The Hague Den Haag 's-Gravenhage
City and municipality
Plein Peace Palace Binnenhof Kurhaus City Hall
Flag Coat of arms
Nicknames:  De Hofstad, De Residentie, Agga, 070
Motto(s):  Vrede en Recht (Peace and Justice)
Location within South Holland
The Hague Location within the Netherlands Show map of Netherlands The Hague Location within Europe Show map of Europe
Coordinates: 52°04′48″N 04°18′36″E / 52.08000°N 4.31000°E / 52.08000; 4.31000
Country	Netherlands
Province	South Holland
Subregion	Haaglanden
District	8 districts Centrum Escamp Haagse Hout Laak Leidschenveen-Ypenburg Loosduinen Scheveningen Segbroek
Government [1]
• Body	Municipal council
• Mayor	Jan van Zanen (VVD)
• Aldermen	List Kavita Parbhudayal (VVD) Saskia Bruines (D66) Liesbeth van Tongeren (GL) Hilbert Bredemeijer (CDA) Martijn Balster (PvdA) Anne Mulder (VVD) Robert van Asten (D66) Bert van Alphen (GL)
Area [2][3]
• Municipality	98.13 km2 (37.89 sq mi)
• Land	82.45 km2 (31.83 sq mi)
• Water	15.68 km2 (6.05 sq mi)
• Urban	286.31 km2 (110.54 sq mi)
• Metro	1,256.40 km2 (485.10 sq mi)
• Randstad	4,384.10 km2 (1,692.71 sq mi)
Elevation [4]	1 m (3 ft)
Population  (1 January 2021)[3][5][6]
• Municipality	549,163
• Density	6,650/km2 (17,200/sq mi)
• Urban	883,720
• Metro	2,390,101 [a]
• Randstad	6,396,416
Demonym	Hagenaar or Hagenees
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postcodes	2490–2599
Area code	070, 015
Website	www.denhaag.nl (in Dutch)
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The Hague^[b] is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of the Netherlands is Amsterdam, The Hague has been described as the country's de facto capital since the time of the Dutch Republic.^[7]

The Hague is the core municipality of the Greater The Hague urban area containing over 800,000 residents, and is also part of the Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area, which, with a population of approximately 2.6 million, is the largest metropolitan area of the Netherlands. The city is also part of the Randstad region, one of the largest conurbations in Europe.

The Hague is the seat of the Cabinet, the States General, the Supreme Court, and the Council of State of the Netherlands.^[8] King Willem-Alexander officially lives in the Huis ten Bosch and works at the Noordeinde Palace together with Queen Máxima.^[9] Most foreign embassies in the Netherlands are in the city. The Hague is also home to the headquarters of many Dutch companies, with Shell plc having major offices in the city as well. The Royal Library of the Netherlands is also located there. The Hague's coastal area includes the popular seaside resort Scheveningen.

The Hague is known as the home of international law and arbitration. The International Court of Justice, the main judicial arm of the United Nations, is in the city, as are the International Criminal Court, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Europol, and approximately 200 other international governmental organizations.^[10] The name "The Hague" is commonly used as a totum pro parte to refer to either of the international courts that reside in the city.

Etymology

The Hague was first mentioned as Die Haghe in 1242.^[11] In the 15th century, the name des Graven hage came into use, literally "The Count's Wood", with connotations such as "The Count's Hedge, Private Enclosure or Hunting Grounds". The spelling "'s-Gravenhage" was officially used for the city from the 17th century onward. Today, this name is only used in some official documents such as birth and marriage certificates. The city itself uses "Den Haag" in all its communications.^[12] The post office specifies that letters must be addressed to "'s-Gravenhage", but a letter to "Den Haag" will be delivered just as well. The railway stations are named "Den Haag". Signposts mention "Den Haag".

History

Ancient history

The area was part of the Roman province of Germania Inferior and was close to the border of the empire, the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes. In 1997, four Roman milestones were discovered at Wateringse Veld. The originals are in the "Museon" museum. The milestones indicate the distance from the nearest Roman city, Forum Hadriani (modern Voorburg), and can be dated to the reign of the emperors Antoninus Pius (138-161; the column is dated 151), Caracalla (211–217), Gordian III (238–244), and Decius (249–251).

