The Hague
From Freepedia
- This article is about the city in the Netherlands; there is also a region known as (the) Hague in France.
| Country | Netherlands |
| Province | South Holland |
| Coordinates and maps | 52.08° N 4.30° E mq mm me mw sat |
| Area - Land - Water | 98.22 km² 82.68 km² 15.54 km² |
| Population (2004) - Density | 469,059 5674/km² |
The Hague (with capital T; Dutch: Image:Ltspkr.pngDen Haag, or officially Image:Ltspkr.png's-Gravenhage) is the administrative capital of the Netherlands, located in the west of the country, in the province South Holland of which it is also the capital. With a population of 469,568 (2004-01-01) (700,000 in the metropolitan area) and an area of approximately 100 km², it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands after Amsterdam and Rotterdam.
The Hague hosts the Eerste Kamer (Senaat) and the Tweede Kamer, respectively the upper and lower houses, forming the Dutch parliament. Also the Dutch Queen Beatrix lives and works in The Hague. All foreign embassies and government ministries are located in the city, as well as the Supreme Court and many lobby organisations. Nevertheless, Amsterdam is the official capital of The Netherlands, as is stated in the Dutch constitution.
The Hague is host to several institutions of the United Nations:
- The International Court of Justice, located in the Peace Palace (Vredespaleis, its construction was financed by Andrew Carnegie).
- The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.
- The International Criminal Court.
- The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
Other major international organisations in The Hague are Europol and the Hague Academy of International Law.
Contents |
History
The Hague was founded in 1248 by William II, Count of Holland and King of Germany, who was supposed to become Holy Roman Emperor. He started the construction of a castle in a forest near the sea in Holland, where he intended to live after his coronation. He died in battle before he could be crowned. His castle was not finished, but parts of it remain and are now called the Ridderzaal (Knights' Hall). It is still in use for political events, such as the state opening of Parliament.Later, the counts of Holland used The Hague as their administrative center. 'Des Graven Hage' literally means "The counts' hedge" or "The count's private enclosure". The powerful cities of Holland, like Leiden, Delft and Dordrecht compromised to choose the then small and unimportant The Hague as their administrative center. This policy was never changed and therefore The Hague is to this day the center of government but not the official capital.
To keep The Hague small it was not allowed city rights or allowed to build city walls. When city walls were finally allowed in the 1500s, the population decided to use the money to build a city hall instead of city walls. This proved disastrous during the Eighty Years War, as it allowed the Spanish troops to easily occupy the town.
The Hague was finally named a city by the French occupation force in 1806, centuries after other Dutch cities had received similar rights. All this has led to the urban legend that The Hague is not a city but a village.
Because of its history it lacks a large historical inner city like the nearby cities of Leiden and Delft. But when the government started playing a more prominent role in Dutch society after 1850, The Hague quickly expanded. The older parts of the city are therefore mostly from the 19th century and the early 20th century.
The city sustained heavy damage during World War II. The Atlantic Wall was built right through the city, causing whole neighbourhoods to be torn down by the german occupiers. On March 3, 1945, the Royal Air Force bombed the Bezuidenhout. The target was an installation of V-2 rockets in a nearby park. Due to navigation errors, the bombs fell on a heavily populated part of the city. Over 500 people died and the scars in the city can still be seen today.
After the war The Hague was at some point the largest building site in Europe. The city expanded massively in the southwest. The destroyed areas were also quickly rebuilt. The population peaked at 550.000 inhabitants around 1970.
In the 1970s and 1980s the mostly white middle classes moved to the neighbouring boroughs like Voorburg, Leidschendam, Rijswijk and most of all Zoetermeer. This led to the traditional pattern of an impoverished inner city and more prosperous suburbs. Attempts to include parts of the suburbs in The Hague were highly controversial. In the 1990s, after consent of Dutch Parliament, The Hague did succeed in annexing fairly large areas from its neighboring towns on which complete new residential areas were built and are still being built.
The stork is the symbol of Den Haag.
The city
City life concentrates around the Hofvijver and the Binnenhof, which is where the Parliament is located.Its location makes it the largest Dutch city by the North Sea. The Hague comprises two distinct beach towns. The main beach resort Scheveningen, in the northwestern part of the city, is a popular destination for tourists and young people to go out. With 10 million visitors a year it is the most popular beach town in the Benelux. It's perhaps for this reason that many people, even Dutch, mistakenly believe Scheveningen is a city in its own right. That is not the case: Scheveningen is one of The Hague's eight districts ("stadsdelen"). Kijkduin is the other beach resort of The Hague, in the southwest, a lot smaller and attracting mainly local people.
