The Dordrecht Museum, Groothoofdspoort, Crimpert Salm, Den Witten Haen; in almost every street in the inner city of Dordrecht you can find a monument. Not surprising, when you consider that more than a thousand buildings and objects in our old city have been designated as monuments. On Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 September, seventy of these monuments will participate in the Open Monument Days.
A great opportunity to take a look inside that special building or beautiful church you normally always pass by.
Great time for introductions
So much beauty has been preserved in Dordrecht for centuries. Especially when you look up in the center and admire the beautiful facades or walk along the old harbors, you imagine yourself in times long gone. 'In Dordrecht, every day is a little monument day. The city has more than 1,000 monuments; they are the tangible reminders of the important place the city occupies in Dutch history, a rich trading past and the centuries-long connection with the water," says Gerben Baaij, director of Dordrecht Marketing & Partners.
Sustainably preserved and reused
The theme of this year's Open Monumentendagen is sustainability. 'Sustainability in the broadest sense of the word,' says Femke Bruinsma on behalf of organizer Dordrecht Marketing & Partners. 'Extra spotlight will be given to sustainable monuments, such as the Onderwijsmuseum, the most sustainable building in Dordrecht and the surrounding area because of its heat and cold storage system, among other things. Watertoren Buitenlust in Dubbeldam was also completely sustainably renovated in 2000 and, of course, Duurzaamheidscentrum Weizigt cannot be missing from this list.
Walks in your pocket
Many of the more than 1,000 monuments can be visited almost daily because a restaurant or lunchroom has taken up residence in them. During Open Monument Days, a special route has been designed along all these catering establishments. By walking along your favorite catering addresses with a map and extra information, you suddenly look at the familiar buildings with completely different eyes. And at the same time you enjoy a snack or drink.'
Two other pocket walks fall nicely within the theme of sustainability. 'There is a walk past several façade stones in the downtown area. From municipal storage and from demolished buildings, many façade stones were repurposed around 1970. Reuse and preservation is, of course, also a form of sustainability. Be sure to walk past the new Art Church where the new facade, designed by Studio Job, was unveiled on the eve (Sept. 9). The third walk is past the bridge keeper's houses, all of which have been given their own unique repurposing.'
Scavenger Hunt Bingo!
Families have also been thought of with a fun bingo card for the kids. 'With this they can look for such things as stepped gables, gable stones and door knockers. When all the images have been found and crossed off, there is a nice present waiting for them at the VVV. You can pick up the Bingo Quest at the VVV starting now . So before you go into the historic city center, stop by the VVV first. The handy map and pocket walks are also available here. So you can take those with you all at once. During Open Monumentendagen (Heritage Days) also available at the Grote Kerk, Augustijnenkerk and Café Buddingh (corner of Central Station), or print it out yourself via the download.
Musical Monuments
The experience will be complete with pleasant live music at various monuments such as the Dordrecht Museum, in front of the Rutte Building and City Hall. Special this year is the opening of the Thuredrith auditorium at Essenhof Cemetery. 'This beautiful monumental building will host four mini-concerts on Sunday by Dordrecht musician Karin Dolman and violist Santiago Velo.' Karin Dolman is a teacher at Codarts, Rotterdam University for the Arts, and Santiago Velo graduated from his master's program last June with a 10 cum laude. 'Definitely worth a trip out of the inner city to visit this beautiful building and canny musicians.'
Go exploring
Curious about the stories and splendor that lie behind the beautiful historic buildings in Dordrecht? Then save a space in your agenda for September 10 or 11 and go exploring in the city. 'All participants will lay out a blue carpet, showing immediately where visitors are welcome.' Those who want to plan the route a bit more can visit monumentenindordrecht.nl. Will we see you this coming weekend in the historic center of Dordrecht? See you then!