Early history

Little is known about the origin of The Hague. There are no contemporary documents describing it, and later sources are often of dubious reliability. What is certain is that The Hague was founded by the last counts of the House of Holland. Floris IV already owned two residences in the area, but presumably purchased a third court situated by the present-day Hofvijver in 1229, previously owned by a woman called Meilendis. Presumably, Floris IV intended to rebuild the court into a large castle, but he died in a tournament in 1234, before anything was built.^[13] His son and successor William II lived in the court, and after he was elected King of the Romans in 1248, he promptly returned to The Hague, and had builders turn the court into a "royal palace" (regale palacium), which would later be called the Binnenhof ("Inner Court"). He died in 1256 before this palace was completed but parts of it were finished during the reign of his son Floris V, of which the Ridderzaal ("Knights' Hall"), still intact, is the most prominent.^[14][15] It is still used for political events, such as the annual speech from the throne by the Dutch monarch. From the 13th century onward, the counts of Holland used The Hague as their administrative center and residence when in Holland.

The village that originated around the Binnenhof was first mentioned as Die Haghe in a charter dating from 1242. It became the primary residence of the Counts of Holland in 1358 and thus became the seat of many government institutions. This status allowed the village to grow; by the Late Middle Ages, it had grown to the size of a city, although it did not receive city rights.^[11] In its early years, the village was in the ambacht, or rural district, of Monster, which was governed by the Lord of Monster. Seeking to exercise more direct control over the village, however, the Count split the village off and created a separate ambacht called Haagambacht, governed directly by the Counts of Holland. The territory of Haagambacht was considerably expanded during the reign of Floris V.^[16]

When the House of Burgundy inherited the counties of Holland and Zeeland in 1432, they appointed a stadtholder to rule in their stead with the States of Holland and West Friesland as an advisory council. Although their seat was in The Hague, the city became subordinate to more important centres of government such as Brussels and Mechelen, from where the sovereigns ruled over the increasingly centralised Burgundian Netherlands.^[11]

At the beginning of the Eighty Years' War, the absence of city walls proved disastrous, as it allowed Spanish troops to easily occupy the town. In 1575, the States of Holland, temporarily based in Delft, even considered demolishing the city but this proposal was abandoned, after mediation by William the Silent. In 1588, The Hague became the permanent seat of the States of Holland as well as the States General of the Dutch Republic.^[17] For the administration to maintain control over city matters, The Hague never received official city status, although it did have many of the privileges normally granted only to cities. In modern administrative law, "city rights" have no place anymore.

Modern history

In 1806, when the Kingdom of Holland was a puppet state of the First French Empire, the settlement was granted city rights by Louis Bonaparte.^[18] After the Napoleonic Wars, modern-day Belgium and the Netherlands were combined in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands to form a buffer against France. As a compromise, Brussels and Amsterdam alternated as capital every two years, with the government remaining in The Hague. After the separation of Belgium in 1830, Amsterdam remained the capital of the Netherlands, while the government was situated in The Hague. When the government started to play a more prominent role in Dutch society after 1850, The Hague quickly expanded. Many streets were specifically built for the large number of civil servants employed in the country's government and for the Dutchmen who were retiring from the administration of the Netherlands East Indies. The growing city amalgamated the rural municipality of Loosduinen partly in 1903 and completely in 1923.^[19]

The city sustained heavy damage during World War II. Many Jews were killed during the German occupation. Additionally, the Atlantic Wall was built through the city, causing a large quarter to be torn down by the Nazi occupants. On 3 March 1945, the Royal Air Force mistakenly bombed the Bezuidenhout quarter. The target was an installation of V-2 rockets in the nearby Haagse Bos park, but because of navigational errors, the bombs fell on a heavily populated and historic part of the city.^[20] The bombardment wreaked widespread destruction in the area^[21] and caused 511 fatalities.^[22]

Because of uncertainty about what to do after the destructions of the bombing, nobody attempted to plan a reconstruction of Bezuidenhout. In 1962, David Jokinen saw an opportunity to put an end to the situation where two main stations each served only part of the rail traffic. The Jokinen Plan included the intent to demolish the Staatsspoor Station entirely, with Hollands Spoor becoming the central station. Jokinen's plan sparked fierce discussions. The plan was not implemented, in part because it was only presented when decision-making had finally reached an advanced stage. In the site of the Staatsspoor station now stands the Den Haag Centraal railway station.

After the war, The Hague became at one time the largest building site in Europe. The city expanded massively to the southwest, and the destroyed areas were quickly rebuilt. The population peaked at 600,000 inhabitants around 1965. In the 1970s and 1980s, mostly white middle-class families moved to neighbouring towns such as 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 these municipalities in the city of The Hague were highly controversial. In the 1990s, with the consent of the Dutch Parliament, The Hague annexed fairly large areas from neighbouring towns as well as from not even bordering ones, on which the complete new residential areas were built and are still being built.

