Gorinchem Things to Do

Gorinchem was never besieged, but according to the bastion works and citywalls, this could have been a long siege, before the citizens would give up their positions. Water was always available and this means of transport often also couldn;t be cut of completely, so food also could arrive in town. Near the Merwede-side the bastionworks are huge and outwards. As a last line of defense there still was the large thick citywall, making Gorcum's fortress almost invincible.

The road to the river, where ships brought and took people to other destinations, was one of the most important and so was the gateway through the citywalls. Here was the "tolhuis" (tole house) where everyone that entered the town bringing goods and products, had to pay for his / her entry and these goods / products. Often, the means of transport also mattered in the amount to pay. Pedestrians the lowest tole, ships and horse-pulled wagons higher toles.

1 more image

As an old trading town, Gorinchem is full of canals leading from river Linge and Merwede through the town. Some of them aren’t used by ships anymore and just look pitturesque while you will see houseboats in some other.

This windmill was built in 1764 as a gristmill and is still in use. As many other windmills, it was damaged during WWII. Since 1949, the mill is owned by the town of Gorinchem. Machines were installed in the second half of the 20th century and after a long break and several restoration works, it is in use since 1995 again.”de Hoop” means “the hope”. There are no fixed opening times, so there’s only limited acces to the public.

1 more image

Gorinchem’s old town is full of beuatiful houses with many of them dating back to the “gouden eeuw” – the golden 17th century. Just to mention two of them: “’t Coemtal van God” is the nickname of this renaissance warehouse from 1563. The name means “all comes from God” and refers to an inscription. Another beautiful building is the old orphanage (Burgerkinderenweeshuis). It is known for its 18th century façade depicting the founders of the orphanage together with religious figures and symbols. This building is also known by the name of Huize Matthijs – Marijke, also refering to an inscription.

1 more image

Gorkum’s town hall is large, but compared to other dutch town halls, it is not very impressive. Give it a chance and have a look at its façade which mixes baroque and neorenaissance styles. It was finished in 1860, replacing a 15th century building. Today, it houses the town’s museum. Its function was took over in 1994 by a more modern building outside of the old town. The fountain in front of it, Wilhelmina fountain, was place there in 1898 to celebrate the inthronisation of Queen Wilhelmina.

Gorinchem’s star-shaped earth walls are almost entirely preserved, but of it’s four original city gates, only one still exists: Dalempoort. It is located in the southwest of the old town, facing river Merwede. Dalempoort was constrcuted in 1597, but replaced in 1770 by its present building. Its most characteristical attribute is the turret on its top. Have also a look onto the weather vane, which has the shape of the lion in the dutch coat of arms.

This was the place where Hugo de Groot hid after his legendary escape from the prison at Slot Loevestein. The original building does not exist anymore, but the baroque door is still there. Hugo de Groot arrived here on and continued his fled on. He chose a day on which the market took place at Grote Markt and easily escaped in the crowd. He fled to France where he later worked as a diplomat for the famous swedish chancellor Axel Oxenstierna.