Zeedijk
The Zeedijk already attracted gays and lesbians in the 1920s and there are still two cafés here with the traditional Amsterdam cosiness:
Cafés: 't Mandje · The Queen's Head
Street parties: King's Day · Pride · Hartjesdag
More: History · Links
updated: 21-03-2023
Please note that many places are closed on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Check the website or social media of the particular place for current info.
C A F É S
't Mandje
As of August 20, 2024 temporarily closed due to renovation
Fun & respect since 1927 – We don't know any better
Zeedijk 63
1012 AS Amsterdam
Since February 26, 1927
Opening hours: (subject to change)
- Weekends: 15.00 - 03.00 hrs
- Weekdays: 16.00 - 01.00 hrs
- Weekends: 15.00 - 03.00 hrs
- Weekdays: 16.00 - 01.00 hrs
News: Café 't Mandje is open again after more than two years (2022)
The Queen's Head
Cozy gay bar, famous for the weekly drag bingo
Zeedijk 20
1012 AZ Amsterdam
Since 1998
Opening hours: (subject to change)
- Weekends: 16.00 - 03.00 hrs
- Weekdays: 16.00 - 01.00 hrs
- Weekends: 16.00 - 03.00 hrs
- Weekdays: 16.00 - 01.00 hrs
T H E P A S T
History
of the gay & lesbian places at ZeedijkAs early as 1927, the lesbian Bet van Beeren opened café 't Mandje, which was visited by a very varied group of prostitutes, pimps, sailors and folk boys. Other tolerant establishments on the Zeedijk, such as dancing Casablanca and nightcafé San Francisco, also attracted gay people.
A similar mix of people as at 't Mandje could be found at café Monico, which was run by Saar Heshof a.k.a. Blonde Saar. This place was opened in 1941 in a nearby alley called Lange Niezel and existed for sixty years. In the early 1970s, there was also a mixed gay café at Lange Niezel 27 under the name Vraagteken ("Question mark"), which was briefly open again in 1991.
Closing of the old places
In the 1950s, two bars that also attracted a gay audience opened near 't Mandje: Groningen at Zeedijk 49 and Violetta at number 52. Since the 1970s, lesbian women also came to Violetta, just like they went to café Groningen. A little further south, at number 73, there was a similar mixed café called Xantippe that had opened in 1969.
All three of these bars closed in the mid-1980s, when drug dealing had made the Zeedijk a no-go area. 't Mandje had already closed its doors in 1983, but was reopened in 2008, making it the oldest surviving LGBT café in Amsterdam.
Emergence of new places
After the problems caused by drugs dealers and users had been contained, gay café The Queen's Head opened at Zeedijk 20 in 1998. Also revived was the old street festival of the Hartjesdagen, known for the parade in which women dress as men and men as women.
In 2001, a new gay café called De Barderij opened near The Queen's Head at Zeedijk 14 and in the same year restaurant-café Cock & Feathers started at number 23-25. In 2007, De Engel van Amsterdam opened at number 21 and expanded in 2011 with De Engel Nextdoor in the adjacent building where previously Cock & Feathers was located.
With this, the northern part of the Zeedijk had become a new gay nightlife area, but after considerable popularity around 2010, it disappeared again almost as quickly as it had arisen: after De Engel closed in 2014 and De Barderij became a tourist café in 2016, nowadays only The Queen's Head remains.
The northern part of Zeedijk in 2017, with in the background
The Queen's Head and at the right former gay bar De Barderij
Photo via Wikimedia Commons - click to enlarge
The Queen's Head and at the right former gay bar De Barderij
Photo via Wikimedia Commons - click to enlarge
> See also: The Amsterdam Gay Bar Culture 1930-1970
Sources:
- Spartacus International Gay Guide, Berlin 1975, 1988 and 1991.
- Paul Verstraeten, & Erik Marcus, Amsterdam in je kontzak, een homo-stadsgids, Amsterdam 1984.
- Gert Hekma e.a., De roze rand van donker Amsterdam, De opkomst van een homoseksuele kroegcultuur 1930-1970, Amsterdam 1992.
- Advertisements in the collection Amsterdam Gay & Lesbian Nightlife at Historypin.org.
- Spartacus International Gay Guide, Berlin 1975, 1988 and 1991.
