Dordrecht: A Self-Guided Walking Tour of Holland's Oldest City
Description
Dordrecht may be the oldest city in Holland, but most visitors have never heard of it. On this self-guided audio tour, you'll trace how the city's medieval monopoly on river trade made it the most powerful city in Holland and hear how that ended in a single night. Starting at Scheffersplein, beside a statue whose rejected commission went to a sculptor who later created the Statue of Liberty, you'll walk the Voorstraat the lowest sea dike in the Netherlands. You'll pass through the narrowest house in Dordrecht, a 17th-century almshouse built by a notorious loan shark hoping to save his soul, and along a street that once housed 70 wine cellars. At the harbourfront, hear how the Saint Elizabeth flood of 1421 wiped out Dordrecht's fortune overnight, and pass the city gate where Charles V, Napoleon, and William of Orange all entered. The tour ends at the statue of Johan and Cornelis de Witt two brothers who rose to lead the Dutch Republic before meeting a brutal end.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Pass the Groothoofdspoort city gate, where Charles V, Napoleon, and William of Orange all entered the city. Take in this striking landmark at the point where three rivers meet, its Dordrecht maiden relief still watching over the water after four centuries.
Walk through the Arend Maartenshof, a 17th-century almshouse built by a notorious loan shark hoping to save his soul. Take in this quiet courtyard as a curious piece of moral bargaining set in stone.
Pass Pakhuis Stokholm, a colossal seven-storey warehouse built in 1730 by Stockholm-born merchant Johan Anthony Bruyn as a sugar refinery. Discover how this striking building, with its bright red shutters, later became a grain warehouse before its restoration in the 1960s.
Spot the Schroevendok Straatman, a rare 1928 ship lift once used to hoist vessels partly out of the water for propeller and rudder repairs. Discover how this unique industrial monument, the only one of its kind in the Netherlands, still stands in the Wolwevershaven after a full restoration in 2019.
Pass through the Catharijnepoort, one of only two surviving city gates in Dordrecht alongside the Groothoofdspoort. Spot the old cannonballs still embedded on either side, a reminder of the days when beggars and the sick were turned away at this very entrance.
Enter the Hof van Nederland, the courtyard where the first act of Dutch independence took place in 1572. Stand in the very space where a nation's path toward freedom first began to take shape.
Walk around the Grote Kerk, a Gothic church whose 65-metre tower has been leaning more than two metres since it was built. Take in this remarkable feat of medieval engineering, still standing despite its unmistakable tilt.
End your tour at the statue of Johan and Cornelis de Witt, two brothers born here who rose to lead the Dutch Republic. Reflect on their brutal end, one of the darker episodes in Dutch history, as your journey through Dordrecht concludes.
Pass Dordrecht's City Hall, originally built between 1383 and 1388 by Flemish merchants as a cloth trading hall. Discover how it later became the seat of city government in 1544, gaining its current neoclassical facade during a major renovation in the 1830s and 40s.
Explore Huis Van Gijn, the elegant 1729 residence of Dordrecht banker and collector Simon van Gijn. Step through rooms preserved almost exactly as he left them in 1922, offering a rare window into upper-class Dutch life around 1900.
Highlights
What's included
Important Information
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
