Dordrecht

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Monarch Empress docked at Dordrecht, Netherlands, on the Beneden Merwede as the port for the visit to Kinderdijk. From the dock at the Buiten Walevest quay, the group needed to walk a brief distance to the motorcoach parking area. The brief walk provided an opportunity to see a bit of old town Dordrecht. The route led along Wolwevershaven past a quaint basin that was once a principal commercial dock. It was filled now with pleasure craft together with a historic sailing ship and a historic steamship. Townhouses dating from the 16th and 17th centuries line both sides of the basin. These were once houses of commerce, merchants, and warehouses, but have been repurposed into residences, shops, and restaurants. I enjoyed the window of a model train store displaying HO-scale Dutch trains. The path led to the Groothoofdspoort, the Great Main Gate, facing the confluence of the Beneden Merwede, Oude Maas, and Noord rivers. The gate dates to the fourteenth century, but the Baroque façade was added in 1618, and the domed cupola in 1692. We met the motorcoaches at a parking area just beyond the gate and were soon on our way to Kinderdijk.

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Photos

Groothoofdspoort
"Groothoofds-Poort, an ancient city-gate, rebuilt in 1618, with a fine relief by Æmilius and Samuel Huppe and a dome of 1690."--Baedeker 1910.
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Parkhuis van Oldenborgh
Parkhuis van Oldenborgh - Oldenborgh warehouse. This former warehouse was commissioned by the wine merchant Johan Sam Jacobsz in 1658. It has a very stately brick neck gable and the original hoisting mechanism. Kuipershaven 17-18.
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Damiatenbrug
Damiatenbrug drawbridge. The bridge was built over the Wolwevershaven in 1855 and connects two quays, the Wolwevershaven, and the Kuipershaven.
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Pieter Boele
Pieter Boele at the Wolwevershaven, Dordrecht. Built as the Rhine River tug Wacht am Rhein VII in 1893. MMSI 244730731.
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Het Meevat
Het Meevat. Built in 1700 by the banker Huijbert Borret. Kuipershaven 41-42.
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Wolwevershaven
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Helena Jacoba
Helena Jacoba at the Wolwevershaven, Dordrecht. Inland charter sailing ship. Launched in 1903. ENI 02102207. MMSI 244184075.
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Het Winkeltje
Model train store at "Het Winkeltje".
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Bellevue Groothoofd Hotel
Bellevue Groothoofd Hotel, built in 1840, and the cupola of the Groothoofdspoort just beyond it.
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Watertoren Zwijndrecht
Water tower built in 1897-1898.
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Spoorbrug Dordrecht
Spoorbrug Dordrecht - The Dordrecht Railway Bridge (Zwijndrechtse Brug) is a 560 m railway bridge between Dordrecht and Zwijndrecht, in the Dutch province of South Holland. The lift bridge opened in 1994, crosses the Oude Maas and is part of the Breda-Rotterdam railway line.
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Anda
Andra, inland cargo vessel on the Oude Maas near Dordrecht. Launched in 2009. MMSI 244660065.
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