Utrecht Saint Nicholas 5 December

This memorial stone you can find above the door of
Oudegracht 330.

I couldn't find the back ground information.

It shows Saint Nicholas who flies on a kind of cloud to save the sailors on the vessel.

It is not clear why, according to Dutch tradition, St. Nicholas comes from Spain.

Maybe it has to do with the fact that St. Nicholas was the patron of the seafares.

In the 17th century, Holland was known for its seafare (trade and colonies).

Maybe this tradition began by the contact with Spanish sailors.

This may also explain why Saint Nicholas is helped by Black Pete's
(the Moors dominated Spain for several hundreds of years)

Another, more popular, statement is that the Pete’s are black since they often enter chimneys and there is no time to wash their selves :).