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Dorestad (Dorestat, Duristat) was an early medieval emporium, located in the Provence of South holland (province) in the Netherlands, close to the modern-day town of Wijk bij Duurstede. It flourished during the 8th to early 9th centuries, as an important port on the northeastern shipping routes due to its proximity to the fork in the Rhine, with access to Germany via the Nederrijn (the northernmost branch of the Rhine), to the southern Netherlands, northern France, and England (via the Lek), and to the northern Netherlands, northern Germany, and Scandinavia (via the Kromme Rijn).