Rainbow Tavern
Rainbow Tavern (Crandan: De Regenboogherberg) is a Crandish-era tavern on the southern corner of the Marktplein in the Oudstad district of Johannsessbuurg, the capital of the Free Duchy of Anglien. In continuous operation since approximately 1510 AN, the tavern is among the oldest commercial premises in the city and is the duchy's principal social and cultural landmark for queer life. Since the seven-band repainting of its facades in late 1754 AN, the tavern has served as a venue for LGBTQ community gatherings, drag and cabaret performance, and a substantial trans and nonbinary clientele, alongside its established mixed-community trade.
The tavern occupies a three-story painted-timber-and-metal-clad corner building with a steeply pitched slate roof and a ground-floor entrance opening onto both the Marktplein and the adjacent Aldrikspoort axis. The repainting, commissioned by Anneke Vermeulen and her father Henrikke Vermeulen in late 1754 AN, runs in seven horizontal bands of bright color across the front and side facades, with the corner entrance rendered as a vertical seven-stripe column. The Vermeulens framed the scheme as a public symbol of community survival and reconciliation following the NKR insurrection, referencing the principal communities of the city.
The Rainbow Tavern hosts a daily mixed clientele drawn from across the city's communities. The upstairs hall is the duchy's principal venue for drag (travestie) and cabaret performance, with regular programming featuring performers from Bergbuurg, the Purple Isles, and the broader Apollonian queer circuit. The Burgemeester's office and the Council of Ministers have featured the tavern in the duchy's tourism communications since II.1755 AN, and it is among the most photographed buildings in northern Apollonia. Reservations for the upstairs hall are typically required several weeks in advance.
See also
- Johannsessbuurg
- Anneke Vermeulen
- Henrikke Vermeulen
- Stadsbad fonn Johannsessbuurg
- NKR insurrection
- Charter of Anglien
