DORDRECHT, A CITY OF WATER, HISTORY AND CULTURE Dordrecht is situated about 100 km from Amsterdam. The city embraces its rich history as a prominent trading center. Dordrecht is a water city, the water has posed a threat for centuries but also brought ways to recreate and develop industries such as dredging. History is an important part of the city s heritage. Today more than a 1000 monuments are being preserved in Dordrecht and three museums tell the civic story about history, art and collecting. Discover the oldest city of Holland and feel the atmosphere of a city that continues to write history. South Korea and the Netherlands have an intrinsic connection because of the Synod and Canons of Dordt since 1618. The impact of this revolutionary event in Early Modern history is still present in South Korea today, via the growing Protestant community and Korean students who study this part of their heritage in the Netherlands.
POUWEL WEYTS DE JONGE, Synod of Dordt, 1621 THE CANONS OF DORDRECHT The Synod of Dordt was the first and only international church meeting in Early Modern Europe. In 1618 the European Calvinist family presented itself in Holland s oldest city. The meeting lasted no less than 180 sessions! In Dordrecht professors, ministers and politicians from Great Britain, Switzerland, the Dutch Republic and several German states gathered to solve theological questions concerning predestination, the church order and the future of Calvinism in Europe and beyond. The Synod of Dordt changed the future of Calvinism. Not only did its Canons and other decisions on church order affect Reformed churches until today, but the meeting itself meant that Calvinists created a network in which they cooperated and influenced each other. This meant that Calvinism, with the strict Canons of Dordt (also known as the five points of Calvinism, or TULIP) as a basis, spread across the world from the seventeenth century onwards. Today we find Calvinist communities in Europe, Africa, Asia (South Korea) and the United States of America which still have these ideas in common.
CELEBRATIVE PROGRAM FROM NOVEMBER 2018 TILL MAY 2019 On November 13 in 2018, it will be 400 years since the opening of the famous Synod of Dordt. In 2018/2019 Dordrecht will breath the commemoration of the Synod of Dordrecht. The city will facilitate and initiate local, regional, national and international initiatives related to the Synod and Calvinism. A seven month celebrative program of events and exhibitions for international visitors, and conferences for specialists. Dordrecht will show the Synod s revolutionary character in exhibitions and conferences. It will reveal its lasting effect on our shared heritage and culture, not only in the Netherlands, which has been regarded as a Calvinist country, but in other parts of the world as well, such as America and South Korea. The Synod s mental legacy which rooted in the 17th century still shows its influence today in many parts of the world. We invite everyone to visit Dordrecht, see the beautiful city and enjoy the international exhibition in the Dordrecht Museum. If you would like to contribute to the celebrations or want to organize trips to Dordrecht, please contact us. We welcome you in our beautiful city!
FERDINAND BOL, Abraham ontvangt de drie engelen, ca. 1662 THE EXHIBITION One of the components the city will offer its visitors is a large exhibition in the Dordrechts Museum with the preliminary title: Work, pray and admire. New views on Calvinism & art. The exhibition, which will open on 10 November 2018, follows the entire period of the original Synod (from November 1618 until May 1619). Visitors can experience the richness of seventeenth century Dutch art as well as its Calvinist elite. Calvinist identity is still closely connected to the Dutch Golden Age. When we look at Dutch paintings, and specifically portraits, the image of men and women wearing black immediately springs to mind. Moreover, sober households, protesting ministers against many forms of entertainment, and the difficult relationship between art and Calvinism have often been quoted when talking about the elite in the Dutch Republic. Recently, this image of the Calvinist has begun to change.
THE EXHIBITION This exhibition would like to create a more nuanced image of Dutch Calvinists. Portraits of Calvinists in dark clothes, clean streets, and cleansed churches will feature alongside recently discovered examples of Calvinist culture. We will present an overview of the Calvinist identity and the image of Calvinists from the 17th until the early 20th century from different perspectives: how did Calvinists live their lives in the Dutch Republic, what did their churches look like, what kind of art did they own, what kind of quarrels and disputes were they involved in, what did they wear? The Synod of Dordrecht functions as the starting point of the exhibition. It had a large impact on society, not only as an event which attracted many tourists but also as a guide for the Dutch elite. Moreover, the States translation of the Bible, or Statenbijbel, was commissioned during the meeting. These Bibles will feature prominently in the exhibition, which the gracious help of the Royal Collection.
DORDRECHTS MUSEUM The Dordrechts Museum is a national museum which shows six ages of paintings by Dutch masters. The collection contains paintings of the Golden Age such as works by Aelbert Cuyp and Ferdinand Bol and the succesfull romantic painter Ary Scheffer as well as masterpieces from the nineteenth century Hague School painters such as Mesdag, Maris and Israels and the impressionism of Jongkind. Every age is represented with a selection of high quality. The museum was founded in 1842 and is one of the oldest museums in the Netherlands.