Dordrecht is full of surprising stories. Here we collect the most fun facts about Dordt. Know another one? Send it in via the About Visit Dordt page, and maybe it will appear here soon!
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Why are people from Dordt called ‘sheep’s heads’?
Here is how it goes. In the old days you had to pay tax at the city gate on any meat you brought into town. According to legend, two clever Dordt locals came up with a plan: they dressed a sheep in human clothes, put it between them and strolled past the gatekeepers as casually as they could. All went well… until the sheep started bleating loudly halfway through the gate.
The smugglers were caught, and the rest of Holland had a nice nickname for the people of Dordt: schapenkoppen, sheep’s heads. Today the people of Dordt wear the name with pride. You will see the sheep’s head at FC Dordrecht, and a statue in town recalls the story.
#1 Oldest city in Holland
In 1220 Dordrecht received city rights from Count William I. No other town in the County of Holland was earlier.
#2 An island because of a disaster
The St Elizabeth’s Flood of 1421 turned Dordrecht into an island. The drowned land around it grew into the Biesbosch.
#3 The Netherlands began here
In 1572 the towns of Holland met at Het Hof and chose William of Orange. This was the First Free States Assembly.
#4 The Bible from Dordt
During the Synod of Dordrecht (1618-1619) it was decided to make the States Translation, the Bible translation that shaped the Dutch language for centuries.
#5 A tower without a spire
The tower of the Grote Kerk was never finished as intended. That is why it has its recognisable stubby shape.
#6 River crossroads
Major rivers meet around Dordrecht. It is one of the busiest river junctions in Europe: just count how many ships sail past from the Groothoofdspoort.
#7 Brothers from Dordt
The statesmen Johan and Cornelis de Witt were both born in Dordrecht.
#8 Golden ears of corn
According to an old Dordt saying, God created the people of Dordt from golden ears of corn, and the rest of the country from what was left over.
#9 Beavers within walking distance
Beavers are back in De Biesbosch National Park, right next to the city. The Biesbosch is one of the largest freshwater tidal areas in Europe.
#10 By waterbus to the windmills
From Dordrecht you can take the waterbus to Rotterdam and to the windmills of Kinderdijk, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
#11 Van Gogh sold books in Dordt
Before he became a painter, Vincent van Gogh worked in early 1877 at the Blussé & Van Braam bookshop on the Voorstraat. He was not very good at selling: he preferred translating Bible texts and drawing. Read more about him under Famous people from Dordt.
#12 The frikandel was invented in Dordt
According to the best-known story, Dordt local Gerrit de Vries came up with the first frikandel in 1954, after a new law no longer allowed his meatballs to be called meatballs. Read the whole story under Local food.
Want to honour the frikandel yourself? Join the Frikandellentocht (frikandel walk): a walk through Dordrecht with three frikandellen along the way. It takes place several times a year.
#13 A cannonball in the facade
On the Varkenmarkt, look up at the seventeenth-century house ‘In den verdwaelden koogel’. High in the facade is a real cannonball. It comes from the shelling by French troops in November 1813, when they tried to retake Dordrecht after briefly withdrawing.