De Biesbosch

The Biesboschhal is a local monument with a special history, located on the southern harbor of the 'De Stadswerf' area, and on the edge of the Staart, a headland in the northeast of Dordrecht. Until the beginning of the twentieth century, this headland consisted of buntings, the Veerplaat and the Kerkeplaat. The buntings were flooded at high tide and were therefore used for logging and salmon fishing. At the end of the nineteenth century, the municipality raised the buntings and the headland was made available for the construction of ships. In 1901, J. Bijvoet opened the NV Scheepswerf Dordrecht there. For this, he had the harbor basin constructed on the Merwede side. More to the east, the machine factory De Biesbosch was established in 1917. The companies merged in 1927. It was not until 1938 that the name Scheepswerf en Machinefabriek De Biesbosch was used. The company focused on the assembly of ships prefabricated in America. Later on, push barges were also produced, as well as inland vessels and coasters. In the heyday of the machine factory, more than 750 people were employed. Due to the lack of orders, the factory had to close its doors in 2000. Up to and including the turn of the century, about 900 ships were launched.