Visit to Museum Huis van Gijn

I visited the picturesque city of Dordrecht today, to visit a grand old house that is open to the public.The city itself is the oldest city in South Holland, a province in The Netherlands, and was granted city rights by  William 1, Count of Holland in 1220.

The house that I visited belonged to Simon Van Gijn, a banker and collector  who lived in this grand house from 1864 until his death in 1922.On his death he bequeathed the house and most of his collectables to the Old Dordrecht Society.His bequest came with the instructions that his house and collectables be open to the public for viewing and that his house be converted into a museum with the interior being maintained in its original state. The house, in effect , is a snapshot of luxury living in the 19th and early 20th century.The house is located on the spectacular Nieuwe Haven, a spectacular paved road, flanked on one end by, what would have been grand homes, today subdivided into smaller homes and on the other a  large beautiful canal, where boats and yachts of varying age and luxury are berthed.Some of these ´yachts’ leave little room for doubt of the financial success of some of the inhabitants of Dordrecht.

The house is a sprawling mansion over three floors and an attic which houses an extensive antique toy collection. Unlike the previous fine house in Amsterdam that I visited some weeks ago, the carpet collection in this one was a bit underwhelming. However, the undeniable fact is that beautifully woven rugs and carpets are intrinsically linked with high and fashionable living, past and present. 

As alluded to, the rugs were underwhelming but were more than made up for by  the walls of the interior being covered with beautifully patterned fabric, including a fine example of gold gilded leather as well as a red velvet patterned, elaborately decorated salon. This salon was used by the wife to receive guests before dinner or drink tea with friends. The ballroom, a room of fair proportion, was clad wall to wall with grand  tapestries that seem to illustrate life in the Dutch colonies as well as life in Europe. For me this creates the impression that Simon Van Gijn amassed his fortunes from the Dutch colonies. 

Enjoy the pictures .