Capital of South Holland and seat of the Dutch government.
Population: 560,000
Specialities: bitterballen (dumplings), hutspot (mashed potatoes and carrots), kibbeling (fish fritters), oliebollen (fritters), pepernoten and kruidnoten (biscuits), spekkoek (a kind of mille-feuille), stroopwafel (waffles).
Personalities: Spinoza (philosopher). Maurits Cornelis Escher (painter). Joop Zoetemelk (cyclist, winner of the 1980 Tour de France), Michael Boogerd (cyclist), Dick Annegarn (singer). Mark Rutte, Jo Cals, Victor Marijnen and Piet de Jong (Dutch prime ministers). Armand Barbès (French revolutionary). Raymond van Barneveld (five-time world darts champion).
Culture: Koningsdag (King's Day), Tong Tong Fair (Indonesian culture), Parkpop (music, late June), State X New Forms (electronic music), Crossing Border Festival (music and literature), The Hague Jazz Festival.
Sport: ADO Den Haag (football), The Hague Royals (basketball).
Events: CPC Loop Den Haag (half-marathon).
Economy: administration (Dutch government), international institutions (International Court of Justice, International Criminal Court, Europol, International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon, etc.). Head offices of Shell, KPN (telephony), Aegon and Nationale Nederlanden (insurance).
Websites and social networks: www.denhaag.nl, www.denhaag.com
THE HAGUE AND CYCLING
The Women's Tour makes up for an omission in the history of the Tour de France, as the men's race has never made a stop in the city that is home to the Dutch government and the world's top courts of justice. From a cycling point of view, The Hague is above all the birthplace of Joop Zoetemelk, the last Dutch rider to have won the Tour de France in the men's race, while Dutch women dominate the victories in the women's race. Although he has only won once in the Tour, the most French of the Dutch – he has lived in the Paris region for many years – has shown extraordinary consistency, with a victory in 1980 and six second places in 16 participations. He has also finished in the top five on eleven occasions. He also won the Tour of Spain in 1979 and the world champion title in 1985. Another native of The Hague, Michael Boogerd took part in the Tour de France twelve times between 1996 and 2007, winning two stages and finishing 5th in 1998. A two-time Dutch champion, he also won Paris-Nice and the Amstel Gold Race in 1999. Like all Dutch cities, The Hague is particularly open to cycling, with 370 km of cycle paths.
SIGHTS
- Binnenhof
Construction: 13th century.
Characteristics:The Binnenhof (Inner Court) and the Buitenhof (Outer Court) are a group of buildings in the centre of The Hague, some dating back to the 13th century, housing the legislative and executive decision-making centres of the Netherlands. The city was built around the Binnenhof, which thus became the true centre of power at the national level. It houses the two Houses of Parliament, the Prime Minister's offices, the parliamentary library, the Ministry of General Affairs, and the Ridderzaal, where the monarch delivers his annual Speech from the Throne on Prinsjesdag.
- Noordeinde Palace
Construction: 17th century.
Style: classic Dutch.
History: Originally a farm built in 1533, it was sold to the House of Orange-Nassau in 1609. Frederick-Henri de Nassau had work carried out in 1640 under the direction of Jacob van Campen and Pieter Post. During the French Revolution, the palace was confiscated by the French and given "to the Dutch nation". Since then, it has been administered by the State. Between 1795 and 1798, the Old Court housed the French legation to the Batavian Republic, before becoming the seat of the latter's government until 1805. After the French were driven out in 1813, William I of the Netherlands had the palace restored and took up residence there in 1817. Noordeinde was destroyed by fire in 1948. After restoration work began in 1976, in 1984 the palace became the workplace of Queen Beatrix, who had been enthroned four years earlier. The palace gardens, library, and archives are open to the public.
Characteristics:This is the working palace of the King of the Netherlands. It is also known as Het Oude Hof (the Old Court).
- Escher Museum
Construction of the Lange Voorhout palace: 18th century.
Opening: 2002
History:The Escher Museum presents the work of Dutch graphic artist Maurits Cornelis Escher, known as M. C. Escher. It opened on 15 November 2002 and is housed in a former royal palace on the Lange Voorhout dating from the 18th century. Queen Mother Emma bought the imposing house in 1896. She used it as her winter palace from March 1901 until her death in March 1934. Four queens of the Netherlands used the palace for their business offices, until Queen Beatrix moved her office to Noordeinde Palace, around ten minutes' walk from the Escher Museum.
Characteristics: The museum has a permanent collection of a large number of xylographs and lithographs by Escher, including the world-famous Sky and Water, Belvedere, Waterfall and Drawing Hands. It shows early Italian landscapes, numerous works on mirrors and a selection of paving drawings, and further on the three versions of Metamorphosis, from the first small one to the third measuring seven metres and shown in a circle. The third floor is dedicated to optical illusions, next to the famous Escher Chamber in which adults appear smaller than their children. Visitors' eyes are trapped by a number of interactive installations.
Listed as: Rijskmonument in 1967.
- Mauritshuis
Built: in 1644.
Style: Renaissance.
Opening of the museum: 1822.
History: The palace was built in 1640 for Count Jean-Maurice de Nassau-Siegen by the architects Jacob van Campen and Pieter Post. Governor and collector, Prince William V of Orange-Nassau laid the foundations of the collection in the 18th century. When his son, King William I, bequeathed the collection to the State, it became known as the Royal Cabinet of Paintings. Since then, the collection has been considerably enlarged and added to. Since 1822, the paintings have been housed in the Mauritshuis, which has been converted into a museum.
Characteristics: The Mauritshuis (Mauritius House), officially known as the Royal Cabinet of Paintings, is mainly devoted to the art of the 17th century, the Golden Age of the Netherlands. The building, dating from 1644, now belongs to the Dutch state and is listed among the country's 100 most beautiful historic buildings. The museum, made up of small intimate rooms and large exhibition areas, contains paintings by Johannes Vermeer (View of Delft, The Girl with the Pearl) and Rembrandt van Rijn (The Anatomy Lesson of Doctor Tulp), symbols of the Dutch Golden Age of painting. After more than two years of closure, the renovated and enlarged museum reopened its doors on 27 June 2014.
Special features: The museum welcomes almost 500,000 visitors a year.
- The Hague Museum of Art
Built: 1935
Architect: Hendrik Petrus Berlage
Style: Art Deco
Characteristics: This museum, built by Dutch architect H.P. Berlage and inaugurated a year after the death of its designer in 1935, owes its reputation to its collection dedicated to the painter Mondrian, the largest in the world, including his last work Victory Boogie Woogie.
Special features: Over 700,000 visitors a year.
Listed as: Rijskmonument in 1993.
TO EAT:
- Pepernoten
Pepernoten are spicy Dutch biscuits traditionally eaten during the festive season in the Netherlands. They are flavoured with honey, cane or maple sugar syrup and a mixture of spices including cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, ground ginger, cloves and aniseed. Round and domed, these spicy biscuits are distinctive for their small size and chewy texture. In Dutch, pepernoten can literally be translated as "pepper nuts", in reference to their spicy flavour and their size no bigger than a walnut. These festive little biscuits are mainly available from October to Christmas, and less frequently the rest of the year. The origins of pepernoten date back to the 16th century. At that time, the Netherlands controlled a large part of the spice trade with the Far East. Commodities such as ginger, cinnamon and cloves, previously very rare and expensive, became more accessible to the inhabitants.
