About our mascot

A story about a special cat.

On the night of 18 to 19 November 1421, a severe storm drove the North Sea far inland. The dikes around Dordrecht gave way, and by morning dozens of villages had disappeared beneath the water in what became known as the St. Elizabeth’s flood.

When the storm calmed, people gathered on a remaining dike saw a wooden cradle drifting toward them in the floodwaters. On top perched a cat, jumping from side to side each time the cradle began to tip, keeping it balanced against the waves.

The cradle came to rest against the dike with the baby inside, dry and unharmed. The place kept the memory: it has been called Kinderdijk, the children’s dike, ever since.

Today, Kinderdijk is a UNESCO World Heritage site known for its windmills, just down the river from our base in Dordrecht. If you ever visit, be sure to look for the floating and rocking bronze statue of the cat and cradle out in the water.

The story of the cat is less well known, but we think it deserves to be told. It is a story about hope, finding balance in challenging times, and about protecting what is valuable. That is why we chose the cat of Kinderdijk as our mascot.