 | This articledoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved. Find sources: "Nes" Amsterdam – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(February 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
52°22′15″N4°53′36″E / 52.37083°N 4.89333°E /52.37083; 4.89333Nes ([ˈnɛs]; sometimes calledde Nes, "the Nes") is a narrow, old, street incentral Amsterdam, Netherlands. It runs parallel to and to the east ofRokin, betweenDam Square to the north andGrimburgwal to the south.
The Dutch wordnes means headland or spit (compare the English word "ness", often found as a suffix in placenames, such asInverness). Until the seventeenth century, the northern part of Nes (roughly near where Dam Square now is) was calledGansoord ("Goose-oord"). (Anoord (nl) is a piece of land between where two rivers meet.) The name most likely described the nature of the street's original situation among the waterways of Amsterdam.
In the year 1500, there were around 20 monasteries in Amsterdam; of which five were in Nes. The street was nicknamedGebed zonder End ("Prayer without end"). A side alley bears that name to this day (nl). Open practice of Catholicism was banned after theAlteratie of 1578, and the monasteries were given over to other uses. For example, theBinnengasthuis [nl] was founded as a hospital on the sites of the Old and New Nunneries.
From early in the nineteenth century, Nes became a centre for entertainment. Its attractions includedbrothels,café-chantants, theSalon des Variétés [nl], the Theatre Tivoli, and artists' cafés. Later, it became important in the tobacco trade.
From 1911 (or earlier) until the mid 1930s, No. 17 was home to one of the earliest gay bars:The Empire [nl].
Since the 1960s, Nes has become known as a theatrical quarter; with sites including Frascati,Engelenbak [nl],De Brakke Grond [nl] (a Flemish cultural centre),TOBACCO Theater [nl] (arijksmonument), and the Comedy Theatre in de Nes.