Geography

The Hague is the largest Dutch city on the North Sea in the Netherlands and forms the centre of the Greater The Hague urban area. Westland and Wateringen lie to the south, Rijswijk, Delft and the Rotterdam conurbation (known as Rijnmond) to the southeast, Pijnacker-Nootdorp and Zoetermeer to the east, Leidschendam-Voorburg, Voorschoten and the Leiden conurbation to the northeast and Wassenaar to the north.

The conurbations around The Hague and Rotterdam are close enough to be seen as a single conurbation in some contexts. For example, they share the Rotterdam The Hague Airport and a light rail system called RandstadRail. This led to the creation of the Rotterdam-The Hague metropolitan area. This large conurbation centred on The Hague and Rotterdam is, in turn, part of the Randstad—specifically a band of municipalities called the South Wing (Zuidvleugel). The Randstad, which also includes among others Amsterdam and Utrecht, has a population of 6,659,300. The Hague lies at the southwestern corner of the second-largest conurbation in the European Union.

The Hague is divided into eight official districts which are, in turn, divided into neighbourhoods.^[23] Some of the most prosperous and some of the poorest neighbourhoods of the Netherlands can be found in The Hague. The wealthier areas such as Statenkwartier, Belgisch Park, Marlot, Benoordenhout and Archipelbuurt are generally in the northwestern part of the city, closer to the sea, whereas the southeastern neighbourhoods such as Transvaal, Moerwijk, and the Schilderswijk are significantly poorer, except the Vinex-locations of Leidschenveen-Ypenburg and Wateringse Veld. This division is reflected in the local accent: The more affluent citizens are usually called "Hagenaars" and speak so-called bekakt Haags ("posh"), this contrasts with the Hagenezen, who speak plat Haags ("vulgar"); see Demographics below.

The districts are:

• Centrum (106,000 inhabitants)^[24] forms the heart of The Hague. The Binnenhof, the Noordeinde Palace, the Mauritshuis museum, the Nieuwe Kerk, the Grote Kerk, the Old City Hall and the City Hall are located here. Architecture varies from medieval up to the 20th century.
• Escamp (129,000 inhabitants)^[24] is the most populous district of The Hague, built largely after the World War II as part of The Hague's large expansion to the southeast. One railway station can be found here: Den Haag Moerwijk. The district is divided into six neighbourhoods.
• Haagse Hout (48,000 inhabitants)^[24] is a wealthy district in the northeast of the city and the location of the Haagse Bos, a large forest. The King of the Netherlands lives in the royal palace Huis ten Bosch, in this forest. The district also includes the financial centre of the city, the Beatrixkwartier.
• Laak (46,000 inhabitants)^[24] is the smallest district of the city, southeast of its centre, for the most part, built in the 20th and 21st centuries. The area used to be part of Rijswijk until the municipality of The Hague bought the land in 1844. The Hollands Spoor railway station and The Hague University are located here, as well as the site of the planned mixed-use development Nieuw Binckhorst.
• Leidschenveen-Ypenburg (48,000 inhabitants)^[24] is an early 21st-century Vinex-location southeast of the city, geographically connected to the main body of the city only by a narrow corridor. The district is divided into Leidschenveen and Ypenburg, which were part of Leidschendam, Nootdorp, and Rijswijk before the areas were annexed by The Hague in 2002. This area was the site of Ypenburg Airport which was a military airport during World War II.
• Loosduinen (50,000 inhabitants)^[24] is the westernmost district of The Hague. It was a village unto itself until 1923 when it was annexed by The Hague. The less popular of the city's two seaside resorts, Kijkduin is located here. The district is divided into four neighbourhoods.
• Scheveningen (59,000 inhabitants)^[24] is the wealthy northernmost district of The Hague. A modern beach resort, Scheveningen is a popular tourist destination. It has a long sandy beach and its own esplanade, pier, and lighthouse, but also a Pathé cinema, a musical theatre, a casino, and a special Museum for Scheveningen. The district also includes a fishing harbour. Notable buildings include the Kurhaus and farther inland, the Peace Palace.
• Segbroek (62,000 inhabitants)^[24] is a district located between Scheveningen and Loosduinen. The population decreased until around 2005, but since then has begun to grow again, driven by students and east European immigrants. It became a district of The Hague in 1988 and is divided into five neighbourhoods.

