Click to enlarge The Old Harbour, guarded by the gate with the unspeakable name. The street just above the harbour is Wine Street.

In the early afternoon of Sunday, January 16, 2000, we were having a double espresso at one of the pubs lining the old curtain wall, next to the 'Groothoofdspoort', at the entrance of the Old Harbour. Please, don't feel awkward on behalf of this strange-looking Dutch word with only so many O's, for in it you may recognize the words "great", "head's", and "porch", and it's simply telling it's very suitably called the 'Gate of the Large Head(land)'. On the enlargement of the map of 1652 you can still discern the spot where we were waiting with yet another espresso for the rest of our company to arrive. It's opposite the confusion of ships and masts to the top of the map. Nowadays the headland is partly a car park, partly a tree-shaded service area of the pubs, where in summer pleasure crafts are moored along the quay.

The Dordrecht arms, two griffons holding a crowned shield of red, divided by a central, vertical bar of silver. Its original meaning lies hidden in the mists of time.

The first official mention of Dordrecht dates from around 1138 A.D., where it is called 'Thuredriht', a name most likely referring to a ford - 'driht' or 'drecht' being an evolution of 'trajectum' - in a certain river 'Thure', no longer in existence *), or for that matter near the dwelling of a fisherman, or whatever of that name. Even the old German thunder god 'Thor' has put forth a claim to the title. The name of the settlement, however, seems to have been in use for centuries before. The town charter was granted in 1220 by Count William I of Holland, and from then on his successors made Dordrecht a center of their toll system and an emporium of the wine-trade from the Rhineland and beyond. Every cask of wine had to be unloaded in Dordrecht and put into storage for public sale during eight days, before it was allowed to be transported elsewhere. And we're not talking of childish quantities! Emile Havers of the Society 'Old Dordrecht', who was kind enough to show us around, calculated the amount of wine 'flowing' through Dordrecht in the 1531-1532 season must have run into a million liters at the least, which equals an odd 265,000 wine gallons, or for those of you who only know their gallons from the petrol station, 220,000 gallons. Anyway, this swig of wine would fill up two eight-lane Olympic swimming pools of 50 meters to overflowing! No wonder, the street parallel to the Old Harbour is called Wijnstraat - Wine Street - and there's almost no house in it without a wine cellar. This edict from the 13th century laid the foundation for the town's wine-besprinkled affluence during the following ages, until the French revolutionary army crossed the frozen rivers of Holland in 1795, and discarded all privileges of the 'Ancien Régime', including those of Dordrecht. From then on the cellars remained empty.

For those of you who read Dutch, an interesting, and even humorous account of the history of Dordrecht, and much more, can be enjoyed at the site of the Dordrecht Tourist Board, from which I derived part of the above information, as well as the image of the town arms. *) In 2008, it was established beyond doubt that the Old Harbour is part of the natural course of the former Thure river.

Contents
Welcome
Introduction    The Gate    Ornamental stones    The Court    Epilogue

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