Die Port van Cleve & De Blauwe Parade

You are standing at Die Port van Cleve, built on the site of the old De Hooiberg brewery, founded in 1592. After Gerard Adriaan Heineken took over the brewery in 1864, the public frontage on the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal was redeveloped. On 5 September 1870, the Hulscher brothers opened Die Port van Cleve, at the time a new kind of beer hall for Amsterdam, serving only De Hooiberg and later Heineken beer.

In the following years, the complex evolved into a hotel and restaurant, and in 1888 added the bar-bodega De Blauwe Parade, featuring a remarkable 26-metre Delft Blue tile frieze designed by A. Le Comte and produced by De Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles. Its richly decorated interior, with dark wood panelling and stained glass, exuded an “Old Dutch” style that became a tourist attraction in its own right.

The name Die Port van Cleve refers to an older stone plaque, “Huys te Kleef,” from the original Hooiberg ensemble. Today, the hotel, restaurant Hulscher’s, and the bodega still stand here — a place where beer culture, hospitality, and urban identity meet, just steps from Dam Square and the Royal Palace.