Zeedijk Oudezijds Achter-Voorburgwal Amsterdam The Netherlands Sepia by Hendrik-Jan Kornelis

About "Zeedijk Oudezijds Achter-Voorburgwal Amsterdam The Netherlands Sepia"

by Hendrik-Jan Kornelis

About the artwork

The Zeedijk is a street in the centre of Amsterdam. The street runs from Prins Hendrikkade to Nieuwmarkt.

Zeedijk is the heart of Chinatown, Amsterdam's Chinese neighbourhood. There are many toko's and restaurants, such as Chinese restaurant Nam Kee, known for the novel De oesters van Nam Kee. The text on street signs in the Zeedijk and Nieuwmarkt area is in both Dutch and Chinese characters. Although there is no prostitution on Zeedijk, the street is also considered part of Amsterdam's Red Light District.

In August, the Hartjesdagen take place on the Zeedijk, culminating in a colourful parade of dressed-up participants.

The Zeedijk neighbourhood is also called the Nautical Quarter, because of its past as a sailors' quarter. The street almost lost its name in 1878, when the municipal council stopped a proposal to rename it Prince Henry Street (the quay was given its name in 1879). The reason given was that the street itself was not changed and or widened (the quay was) and on other objections to name changes in streets, such as administration.

The Wallen or walletjes is a prostitution area in the oldest part of Amsterdam in the Burgwallen Oude Zijde neighbourhood. Window prostitution is practised at over 300 workplaces. The neighbourhood is referred to in English as the Red Light District, because of the red lights that traditionally illuminate the windows of the prostitutes. It is one of Amsterdam's main tourist attractions.