In 't Aepjen — The Bar That Accepted Monkeys

In 't Aepjen on the Zeedijk in Amsterdam is a historic 1519 tavern and one of only two remaining wooden houses in the city. Located near where Dutch East India Company ships anchored, sailors paid for drinks with live monkeys brought back from the Far East. This practice caused flea infestations and inspired the famous Dutch expression "in de aap gelogeerd," meaning to be tricked or in a predicament.

Amsterdam · from the walk “Amsterdam Unfiltered” · audio ~4 min · Generated

Zeedijk 1, Amsterdam

Why did sailors pay for drinks with monkeys at In 't Aepjen in Amsterdam?

Take a look at the building in front of you... dark timber, slightly crooked, leaning into the street like an old sailor who's had one too many. This is In 't Aepjen, and it dates back to fifteen nineteen, making it one of only two remaining wooden houses in all of Amsterdam. The name? It literally means "In the Monkeys." And yes... there's a reason for that. You're standing on the Zeedijk — the sea dike — built in the thirteenth century to protect Amsterdam from the wild waters of the IJ and the Zuiderzee. This protection helped the city develop into one of the most important ports in the world. And right here, just steps from where ships of the Dutch East India Company — the Voc — would anchor, this building served as a tavern and a guesthouse for sailors. Now here's where the story gets wild. Sailors returning from voyages to the Far East would often bring monkeys as souvenirs. But these poor seamen frequently found themselves short on cash after long periods at sea... and ended up paying for their drinks using these monkeys! That's right — actual, living monkeys as currency for beer and jenever. But the trouble didn't stop there. Eventually, the innkeeper wound up with Too many monkeys, and his other customers started complaining about fleas. Imagine sitting down for a quiet pint... and being covered in bites by the time you finished it. And there's an even darker layer to this place. Long ago, tough seamen used to come here to quench their thirst. After many mugs of beer, clever members of the Voc pushed a contract under the nose of these drunkards. The next morning, after they had slept off their hangover in one of the rooms above the café, the sailors discovered to their horror that they had been recruited by the Voc. Shanghaied! Tricked into a perilous months-long expedition to the East. This whole saga gave birth to a Dutch expression still used today — "in de aap gelogeerd," literally meaning "lodged in the monkey." When you're "in de aap gelogeerd," you're in a predicament. You've been tricked. You are in dire straits. And about this building itself — two great fires in fourteen twenty one and fourteen fifty two destroyed most of Amsterdam. Just two wooden buildings survived the blaze, and this is one of them. In sixteen sixty nine, timber construction was banned outright. So what you're looking at is a true survivor — over five hundred years of standing its ground. Oh, and one more detail. Legend has it the monkeys were eventually given to a regular customer named Gerard Westerman, who kept them in his large garden in the east of the city. Westerman's animal garden would eventually become Amsterdam's Artis Zoo — one of Europe's oldest. Now, historians say there's no actual evidence the zoo's animals came from this pub — they classify the story as unverifiable folklore. But honestly... isn't that the Best kind of story? Step inside if you get the chance — the bar's decor is full of monkey-themed items these days, plus a staircase that leads to nowhere. A stairway to the past... with no way back.