History

Rederij Rembrandt was founded by mr. Jan Harland as Rederij Sleutelstad (Key City) in 1952. First with 1 boat and the following year with 2 boats. Initially they were ‘soil and shit’ boats for the transport of goods and manure for the growers in the area.

In 1952 and 1953 they were converted into tour boats as they are today. At that time they were called Sleutelstad I and Sleutelstad II, now Saskia and Titus respectively.

In the 1960s, the company came into the hands of the daughter of Harland ,Judith who ran the company together with her husband Jaap Slingerland for about 40 years. At the end of the 1990s, the company came into the hands of the Municipality of Leiden, which changed the name of the company to Rederij Rembrandt after the Leiden-born painter Rembrandt van Rijn. The boats were named after his wife Saskia and son Titus. It came back into private hands in 2005.

At the end of 2017 and the end of 2018, the boats were converted from diesel powered to 100% electrically powered.
In addition to the age of the boats Saskia (built in 1930) and Titus (built in 1924), the fact that electric sailing with 0% emissions is now used and energy is generated with solar panels and wind generators makes Rederij Rembrandt very sustainable.

As a result, the boats, and Rederij Rembrandt as a company, have become very modern while retaining their authentic character.