Melkweg

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Music venue and cultural centre in Amsterdam

title: "Melkweg" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1970-establishments-in-the-netherlands", "concert-halls-in-amsterdam", "music-venues-in-the-netherlands", "event-venues-established-in-1970"] description: "Music venue and cultural centre in Amsterdam" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melkweg" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Music venue and cultural centre in Amsterdam ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox building"]

FieldValue
nameMelkweg
imageMelkweg en Rabozaal.jpg
image_size250
captionMelkweg, Amsterdam
addressLijnbaansgracht 234a
locationAmsterdam, Netherlands
map_typeNetherlands Amsterdam
map_captionLocation in Amsterdam
opened
known_forMusic venue
website
::

| name = Melkweg | image = Melkweg en Rabozaal.jpg | image_alt = | image_size = 250 | caption = Melkweg, Amsterdam | address = Lijnbaansgracht 234a | location = Amsterdam, Netherlands | map_type = Netherlands Amsterdam | map_alt = | map_caption = Location in Amsterdam | image_map = | opened = | known_for = Music venue | website = ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Ani_Amsterdam2.jpg" caption="[[Ani DiFranco]] during her 2007 concert"] ::

Melkweg (Dutch for "Milky Way") is a music venue and cultural center on Lijnbaansgracht, near Leidseplein in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is housed in a former dairy and includes four music halls as well as a cinema, a restaurant and an exhibition space. It is operated by a nonprofit organisation founded in 1970.

History

The building originally housed a sugar refinery built in the 19th century. In 1920, OVVV bought the factory and used it as a milk factory until it closed in 1969. The building was closed for a year, but reopened by Cor Schlösser and others as a cultural center, with its first event on July 17, 1970. It was only open for the summer; it featured a café, a restaurant and one hall for music and theatre. This was a success: Melkweg reopened in the summer of 1971 and 1972 before becoming a year-round venue in 1973. In the 1980s, it became more focused on live music. In 1985, a photo gallery opened. In 1995, The Max opened, first with a capacity of 1,000 people, expanded to 1,500 in 2007. By 2010, the venue was hosting 400,000 guests annually and was estimated to have hosted 9 million guests since it opened.

Notable events

  • In October 1980, U2 played their first concert outside of Ireland and the United Kingdom at the Melkweg.
  • In October 1981, The Grateful Dead played two unscheduled shows at the venue using borrowed instruments.
  • Nirvana played at the venue in November 1989, before they were famous.
  • In 1994, Rammstein, then an unknown newly formed band, played a show at the venue that was attended by 40 people.
  • The live turntable mix of Tiësto's performance here on June 23, 2000, was recorded for his album Magik Six: Live in Amsterdam, a part of the Magik series.
  • In 2011, Prince played a surprise show at the venue, with tickets going on sale one hour before the show started.

In popular culture

Songs referencing the Melkweg

Albums recorded at the Melkweg

Halls

The venue has six halls:

  • The Max (capacity: 1,500; opened in 1995, renovated in 2007), the largest room, hosts the biggest music acts and is also used for parties, meetings and film projections.
  • The Old Hall (Oude Zaal) (capacity: 700) is the oldest concert hall of the venue, also the only one until the opening of "The Max" in 1995.
  • The Rabo Hall (Rabozaal) (capacity: 1,400) is in a separate building and mostly hosts film projections or theater plays.
  • The Theater Hall (Theaterzaal) (capacity: 90–130) is a small hall used for smaller artists and theatre plays.
  • The Cinema (capacity: 90) is a private film projection hall.
  • The Exhibition space (Expo) is used for art exhibitions.

References

References

  1. (17 July 2020). "Van U2 tot Rammstein: voor veel bands was jarige Melkweg een springplank". [[Nederlandse Omroep Stichting]].
  2. (25 July 2011). "Prince als verrassing in de Melkweg Amsterdam". [[Nederlandse Omroep Stichting]].
  3. (17 July 2010). "Poppodium Melkweg bestaat 40 jaar". [[NH (media company).
  4. "Nirvana, Melkweg, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 11/05/89".
  5. Tiësto. "Magik 6".
  6. "Melkweg - Jameszoo & Metropole Orkest (conducted by Jules Buckley)".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

1970-establishments-in-the-netherlandsconcert-halls-in-amsterdammusic-venues-in-the-netherlandsevent-venues-established-in-1970