The former Dutch colony of Netherlands East Indies ("Nederlands-Indië", current-day Indonesia) has left its mark on The Hague. Many streets are named after places in Netherlands East Indies and there is a sizable "Indisch(e)" or "Indo" (i.e. mixed Dutch-Indonesian) community. After the loss of these Dutch possessions in December 1949, "Indisch(e)" or "Indo" people often refer to The Hague as 'the Widow of "Indië"'.
The older parts of the town usually have characteristically wide and long streets. Houses are generally low-rise (not more than 3 floors), and quite elegant. The layout of the city is more spacious than other Dutch cities. There are almost no canals in The Hague, as most of them were drained in the late 1800s.
You can find some of the most prosperous and some of the poorest neighbourhoods of The Netherlands in The Hague. The wealthier areas are generally located west of the Laan van Meerdervoort. The poorer areas can be found in the southern and eastern parts of the city. This division is reflected in the local accent. The more affluent citizens are usually called "Hagenaars" and speak so-called "bekakt" (Dutch for 'that which has been shit upon') This is contrasted with the "Hagenezen", who speak "plat Haags". There is relatively little social interaction between these groups.
Business
Professional life in the city is dominated by the large number of civil servants working. Government ministries and public organisations are almost all located in The Hague. Added to that several large businesses have their headquarters in The Hague.
- Royal Dutch Shell, one of the largest companies in the world
- KPN, the Dutch national phone company (fixed and mobile divisions)
- AEGON and Nationale Nederlanden (shared HQ with Rotterdam), two of the largest Dutch insurance companies
- Royal TPG Post, the national provider of postal and logistics services. Part of TNT N.V.
There has never been a large industrial base in The Hague, with perhaps the exception of the fishing harbour of Scheveningen.
Culture
The Hague does not have a reputation for a bustling night life. What night life there is centres around the three main squares in the city centre: the Plein (lit. "(the) Square"), the Grote Markt (lit. "Large Market") and the Buitenhof (lit. "Outer Court", which lies just outside the Binnenhof, or "Inner Court"). The Buitenhof contains the luxurious Pathé Buitenhof cinema and a handful of bars and restaurants in its immediate vicinity. A similar pattern of night life centering around a cinema is present in Scheveningen, although, especially in the Summer, the sea-side boulevard with its bars, restaurants and entertainment attracts the most people.
The Hague does have its share of good museums and cultural institutions, such as:
- Madurodam is a miniature city in The Hague, which reflects what the Netherlands look like (focusing on architecture, infrastructure and history).
- The Mauritshuis exhibits many paintings by Johannes Vermeer, Rembrandt van Rijn and Paulus Potter.
- The Royal Theatre and the Nationaal Toneel-group are located at the Korte Voorhout.
- The Gemeentemuseum hosts a large collection of images from the Dutch painter Piet Mondriaan as well as other modern art.
- The Escher Museum is located in the former Royal Palace at the Lange Voorhout.
- Panorama Mesdag houses a cylindrical 'panoramic' painting of 14 meter high x 120 meter long, depicting The Hague and Scheveningen in the 19th century, made by Hendrik Willem Mesdag. It is presented in such a way that it is almost as if one is looking at a real scene instead of a painting.
- The museum Beelden aan Zee has a large collection of sculptures, mainly from 20th-century artists.
- The Museon is a science museum.
- The Congresgebouw hosts the annual North Sea Jazz Festival. However, the festival organisation intends to move to Rotterdam in the near future.
- Lucent Theatre hosts celebrated Nederlands Dans Theatre, or the NDT, a modern dance company. The building of NDT was designed by the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas in 1988.
Sport
The local football (i.e. Soccer) club is called ADO Den Haag.
Annual events
- August: HaSchiBa - multicultural festival
- Summer: series of weekly fireworks, and in one week a fireworks festival
- Koninginnedag (Queen's Day) April 30, is the birthday of the former queen of the Netherlands, Queen Juliana. As she considered her own birthday in January too cold for celebrations, upon her succession Queen Beatrix kept Queen's Day on April 30.
