Kadinsky Amsterdam: The 1535 History Behind the Coffeeshop

Kadinsky Amsterdam is a coffeeshop and café located in one of the area's oldest and narrowest buildings. Its alley is also described as having a long history, and the premises are connected with two unsettling stories: a 1535 Anabaptist attack and a later tale about a woman in the attic.

What is Kadinsky Amsterdam?

Kadinsky is a coffeeshop and café in one of the area's oldest and narrowest buildings. The alley where it stands also goes far back in history, giving the premises a setting with a past that reaches beyond its present-day use as a café.

What happened at Kadinsky in 1535?

In 1535, Anabaptists gathered at a woman's house in the street and decided to attack Amsterdam's town hall. The tour account describes them as believing that clothing was a luxury, so they attacked naked and killed one of the mayors.

The group was caught the following day, and Catholic Amsterdam sentenced them. According to the account, the men were chopped into pieces, while the women were hanged in the door openings of the houses where they lived. Those executions are said to have included the doorway of Kadinsky's café and the building next door.

Why is Kadinsky Amsterdam said to be spooky?

The tour material tells another story about Kadinsky: a woman hanged herself in the attic of the little coffeeshop. According to the same source, some people are afraid to work there or visit it.

The attic story is told alongside the earlier account of executions at the building's doorway. Both are stories connected with the premises in the tour material, rather than a definitive explanation of anything supernatural at Kadinsky.

How can you encounter Kadinsky's history?

Kadinsky is stop 2 of 16 on the Coffeeshop Walking Tour. The route offers a way to encounter the coffeeshop's 1535 history and its spooky attic story in the context of the place itself.

Save this page if you want to remember the stories attached to Kadinsky before exploring Amsterdam's historic coffeeshop locations.