$the Hague ( Den Haag or ' s-Gravenhage in Dutch - literally " the Hedge of Comte") is the city sits of the Gouvernement of the Netherlands. It is located in the province of the Holland-Southerner (Zuid-Holland), in the west of the Netherlands, from which it is also the chief town. At January 1st 2001, its population included/understood 442.356 inhabitants. Randstad Holland - agglomeration including/understanding Amsterdam, Haarlem, $the Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht - account 7.100.000 inhabitants.

$the Hague is also the city where the the International Court of Justice and the International penal court sit, it is thus one of the rare cities in the world to shelter the seat of international organizations without being capital of a State.

History

The Beginning

$the Hague was founded in 1248 by Guillaume II, count of Holland and King of Germany, then Saint Empire Romain Germanique. On this date it ordered the construction of a castle in a forest close to the sea in Holland, in which it intended to settle after its crowning. Unfortunately Guillaume II died in a battle before this one, thus stopping construction before the end. Today the castle is called the “ Ridderzaal ” (literally: “Room of the Knights”) and is still used for events policy.

$the Hague: Administrative center

Thereafter, $the Hague was the administrative center of the counts de Hollande. Powerful Dutch cities like Leyde, Delft and Dordrecht agreed to choose small and not very important town of $the Hague like their administrative center. This situation called forever into question, with the result that today $the Hague is the seat of the government but not the official capital of the Netherlands.

So that the city preserves a modest size, it was to him legally interdict to build an enclosing wall around the city. But, when in 1500, one authorized finally the construction of an enclosure, the population preferred to use the funds of its construction to build a Town hall in the place. This decision proved to be disastrous during the Guerre of the Netherlands, since the troops Spanish are could take and occupy the city with facility.

In fact the French gave finally the statute of Ville to $the Hague in 1806, of the centuries after other Dutch cities obtained the same right. This made say to certain that $the Hague is not a city but a Village.

Because of its history $the Hague thus does not have a broad historical center like its close relations neighbors of Leyde and Delft. But starting from 1850 and places it growing which the government in the life of the country occupies, $the Hague develops considerably. The oldest parts of the city date for the majority from the 19th century and the beginning from 20th.

Second world war

The city was strongly damaged during the war. The March 3rd 1945, the Royal Air Force bombarded the Bezuidenhout , the target being an installation of rockets V2, near to the city. But because “of errors of navigation”, the bombs fell on strongly populated zones, killing more than 500 people. The scars of these bombardments are still visible today.

Modern history

The city accommodates in 1948 the Congrès of $the Hague, or “Congress of Europe” which gives the impulse of the process of European unification.

After the war, $the Hague was one of the largest building sites of Europe, the city then strongly extended towards south-west to reach a point of 550.000 inhabitants towards 1970. In the years 1970 and 1980, the middle-classes, for the majority white, moved towards the suburbs of the city like Voorburg, Leidschendam, Rijswijk and especially Zoetermeer. This migration answers a traditional diagram of the poor urban center and easy suburbs.

In this second part of century $the Hague confirms also its statute of great administrative center. In addition to being the political center of the country, the city accommodates many European but such international institutions.

Economy and justice

The economic activity of the east city turned mainly towards the public office. Many civils servant work in $the Hague that it is in the Dutch ministries or public agencies (which all are almost located at $the Hague), but also in the many European and international institutions:

The legal Gate of $the Hague is an academic gate giving access to the institutions of $the Hague relating to international justice.

To that the presence of head offices of great Dutch groups is added like:

  • Royal Dutch Shell: second oil group in the world
  • Royal KPN: the operator telecom history
  • Aegon and National Nederlanden: two groups of insurance
  • Royal TNT Post: the post office Dutchwoman

Finally let us note that $the Hague forever have a great industrial activity, except close for the fishing port to Scheveningen.

Culture

  • Academy of international law of $the Hague

  • royal Library of the Netherlands
  • Escher Museum, a museum devoted to Maurits Cornelis Escher
  • Madurodam
  • Mauritshuis
  • Gemeentemuseum
  • Nederlands In Theater (Dutch)
  • Residentie Orkest
  • the Cigogne S are the symbol of the city.

Sport

Celebrities

Transport

The public transport urban ensured by the local company htm, is based on 10 lines of tram and many lines of bus.

Two lines of Tram-train , RandstadRail, connects $the Hague to Zoetermeer.

$the Hague is connected to the railway network NS by two Gare S, Centraal Station Den Haag and Holland Spoor, $the Hague is on the line Thalys between Amsterdam and Brussels.

$the Hague does not have a clean airport but has 30 minutes in the train of Schiphol

External bonds

  • Official site
  • $the Hague in images and sounds: $the Hague (Den Haag) and Scheveningen in vidéos, photographs and sounds.
  • Den Haag on Wikitravel
  • $the Hague on Wiki of the legal Dutchman
  • Gate of $the Hague: academic gate giving access to the institutions of $the Hague relating to international justice.

Nds-nl: NR Heeg Simple: The La Hague

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