- Koninginnenach (Queen's Night, spoken in a 'plat Haags' accent) is the night before Queen's Day and is a night with a lot of open air concerts and in fact, the entire inner city of The Hague is filled with visitors. There's also a lot of beer served and the event is mainly popular among the youth
- Prinsjesdag (Princes' Day), the State opening of Parliament, is also held in The Hague, on the third tuesday in september. It's mainly popular among monarchists and tourists who are out to see Queen Beatrix' Golden State Coach.
- 'Parkpop' is the largest free Open Air Concert in Europe and is held on the last Sunday in June.
Transportation
Public transportation in The Hague consists of a sizeable number of tram- and buslines, operated by the Haagsche Tramwegmaatschappij, or HTM. Plans for a subway were shelved in the early 1970s. However, since 2004 there is a tunnel with two underground tram stations (Spui and Grote Markt) in the city centre; it is shared by tram lines 2, 3 and 6.
A light rail system called Randstadrail [1] is under construction, connecting The Hague, Rotterdam, Zoetermeer and suburbs.
There are two main train stations: Den Haag Hollands Spoor (gv) and Den Haag Centraal (gvc). It is somewhat confusing that many trains bypass the central station; this is because it is a terminus. The Thalys Paris - Amsterdam stops at Den Haag Hollands Spoor. Central Station connects The Hague to every major city in The Netherlands, often with direct train connections.
The nearest airport is Rotterdam Airport, but it is not easy to reach by public transport. With four trains per hour going directly from Hollands Spoor or Centraal to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, most travellers for The Hague fly to Schiphol.
Major highways near The Hague are the A12 (which also was the first highway in The Netherlands), running to Utrecht and further to the border with Germany and the A4, connecting Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam with the Belgian cities of Antwerp and Brussels.
Famous people from The Hague
Politicians
- Willem Drees - former prime minister
- Jaap de Hoop Scheffer - Secretary-General of NATO
- Wim Deetman - former Speaker of the Dutch parliament. Currently Mayor of The Hague
- Jozias van Aartsen - former foreign minister
Royalty (actual heads of state only)
- William V (stadtholder)
- King William I
- King William II
- Queen Wilhelmina
- Queen Juliana
- Princess Amalia
Arts
- Anouk Teeuwe - singer
- Sjaak Bral - writer and comedian
- Ferdinand Bordewijk - writer
- Louis Couperus - writer
- Wieteke van Dort - actrice,singer
- Golden Earring - music group
- Gruppo Sportivo - music group
- Constantijn Huygens - Poet
- Paul Verhoeven - movie director
- Harrie Jekkers - singer
- Van Kooten en De Bie - humorists
- Shocking Blue - music group, famous for the song "Venus".
- Remco Campert - writer
- Simon Carmiggelt - writer
- Bart Chabot - poet
- Hendrik Berlage - architect
Sports
- The twice former coach of the Dutch national football (soccer) team, Dick Advocaat
- Four times Embassy / Lakeside Darts champion Raymond van Barneveld
- 1992 Olympic Champion (10 km speed skating) Bart Veldkamp
- 1964 Olympic Champion (swimming) and current President of the Netherlands Olympic Committee Erica Terpstra
- Peter Blangé. One of the leading players of the Dutch volleyball team that won the gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
- Michael Boogerd - cyclist
- Aad Mansveld - football player
- Ties Kruize - hockeyinternational
Miscellaneous
- Erwin Krol - weatherman
- Christian Huygens - 17th century astronomer, physicist, mathematician. Member of the Royal Society, inventor of the pendulum clock and the pocket watch.
- Jan Tinbergen - economist, won the Nobel Prize for economy in 1969
- Peter Timofeeff - weatherman
Population
1796: 41,300 inhabitants
1830: 56,100
1849: 63,600
1879: 113,500
1899: 206,000
1925: 394,500
1970: 550,000
1990: 441,327
2000: 441,097
2004: 469,568
Subdivisions
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The Hague has eight official parts (stadsdelen)[2]: |
Nearby towns
External links
- City of Den Haag (Dutch)
- City of Den Haag (English)
- Guide to The Hague (from Wikitravel)
- "About The Hague"
- Panorama Mesdag
- Gemeentemuseum
- Haagsche Courant - local newspaper.
- De Digitale Hofstad - off-beat news about The Hague.
- Public transport map (from HTM)
- The Hague Hotel Guide
- Very large number of photographs of The Hague
- Maps of The Hague 52.07° N 4.30° E
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- For some edges of The Hague see the detailed maps of Rijswijk [3], Leidschendam-Voorburg [4] and Wassenaar [5].
