Schoonhoven is a small fortified town on the river Lek, between Rotterdam and Utrecht, with a harbour, a town wall and a few thousand inhabitants. In the Netherlands it is known simply as Zilverstad, the silver city. Gold and silversmiths have worked here since the Middle Ages, and the town never stopped: there are more silversmiths per inhabitant here than anywhere else in the country, and most Dutch goldsmiths passed through it on their way into the trade.
Why here
Schoonhoven's silversmiths supplied the farming communities of the surrounding region, the Krimpenerwaard and Alblasserwaard, with the silver that belonged to traditional dress: buttons, clasps, ornaments for caps and jackets, knife handles and purse frames. The town was a market and river port, the farmers were prosperous, and the guild kept the craft in the town. Later the workshops grew into small factories for silver tableware, ornaments and later fashion jewellery; in the nineteenth century there were dozens of them. When that industry shrank in the twentieth century, the craft remained, in small ateliers, in the school and in the museum, and the town made silver its identity.
Where Dutch goldsmiths are trained
The Vakschool Schoonhoven, founded in 1895, is the Netherlands' vocational school for goldsmiths, silversmiths, watchmakers, engravers and gemmologists, and one of the few of its kind in Europe. A large share of the goldsmiths working in the Netherlands today learned the trade here, and students and graduates keep the town's workshops supplied with new makers; many stay. If you ask a Dutch goldsmith where they trained, the answer is usually Schoonhoven.
What to see
- The Nederlands Zilvermuseum tells the story of Dutch silver, from church plate and the guild years to contemporary design, with working demonstrations.
- The workshops around the Haven, the old harbour canal, and in the streets behind it. Many are open, and you can watch work in progress and buy from the bench.
- The Nationale Zilverdag, held every year on Whit Monday, when silversmiths and goldsmiths from all over the country show and sell their work in the town, with demonstrations of forging, engraving and chasing. Check the events calendar.
- The Edelambachtshuys, a working silver workshop and small museum, and the town's silver shops.
Buying in Schoonhoven
This is a town of makers, not of chains. You buy from the person who made the piece, or you have something made, and the price is the maker's price. Silver above 8 grams carries the Dutch hallmarks, see recognising hallmarks, and the town is a good place to see techniques such as filigree and chasing up close, both of which belong to the Zeeland and South Holland costume silver still made here.
See the goldsmiths in Schoonhoven on Lujoro.