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Nes Review

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Nes

Address: Between Langebrugsteeg and Dam, Centrum, Amsterdam | Map It

Category: Neighborhoods/Streets
Location: Old City Center

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Fodor's Review:

Originating as a boggy walkway along the Amstel River when Amsterdam was an ever-sinking fishing village, the Nes is now a refreshingly quiet corridor filled with theaters and restaurants. At the end of the 14th century, the Nes began evolving into a long strip of monasteries and convents before the Altercation of 1578 (or Protestant takeover) when Amsterdam became more concerned with commercial pursuits on its march toward the Golden Age. The philosopher Spinoza (1623-77) moved here to escape the derision he was receiving from his own Jewish community for having fused Jewish mysticism with Descartian logic, concluding that body and soul were part of the same essence. The Frascati theater (Nos. 59-65) began life as a coffeehouse in the 18th century, but it wasn't until the 1880s that the Nes really blossomed with cafés filled with dance, song, and operetta performances; stars often represented the less uptight segment of the Jewish community. Adjacent to the southern end of the Nes is Gebed Zonder End, the "Prayer Without End" alleyway, which got its name because it was said you could hear prayers from behind the walls of the convents that used to line this alley.

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