Climate

The Hague experiences a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb) similar to almost all of the Netherlands. Because of its location on the coast, it experiences milder winters and cooler summers than more inland locations. However, because of its location, it can also be extremely windy in the winter and humid in the summer. It also gets more sunshine.^{[citation needed]}

Cityscape

City life concentrates around the Hofvijver and the Binnenhof, where the States General of the Netherlands is located. Because of its history, the historical inner city of The Hague differs in various aspects from the nearby smaller cities of Leiden and Delft. It does not have a cramped inner city, bordered by canals and walls. Instead, it has some small streets in the town centre that may be dated from the late Middle Ages and several spacious streets boasting large and luxurious 18th-century residences built for diplomats and affluent Dutch families. It has a large church dating from the 15th century, a City Hall (built as such) from the 16th century, several large 17th-century palaces, a 17th-century Protestant church built in what was then a modern style, and many important 18th-century buildings.

The city is becoming more student-friendly with the introduction of a new campus in 2012 of Leiden University as well as Leiden University College The Hague, which was established in 2010. The Royal Conservatory of The Hague and the Royal Academy of Art are also located there, as well as The Hague University, a vocational university and a branch of The Open University of the Netherlands. The city has many civil servants and diplomats.^[27] In fact, the number and variety of foreign residents (especially the expatriates) make the city quite culturally diverse, with many foreign pubs, shops and cultural events.

The Hague is the largest Dutch city on the North Sea and includes two distinct beach resorts. The main beach resort Scheveningen, in the northwestern part of the city, is a popular destination for tourists as well as for inhabitants. With 10 million visitors a year, it is the most popular beach town in the Benelux area. Kijkduin, in the southwest, is The Hague's other beach resort. It is significantly smaller and attracts mainly local residents.

The former Dutch colony of the East Indies, now Indonesia, has left its mark on The Hague. Since the 19th century, high-level civil servants from the Dutch East Indies often spent long-term leave and vacations in The Hague. Many streets are named after places in the Netherlands East Indies (as well as other former Dutch colonies such as Suriname) and there is a sizable "Indo" (i.e. mixed Dutch-Indonesian) community. Since the loss of these Dutch possessions in December 1949, "Indo people" also known as "Indische people" often refer to The Hague as "the Widow of the Indies".^[28]

The older parts of the town have many characteristically wide and long streets. Houses are generally low-rise (often not more than three floors). A large part of the southwestern city was planned by the progressive Dutch architect H.P. Berlage about 1910. This 'Plan Berlage' decided the spacious and homely streets for several decades. In World War II, a large amount of the western portion of The Hague was destroyed by the Germans. Afterward, modernist architect W.M. Dudok planned its renewal, putting apartment blocks for the middle class in open park-like settings.

The layout of the city is more spacious than other Dutch cities and because of the incorporation of large and old nobility estates, the creation of various parks, and the use of green zones around natural streams, it is a much more green city than any other in the Netherlands. That is, excepting some medieval close-knitted streets in the centre. The Hague has a canal system around the old city center, which is mainly used for boat tours around the city. Most of the canals were drained in the late 19th century and some were filled between 1910 and 1970^[29] but many have been restored recently.^[when?]

The tallest buildings of The Hague are both 146-meter-tall ministries of Justice and Security and the Interior and Kingdom Relations of the Netherlands, designed by Hans Kollhoff. Other significant skyscrapers include the Hoftoren, Het Strijkijzer and De Kroon.

Demographics

City of Den Haag population by country of origin (2018)[30]
Country/Territory	Population
Netherlands	246,633 (43%)
Suriname	46,346 (8.70%)
Turkey	40,064 (7.52%)
Morocco	31,455 (5.91%)
Indonesia	17,635 (3.31%)
Poland	14,094 (2.65%)
Dutch Caribbean	13,218 (2.48%)
Other	123,116 (26%)

As of 1 January 2021, The Hague counts 549,163 inhabitants, making it the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Between 1800 and 1960, the city saw considerable growth from 40,000 in 1800 to 200,000 in 1900 and eventually 600,000 in 1960. The growth following 1900 was partially caused by the housing act of 1901, which stimulated the expansion of cities such as The Hague. In the period between 1960 and 1980, The Hague saw a shrinkage from 600,000 to 440,000 inhabitants, caused mostly by spatial policy, demographic processes, and lack of space. After several annexations and housing constructions, The Hague has since grown again, celebrating its 500,000th inhabitant in 2011. The municipality expects the growth to continue to just over 600,000 inhabitants by 2030.^[32]

The demonym of The Hague officially is Hagenaar, but the term Hagenees is informally used for someone who was born and raised in The Hague.^[33] The usage of these demonyms appears to be class-bound, with Hagenaar being the upper-class term and Hagenees being that of the lower-class.^[34]

Origin make-up

43% of the population of The Hague has two parents that were born in the Netherlands, while 15.6% has at least one parent who was born abroad in a western country, and 34.4% has at least one parent that was born in a non-western country.^[35]

Inhabitants by birthplace