Dordrecht

Dordrecht (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈdɔrdrɛxt]), sometimes called Dordt ([dɔrt]), is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the fourth largest city of the province, having a population of 118,782 in 2014. The municipality covers the entire Dordrecht Island, also often called Het Eiland van Dordt (the Island of Dordt), bordered by the rivers Oude Maas, Beneden Merwede, Nieuwe Merwede, Hollands Diep, and Dordtsche Kil. Dordrecht is the largest and most important city in the Drechtsteden and is also part of the Randstad, the main conurbation in the Netherlands. Dordrecht is the oldest city in the Holland area and has a rich history and culture.

Etymology

The name Dordrecht comes from Thuredriht (ca 1120), Thuredrecht (ca 1200). The name seems to mean 'thoroughfare'; a ship-canal or -river through which ships were pulled by rope from one river to another, as here from the Dubbel to the Merwede, or vice versa. Earlier etymologists had assumed that the 'drecht' suffix came from Latin 'trajectum', a ford, but this was rejected in 1996. The Drecht is now supposed to have been derived from 'draeg', which means to pull, tow or drag. Inhabitants of Dordrecht are Dordtenaren (singular: Dordtenaar). Dordrecht is informally called Dordt by its inhabitants. In earlier centuries, Dordrecht was a major trade port, well known to British merchants, and was called Dordt in English.

Dordrecht, Eastern Cape

Dordrecht is a town situated in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Dordrecht was founded in 1856 by Baron Smiddolff (later changed to Smithdorff), a minister of the Dutch Reformed Church. The town was named for the city of the same name in the South-Western Netherlands and had a population of about 8,741 people in 2001.

Dordrecht lies nestled in the Stormberg Mountains, just north of Queenstown between Middelburg and Mthatha. Its many historical buildings and museum display turn-of-the-century furniture and clothing. Dodrecht is a small town surrounded by a number of farms with a large number of merino sheep and cattle ranchers in the region. Farmers around Dordrecht also grow potatoes. Dordrecht prides itself on a number of historical sites including a unique 1873 colonial country B&B. There are farmstay holidays available in the region. They are well known in South Africa for trout fishing, pheasant hunting and game hunting. The town is also situated near to the Western Drakensberg Mountains where the only snow skiing resort is in South Africa.

FC Dordrecht

Football Club Dordrecht is a football club from the city of Dordrecht in the Netherlands, currently playing in the Eerste Divisie.

History

Founded on 16 August 1883 as Dordrechtsche Football Club (DFC), it became a professional club in 1954 upon the introduction of professional football to the Netherlands. The next significant event was in 1972, at which time the professional and amateur branches of DFC Dordrecht severed their ties. The amateur branch remained DFC Dordrecht, while its professional counterpart became simply FC Dordrecht. Following their reorganisation in 1979 (which led to a change in name to Drechtsteden'79 (DS'79) - referring to the region Drechtsteden), the club was promoted to the Eredivisie in 1983. This however was not to last and was immediately followed by a relegation back to the Eerste Divisie. They went back up to the Eredivisie in 1988/1989 season.

In 1990, another investor gave the club its third name of Dordrecht'90. The club just missed promotion to the Eredivisie in 1991, but was finally admitted when Dordrecht'90 surprisingly merged with neighbouring Schiedamse Voetbal Vereniging (SVV) of Schiedam. The club used the name of SVV/Dordrecht'90 for two seasons, but in 1993, the 'SVV' was dropped and the club was renamed Dordrecht'90. Finally in 2002, the club was again renamed, to the name it bore from 1972 to 1979: FC Dordrecht and that is how the name stands today. For a number of years it was one of the clubs with the lowest average attendance of all Dutch professional teams. Undoubtedly the most famous player to wear a Dordrecht shirt was Johan Cruijff, who played 3 friendly matches for the club in January 1981.