In't Epjen is a unique bar where unusual currency was accepted in the old days (11 photos)

This historic Amsterdam bar used to accept sailor monkeys as payment.





After Amsterdam was destroyed by fire in 1452, the old town was rebuilt in brick. Of all the old wooden buildings that made up the historic part of the city, only two survived. One of them was a tavern located on the corner of the old Zeedijk (sea dike), not far from the red light district.



The inn called "In't Aepjen", which has been serving ale, jenever, food and lodging since 1519, is one of the oldest bars in Amsterdam. "In't Aepjen" literally means "In the Monkey House" and dates back to the golden age of the Dutch Empire, when sailors returning from colonies as far away as Indonesia and short of guilders would offer their newly acquired pets as payment, often literally paying the bills in monkeys.





Soon there were so many monkeys at In't Aepjen that customers began to complain of fleas. The monkeys were given to a regular customer of the tavern, Gerard Westerman, who kept them in his large garden in the east of the city. Westerman's animal garden eventually became Amsterdam's Artis Zoo, one of the oldest in Europe.



Today, the venerable old tavern is lavishly decorated with monkeys: carved statues, vintage posters and oil portraits hang on the bar. Of course, it is unlikely that any of the modern visitors will have a couple of monkeys in their pocket to pay the bill, but one of the oldest buildings in Amsterdam remains "In the Monkey House".







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