Café 't Mandje is a

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. It is located in

Zeedijk Zeedijk (''English'': "Sea dike") is a street in the old centre of Amsterdam. The street is the northern and eastern boundary of De Wallen red-light district and runs between Prins Hendrikkade and Nieuwmarkt. Historically an area riddled with ...

street and was opened in 1927 by Bet van Beeren, herself a

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. 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 n ...

. The

Amsterdam Museum The Amsterdam Museum, known until 2010 as the Amsterdam Historical Museum, is an Amsterdam-based museum dedicated to the city's past and present. Due to the renovation of its main location, the museum is temporarily located in the building the Amst ...

holds the replica of 't Mandje. 't Mandje is often presented as the first

gay bar A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) clientele; the term ''gay'' is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT communities. Gay bars once served as ...

in the Netherlands, but that's not correct: in Amsterdam there were already some gay bars in the first decade of the 20th century. Also, 't Mandje was not specifically a bar for gay men, but more of a tolerant place where prostitutes, pimps, seamen and lesbian women came together.

History

Café 't Mandje, on Zeedijk 63 in the historic heart of Amsterdam was opened in 1927 by lesbian Bet van Beeren. After her death in 1967, her youngest sister Greet continued the business until it closed in 1982, but the bar and its entire interior was preserved by her ever since and could be visited upon request. Just before her death in August 2007, she took the initiative to have the bar reopened. The bar has been open under the management of her niece Diana since 29 April 2008. Orlando Lansdorf used to work at 't Mandje as a barman.

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cafe 't Mandje LGBT culture in the Netherlands LGBT nightclubs Coffeehouses and cafés in the Netherlands Drinking establishments in Europe Restaurants in the Netherlands