddenly there was a tap on the side of the boat; was somebody wanting to complain about the din we were making? Rex quickly killed the music and climbed outside. It was the chap from the adjacent boat, he came to give Rex the book on tidal flows that he had lent him earlier. The kindness of strangers.

Almshouses Plaque (The Poor Women Yard)

    During our trip together, I had often thought long and hard about my travelling companions. I was concerned that they should have some quality time together, three's a crowd, two's company principle so to speak. I felt strongly that they should have their "us" quality time, but it is a difficult subject to broach without sounding harsh as if I were shunning their company. But I was determined that tonight they should go off and do their own thing. I am more than capable of venturing out on my own.
    We went off on our separate ways. I picked up the strains of distant music and sought it out. It emanated from a long narrow funfair on the Spuiboulevard. Apart from the language difference, the fair could have been anywhere in Britain. I didn't linger, but instead took a hike up the long Voorstraat which brought me up to the northern end of the city. The neighbourhood of the Grote Markt (town square) had been completely destroyed and replaced by soulless social housing. I came across gangs of youths kicking footballs about, but I didn't feel threatened. Keeping to this side of town I marched north through more social housing up to the Nieuwekerksplein, containing a large unattractive church and nothing else, and sitting at the top of the island was Otto Dickeplein, near to where the Riedijkshaven, Wantij and Beneden Merwede all met. There was no evidence of a plain, just a complex of flats. This was the other side of the island city that wasn't mentioned in the guide books. Yet people needed somewhere to live, and the area was clean with no evidence of trouble.
    By the time I returned to the boat, Rex and Meryl had already turned in. They were still awake, so we shared our stories before settling down to slumbers.