DORT, or DORDRECHT, a t. of the Netherlands, in the province of South Holland, situated on an island formed by the Maas, about 12 in. s.e. of Rotterdam. An inunda tion in 1421, in which upwards of 70 villages were destroyed and 100,000 people drowned, separated the site upon which D. stands from the mainland. D. is fortified on the s. side, and its position is naturally so strong, that though frequently besieged, it has never been taken. It is one of the oldest towns in Holland, and some interesting historical particulars attach to it. Here, in 1572, the states of Holland, after their revolt from Spain, held their first assembly, and declared the prince of Orange to be the only lawful governor of the country. In 1718-19, the conclave of Protestant divines known as the synod of Dort, met here and condemned the doctrines of Arminius as heretical, and affirmed those of Calvin. (For an account of the questions at issue, see Aumixrus.)
The Gothic buildino-s in which the synod sat, whose miraculous labors, according to the president's closing r'iddress, " made hell tremble," is now used as a public-house, and the particular room in which they met is degraded into a dancing-saloon. Among the prin cipal buildings of D. are a Gothic church with a tall square tower, and containing a beautiful marble pulpit, and the town-hall. The town is traversed by canals, and the Rhine and the Maas afford it great facilities for trade. Large ships can go quite up to the quays. Gigantic wood-rafts, valuing sometimes as much as £30,000 each, obtained from the Black forest and Switzerland, come down the Rhine to D., which has numer ous saw-mills, ship-building docks, salt and sugar refineries, bleacheries, and manufac tures of tobacco, white-lead, etc. It has also considerable trade in corn, flax, oil, tim ber, and salt-fish. Pop. '74, 25,823.