In ’t Aepjen is a café at Zeedijk 1, inside a rare surviving sixteenth-century timber-framed Amsterdam house. Records, later shopfronts and a debated monkey legend reveal how the building’s use and story changed over time.
Quick facts
The current Zeedijk 1 house has a largely surviving sixteenth-century timber frame; its precise date is debated, with wood research suggesting 1545–1550 and an architectural database favoring circa 1560.
The house’s first known owner was Jan Claesz ‘int Aepgen; the building was later a paper shop, a grocer’s shop and, after its 1986–1987 restoration, a café.
Hendrick de Keyser acquired the house in 1920; it is a rare Amsterdam property with a substantially intact historic timber structure.
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Guide
At Zeedijk 1, In ’t Aepjen occupies a house whose upper floors lean outward over a narrower ground level. The dark timber front is not just a picturesque surface: behind it is a largely surviving sixteenth-century wooden frame. In a city where fire and rebuilding erased most early timber houses, this is one of Amsterdam’s rarest surviving examples. The address is in Amsterdam municipality’s Centrum district; the assigned catalog point, 52.376312, 4.900146, matches the building’s mapped location.
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