Nes (Amsterdam)

{{Short description|Street in Amsterdam, Netherlands}} {{use dmy dates|date=February 2017}}{{Coord|52|22|15|N|4|53|36|E|display=title}} [[File:Hermanus Petrus Schouten 005.jpg|upright=1.35|thumb|Nes, a 1741 print.]]

'''Nes''' ({{IPA|nl|ˈnɛs|}}; sometimes called '''de Nes''', "the Nes") is a narrow, old, street in [[Binnenstad (Amsterdam)|central Amsterdam]], Netherlands.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lesger |first=Clé |last2=Delaney |first2=Kate |date=2011 |title=Patterns of retail location and urban form in Amsterdam in the mid-eighteenth century |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44614561 |journal=Urban History |volume=38 |issue=1 |pages=35 |issn=0963-9268 |via=JSTOR}}</ref> It runs parallel to and to the east of [[Rokin]], between [[Dam Square]] to the north and [[Grimburgwal]] to the south.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bjerg |first=Lukas |date=January 13, 2026 |title=Nes - A hidden street filled centuries-old secrets |url=https://www.storyhunt.io/en/articles/nes |access-date=2026-03-24 |website=Storyhunt |language=}}</ref>

The Dutch word ''[[wikt:nes#Noun 2|nes]]'' means headland or spit (compare the English word "[[wikt:ness|ness]]", often found as a suffix in placenames, such as [[Inverness]]). Until the seventeenth century, the northern part of Nes (roughly near where Dam Square now is) was called ''Gansoord'' ("Goose-oord"). (An ''oord'' ([[:nl:Oord (geografie)|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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nes {{!}} Medieval Centre & Red Light District, Amsterdam {{!}} Attractions |url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/points-of-interest/nes/1232878 |access-date=2026-03-24 |website=Lonely Planet |language=en}}</ref>

In 1500, there were around 20 monasteries in Amsterdam; of which five were in Nes. The street was nicknamed ''Gebed zonder End'' ("Prayer without end"). A side alley bears that name to this day ([[:nl:Gebed zonder End|nl]]). Open practice of Catholicism was banned after the ''[[Alteratie]]'' of 1578, and the monasteries were given over to other uses. For example, the {{ill|Binnengasthuis|nl|Binnengasthuis (Amsterdam)}} was founded as a hospital on the sites of the Old and New Nunneries.

[[File:The-empire-amsterdam-1921.jpg|thumb|left|The Empire at Nes 17 {{circa|1921}}.]] From early in the nineteenth century, Nes became a centre for entertainment. Its attractions included [[brothel]]s, [[café-chantant]]s, the {{ill|Salon 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: {{ill|The Empire (Amsterdam)|lt=The Empire|nl|The Empire}}.

Since the 1960s, Nes has become known as a theatrical quarter; with sites including Frascati, {{ill|Engelenbak|nl}}, {{ill|De Brakke Grond|nl}} (a Flemish cultural centre), {{ill|TOBACCO Theater|nl}} (a [[rijksmonument]]), and the Comedy Theatre in de Nes.

''The New York Times'' claimed it houses 'the birthplace of capitalism."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Shorto |first=Russell |date=2013-09-27 |title=The Ghosts of Amsterdam |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/29/travel/the-ghosts-of-amsterdam.html |access-date=2026-03-24 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

==Further reading== * {{cite web |url=http://www.theobakker.net/pdf/eindejaar2015.pdf |title=Merkwaardige Straatnamen in Amsterdam: De Nes |language=Dutch |date=2015 |accessdate=26 February 2017}}

==References== {{reflist}}

[[Category:Streets in Amsterdam]]