Free audio walk in Rotterdam
The People from Rotterdam
- 43 min
- 2 km
- 9 stops
- Free
Starts at Doelstraat 253
About this walk
Distance: 3.0 km Time: 60 minutes People have always shaped Rotterdam, from historical figures like Johan van Oldenbarnevelt to modern icons like Pim Fortuyn. This walk highlights the women and men who played a key role in the city’s development across the centuries. It’s one of two routes celebrating remarkable individuals, so be sure to check out the other one too. The route starts and ends at the same location.
The stops
Walk them in order; each story plays when you reach its pin.
- 1Stop 1
The Delftse Poort
A mother handed her baby to a stranger in the crowd, knowing she would never hold him again.
- 2Stop 2
Kaat Mossel
She sold mussels for a living, but somehow ended up at the center of one of the most explosive political battles in Dutch history.
Read the story - 3Stop 3
Rotterdam City Hall
The man whose portrait still watches over this square built an empire on timber, herring, and human beings.
Read the story - 4Stop 4
Hugo Grotius
The man standing before you once escaped prison inside a chest of books, and then changed the world from exile.
Read the story - 5Stop 5
Statue of Johan van Oldenbarnevelt
The bronze man watching over Rotterdam's Coolsingel was once the most powerful politician in the Netherlands — and it cost him his head.
Read the story - 6Stop 6
Gijsbert Karel van Hogendorp
The man standing before you once held the future of an entire nation in his hands, and almost no one saw it coming.
Read the story - 7Stop 7
Schielandshuis
The building where you're standing right now was once transformed overnight into a palace fit for the most powerful man in Europe.
Read the story - 8Stop 8
Pim Fortuyn
Few politicians have shaken a country to its core without ever spending a single day in office.
Read the story - 9Stop 9
Adriaen van der Werff
A miller's son from a small village near Rotterdam became one of the most celebrated painters in Europe, and he also happened to design the building you're standing on right now.
Read the story
Ready when you are
Walk The People from Rotterdam with ROODS.
9 stops through Rotterdam, about 43 minutes. Open ROODS in your browser, walk to the first pin and the story plays.
- Stories on a map, with narrated audio
- Walk at your own pace, stop where you like
- Runs in your browser. An app is optional.
