Zeedijk (''English'': "Sea dike") is a street in the old centre of

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

. The street is the northern and eastern boundary of De Wallen red-light district and runs between Prins Hendrikkade and

Nieuwmarkt Nieuwmarkt (; ) is a square in the centre of Amsterdam, Netherlands. The surrounding area is known as the Lastage neighborhood. It is situated in the borough of Amsterdam-Centrum. The square is considered part of Amsterdam's Chinatown, next ...

. Historically an area riddled with crime and drug addicts, the area went through a revitalization and is now the main street of Amsterdam's

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

, where locals come to eat at Vietnamese, Thai and Chinese restaurants. The Zeedijk neighbourhood is also known as the Nautical Quarter (Dutch: ''Nautisch Kwartier'') because of its past as a sailors' neighbourhood.

History

The zeedijk was constructed as seawall or ''dike'' to protect Amsterdam from the water of the IJ, which was in open connection with the

Zuiderzee The Zuiderzee or Zuider Zee (; old spelling ''Zuyderzee'' or ''Zuyder Zee''), historically called Lake Almere and Lake Flevo, was a shallow bay of the North Sea in the northwest of the Netherlands. It extended about 100 km (60 miles) inla ...

until 1872. The street's curvature is a noticeable remnant of its adherence to the contours of the old dike. Halfway along the dike is the former Sint Anthoniespoort, the old city gate now called the

Waag WAAG ( FM 94.9 MHz), known as FM 95, is a radio station licensed for Galesburg, Illinois, United States. The station is owned by Galesburg Broadcasting Company. The station has a country music Country (also called country and western ...

. Beyond the gate running south-east, the dike continued as ''Sint Antoniesdijk'' (now

Sint Antoniesbreestraat The Sint Antoniesbreestraat ("St. Anthony's Broad Street") is a street in the centre of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The street runs south from Nieuwmarkt square to the Sint Antoniesluis sluice gates, where it continues as the Jodenbreestraat. ...

). The neighbourhood is one of the oldest parts of Amsterdam. In 1544, Zeedijk was the first street to have permanent

street light A street light, light pole, lamp pole, lamppost, streetlamp, light standard, or lamp standard is a raised source of light on the edge of a road or path. Similar lights may be found on a railway platform. When urban electric power distribution b ...

s installed. Until the 17th century, the curve of the promenade was one of the most respectable places where one could live. After the construction of the luxurious

Herengracht The Herengracht () is the second of four Amsterdam canals belonging to the canal belt and lies between the Singel and the Keizersgracht. The Gouden Bocht (Golden Bend) in particular is known for its large and beautiful canal houses. History Th ...

, the wealthy merchants moved out of the area and it became a centre of nightlife for passing sailors. The old bars and the shops for ship supplies are still a reminder of this.

Chinatown

Zeedijk is the heart of

, the Chinese neighbourhood of Amsterdam. There are many tokos and restaurants there, such as Nam Kee, described in the novel ''De Oesters van Nam Kee'' by Kees van Beijnum and the

movie A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

based on the book. The text on the street signs in the Zeedijk area and Nieuwmarkt are both in Dutch as well as in Chinese. The neighborhood is the location of the He Hua Temple, a

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhism, Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat, khurul and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in B ...

which is open to the public. This is the second oldest Chinatown in Europe after the Chinatown in London.

Culture

Jazz musician

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

fell to his death at Zeedijk in 1988. A plaque was put up at the site in his memory. Café 't Mandje on Zeedijk 63 was an early example of a bar where, aside from

prostitutes Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-p ...

pimp Procuring, pimping, or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term "pimp" ...

s and sailors,

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

s and

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

s were also welcome. Opened in 1927, owner Bet van Beeren soon became an icon within Amsterdam's

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

community. After her death in 1967, her sister Greet continued the café until 1983. It was reopened in 2008 by relatives. Besides Café 't Mandje, there were other

gay bar A gay bar is a Bar (establishment), drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ+) clientele; the term ''gay'' is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBTQ+ communi ...

s in Zeedijk as well. Around the year 2000, four gay bars (De Barderij, The Queen's Head, De Engel van Amsterdam, and De Engel Next Door) opened in close proximity to each other along the bend at the north-east end of Zeedijk, making this area one of Amsterdam's hotspots of gay nightlife. Once a year, in August, the

Hartjesdag Originally Hartjesdag (Day of Hearts) was a festival celebrated on the third Monday in August in the Dutch areas of Haarlem and Bloemendaal and in various parts of Amsterdam, particularly around the Haarlemmerplein, in the Jordaan, and in the Dap ...

takes place on the Zeedijk, a festival featuring a parade of costumed participants.

Gallery

File:Amsterdam Zeedijk.jpg, Zeedijk in Amsterdam File:Amsterdam_(16032323736).jpg, He Hua Temple File:Adamchinatown.JPG, The Chinatown area has

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

street signs File:Zeedijk, Amsterdam.jpg, Zeedijk at night File:Zeedijk Amsterdam.jpg, Zeedijk in 2023

References

External links

Zeedijk business association

Past and present of gay & lesbian nightlife
* Deborah Nicholls-Lee
How a Dutch Housing Agency Rescued an Amsterdam Street From the Drug Trade
Citylab.com, 12 November 2018 {{Europe Chinatown Streets in Amsterdam