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The Hague

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This article is about the city in the Netherlands; there is also a region known as (the) Hague in France.
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The Hague (Dutch: Den Haag, or officially '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 465,000 (700,000 in the metropolitan area), it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands after Amsterdam and Rotterdam.

The Hague hosts the Eerste Kamer and the Tweede Kamer, respectively the Senate and the House of Representatives, 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.

As one of the capitals of the United Nations, The Hague is host to several institutions of the UN:

History

Originally a hunting location, the counts of Holland used it as their administrative center; all cities had their rights and 'kapsones'. 'Des Graven Hage' literally means "The counts' hedge" or "The count's private enclosure". The stork is the symbol of Den Haag.

The oldest building, the Ridderzaal (Knights' Court) was built in 1236. It is still in use for political events.

The Hague was formally named a city by the French occupation force as late as 1806, centuries after other Dutch cities had received similar rights. This has led to the urban legend that The Hague is not a city but a village.

Until the 19th century The Hague was little more than a small town. It was undefended by city walls because of its political status. It lacks a large historical inner city like the nearby cities of Leiden and Delft. The Hague started growing quickly when the government started playing a more prominent role in Dutch society.

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 Germans. On March 3rd, 1945, the Royal Airforce bombarded the Bezuidenhout. The target was an installation of V2 rocket installations 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 are still to be seen until today.

After the war The Hague was at some point the larget buildig 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.

After that the mostly white middle classes moved to the suburbs like Voorburg, Leidschendam, Rijswijk and most of all Zoetermeer. This has led to the traditional pattern of an impoverished inner city and more prosperous suburbs. Attempts to include parts of the suburbs in The Hague are highly controversial.

Subdivisions

The Hague has eight official parts (stadsdelen) [1]:

The city

City life concentrates around the Hofvijver and the Binnenhof, which is where the Parliament is located. The beach resort Scheveningen, in the northwestern part of the city, is another popular destination for tourists and young people to go out.

The former Dutch colony of Netherlands East Indies ("Nederlands-Indië", nowadays called Indonesia) has left its mark on The Hague. Many streets are named after places in Netherlands East Indies and there is a sizeable "Indisch" (i.e. mixed Dutch-Indonesian) community. After the loss of these Dutch possessions in December 1949, "Indisch" 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 they were all drained in the late 1800s.

Population

1796: 41,300 inhabitants 1830: 56,100 1849: 63,600 1879: 113,500 1899: 206,000 1925: 394,500 1970: 550.000 1990: 440.000 2003: 463,800

Business

Professional life in the city is dominated by the large number of civil servants working there. Government ministeries and public organizations are almost all located in The Hague. Added to that several large businesses have their headquarter in The Hague.

  • Royal Dutch Shell, one of the largest companies in the world
  • KPN, the Dutch national phone company
  • AEGON, one of the largest Dutch insurance companies
  • TPG, large international provider of post and logistics services

There has never been a large industrial base in The Hague, with perhaps the exception of the fishing harbour of Scheveningen.

Culture

Madurodam is a miniature city in the Hague, which reflects what the Netherlands look like.

The Mauritshuis exhibits many paintings by Johannes Vermeer, Rembrandt van Rijn and Paulus Potter.

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.

The Hague has brought forth the rock bands Shocking Blue and Golden Earring and the satiricists Kees van Kooten and Wim de Bie.

Sport

The local football club is called ADO Den Haag.

Famous sportsmen from The Hague include:

Transportation

Public transportation in The Hague consists of a sizable number of tram- and buslines, operated by the Haagsche Tramwegmaatschappij, or HTM. Plans for a subway were shelved in the early 1970s, although construction of a tramtunnel through the center of the city is scheduled to be finished in late 2004, despite several setbacks.

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 serves domestic train connections ony.

The nearest airport is Rotterdam Airport.

Nearby towns

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