Schiedam - Builds on Jenever History
Schiedam's jenever history will capture everyone's imagination. The fine houses in the city centre have been like silent witnesses testifying to Schiedam's rich history. Before thousands of its inhabitants found employment in the shipping trade, the majority of Schiedam's population had earned a living in the jenever industry. Walking through the historic city centre, it requires but little effort to imagine the atmosphere of those days. If you like, you can see the jenever barrels tumbling down the quays; you can find out how square bottles are carried on board the ships and you can watch the distillers meet one another at the Corn-Exchange. Perhaps you can even smell the stinking refuse - spent grains - of the distilleries that is carried off on barges via the harbours into the polder for farmers to feed their pigs with.
The common thread in this revised, richly illustrated jenever book is a city walk through the historic centre of this town. During this walking tour we will take you to ancient streets and historic sites. These legacies of Schiedam's jenever past will take you back to days long gone by. You will learn about the origin of jenever and its production process. You will find out which lasting houses and factories were built in Schiedam back in those days of the jenever industry. You will learn how much weight the former jenever masters carried in politics. We will also discuss the almost proverbial alcohol use and abuse by the Schiedam population. What was the sociocultural life of workers like? What was the influence of religion on the jenever industry and to which extent did wars and excise lead to smuggling?
The product jenever is inextricably linked to Schiedam; it is part and parcel of the city of Schiedam and will always continue to play a major role. Whether you are born in Schiedam or not, many people are fascinated by its jenever history. And, secretly, we cherish the hope that as the city's new entrepreneurs' we're adding a new chapter with our products to its history. Besides the distillery branch, Schiedam has developed other trades and professions over the past hundred years or so. In creating products like this book, we have drawn our inspiration from the soil of Schiedam (perhaps not least because it hides so many jenever barrels?) We expect you too to find some inspiration in reading this book, which in turn will help us to further develop creative activities in the striking city of Schiedam. You get the message: what's bred in the bone will come out in the flesh as two people born and bred in Schiedam, we are inextricably linked to the jenever city!