Mural Middelharnis

Shortly after the Second World War, an Orange association was founded in Middelharnis in the concert hall of Hotel Meijer (then the Meijer Theater).
The association had decided to organize a big party on August 31, 1945 on the occasion of the birthday of H.M. Queen Wilhelmina. Since no Queen's Day could be celebrated during the occupation, it had to be tackled in a big way after the war.

In the absence of decorations, it was decided to paint a number of murals. The mural (see photo) depicts a man blowing a trumpet, with the following caption: Free Joy. The man is dressed in blue. It rises from a large orange V. Perhaps the V of freedom, peace or the V of Vissersbuurt.

The murals that remind of the celebration of the Vissersbuurt of Middelharnis are still there, but the Visserstraatje has disappeared. The flood disaster of 1953 had engulfed the straight street as one of its first victims. The houses were declared uninhabitable and demolished in 1955/1956.

The municipal workshop is now located on the vacant space. Only the extension of the Vissersstraat, "het Straetje van Slis" is still present.
The murals are still there, but whether they can be preserved depends on the municipality of Middelharnis and Bogor Projectontwikkeling BV.

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Source

• Text: Bertrand van den Boogert
• Photos: Bertrand van den Boogert