- Paul Verstraeten, & Erik Marcus, Amsterdam in je kontzak, een homo-stadsgids, Amsterdam 1984.
- Gert Hekma e.a., De roze rand van donker Amsterdam, De opkomst van een homoseksuele kroegcultuur 1930-1970, Amsterdam 1992.
- Advertisements in the collection Amsterdam Gay & Lesbian Nightlife at Historypin.org.
Links
Shop: Les Johns
Business association: Zeedijk Amsterdam
Memorabilia: Zeedijk @ Historypin
News and background articles:
GayNews.nl: New owner for Café The Queens Head, the bustling bar with colourful performing arts (2023)
GayNews.nl: Twentieth Anniversary Café the Queen’s Head (2018)
GayNews.nl: New Owners for Café The Queen’s Head (2015)
Links
Useful links about gay nightlife in:
- Amsterdam
- The Netherlands
- The rest of the world
+ Various LGBT links
Gay nightlife in Amsterdam
Streets:
- Reguliersdwarsstraat
- Warmoesstraat
Guides:
- Gay Amsterdam
- Nighttours: Amsterdam
- Iamsterdam: LGBTQI+ bars and cafes
- Patroc: Amsterdam
- Queer Europe: Amsterdam
- Gay Cities: Amsterdam
- Pinksider: Amsterdam
- The Gay Passport: Amsterdam
- Queer In The World: Amsterdam
- Gay Out: Amsterdam
- Travel Gay: Amsterdam
- GayTravelr: Amsterdam
Calendars:
- Gay Amsterdam: Agenda
- Tom of Amsterdam
- Gay Parties Amsterdam
- GoGiGi
Prides:
- Pride Amsterdam
- Queer Amsterdam
- Leather & Fetish Pride
- Black Pride
Tickets:
- Gaygo Tickets
Tours:
- LGBT Gay Tours Amsterdam
Photos:
- LGBT nightlife in Amsterdam
- Gay Businesses 1983-2010
Memorabilia:
- Amsterdam Gay & Lesbian Nightlife
History:
- Graveyard of LGBTQI pubs & clubs
Gay nightlife in The Netherlands
Guides:
- Nighttours: Netherlands
- Queer In The World: Netherlands
- GayTravelr: Netherlands
- Saunas4men: Netherlands
Calendars:
- Nighttours: Netherlands
Photos:
- Wikimedia: LGBT Nightlife
Memorabilia:
- Dutch Gay & Lesbian Nightlife
- LGBTQI+ Buttons
History:
- LGBT history in the Netherlands
Gay nightlife in the rest
of the world
of the world
Cities:
- Queer Berlin
Streets & Villages:
- Canal Street, Manchester
- Le Marais, Paris
- Hell's Kitchen, New York City
- Church-Wellesley, Toronto
- Village, Montréal
Guides:
- GayBars.eu
- Gay Travel Guide Europe
- Queer Europe
- Spartacus Intern. Gay Guide
- Gay Cities
- Pinksider
- The Gay Passport
- Queer In The World
- Gay Out
- GayTravel
- Travel Gay
- GayTravelr
- Saunas4men
Calendars:
- Gay Events Belgium
- IGLTA: Pride Calendar
- Gay Pride Calendar
- GayPrides.com
- GoGiGi
Photos:
- Wikimedia: Gay bars
Buttons:
- LGBTQI+ Buttons
T-Shirts:
- Wearing Gay History
- Throwback Gay Bar T-Shirts
History:
- Wikipedia: Gay bar
- Brussels Almanack Dykes
- Molly Houses in London
- Lost LGBT Scene Project
- England: Pride of Place
- OUTgoing New York City
- San Francisco Gay History
- The Lesbian Bar Project
- GayBarchives
Various LGBT links
LGBT news:
- Gay News
- Queer.de · Schwulissimo
- PinkNews · Advocate
Podcast:
- Making Gay History
Museums:
- Schwules Museum, Berlin
- Queer Britain, London
- American LGBTQ+ Museum, NYC
- GLBT Historical Society, SF
Archives:
- IHLIA LGBT Heritage
- Fonds Suzan Daniel
- Centrum Schwule Geschichte
- ONE Gay & Lesbian Archives
Linkpartners:
- Amsterdam Masseur Homo/Hetero?