Travel in The Hague,Holland,Netherlands-History

The Hague - History

Historical buildings

The centre of The Hague has a great many buildings which have played a role in the history of this city or of Holland. It is not possible to describe all these buildings here, but we do wish to give you a brief description of the most interesting ones.

Huis ten Bosch

Palace Huis ten Bosch Palace was originally built as a summer residence for Amalia van Solms. She was very involved in the building process, supported by the palace’s architect Pieter Post and advised by Constantijn Huygens, her husband’s secretary. However, her husband died during construction and she had the palace changed into a mausoleum, in his memory. On the occasion of the marriage of Prince William IV to Princess Anne of England in 1733, two side wings, designed by Daniel Marot, were added to the central building. In 1899 the palace hosted the First World Peace Conference, an initiative of Czar Nicholas II.

The palace was not used by the royal family during World War II. In 1943 the Germans were going to pull the palace down, however, this plan was frustrated at the last moment. After the war the palace fell into disrepair. Princess Juliana stayed her occasionally when she had to be in The Hague on government business. After a major restoration in 1977, Queen Beatrix choose Huis ten Bosch Palace as her residence. From 1981 The Hague was home to a royal family once more.

Noordeinde Palace
Noordeinde Palace has always been the residence of the reigning Stadtholder or monarch. The first inhabitant was Louise de Coligny, the last wife of William the Silent. In the 17th century, Frederik Hendrik and Amalia van Solms had the Huis ten Bosch Palace built. Both palaces were in use until the beginning of the French rule, but from that time until World War II only Noordeinde Palace was used as a residence. During World War II Queen Wilhelmina lived in England. The palace was slightly damaged during the war. After Queen Wilhelmina’s return she lived in a number of villas in Nieuwe Parklaan. Her daughter, Queen Juliana, never lived in Noordeinde Palace. Until 1977 the palace housed the Institute of Social Studies, but after drastic renovations Queen Beatrix chose to use this palace as her place of work in 1984. Left of Noordeinde Palace is number 66, the house where Crown Prince Willem-Alexander lives.

Lange Voorhout Palace
Banker Archibald Hope loaned Lange Voorhout Palace, built by architect Pieter de Swart, to Emperor Napoleon, when he spent a week in The Hague in 1811. In 1845 the palace was bought by Prince Hendrik, son of King William I. From 1901 to 1934 Queen Emma lived here, while Queen Juliana worked from here during her reign. Queen Beatrix had her offices here from 1981 to 1984, but since the renovation of Noordeinde Palace she has worked from there. Lange Voorhout Palace has been open to the public from 1992; the Municipal Museum The Hague uses it for its changing exhibitions.

Royal Stables
Many of the royal family’s carriages are garaged in the royal stables. The best-known of these carriages is the Golden Carriage. This was the present of the people of Amsterdam to Queen Wilhelmina on her ascension to the throne at the age of 18. The Golden Carriage is made of timber, which is covered with a layer of gold leaf. The pictures on the carriage depict many allegorical symbols. The Golden Carriage is used only once per year; at the opening of Parliament on the third Tuesday in September (Prinsjesdag). The Royal Stables are heritage-listed and are not open to the public.

Catshuis
The Catshuis is the official residence of the Prime Minister, however, not every Prime Minister uses it as such. The Catshuis was built by poet and Grand Pensionary Jacob Cats. The meetings of the Cabinet are held here. Behind the Catshuis is Park Sorghvliet. To visit this beautiful park you need an entrance ticket. These tickets are available from the local tourist information offices of The Hague and Scheveningen.

Mauritshuis
The Mauritshuis is one of the first and most beautiful examples of the Dutch classicist baroque, characterized by pilasters which run the full length of the facade and by frontons with various carvings. The Mauritshuis was built for Johan Maurits van Nassau, Governor of Dutch-Brasil. After a fire in 1704 the Mauritshuis was refurbished and in 1822 it became the ‘Royal Cabinet of Paintings’. During extensive restoration work carried out between 1982 and 1987 a cellar was constructed under the forecourt, which houses the library and the storerooms. Artist Ger Lataster painted modern paintings on the ceiling of the upper hall. The colours he used are reminiscent of 18th-century ceiling paintings.

Binnenhof
The oldest part of this medieval earl’s castle, the Knights’ Hall and the ‘Rolgebouw’ behind it, date from the 13th century. In the course of the centuries, the Binnenhof was renovated and expanded continuously. As early as the 15th century the Binnenhof housed the County Council and in 1585 it became the seat of the States General of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. Without doubt, the most striking building on Binnenhof is the Knights’ Hall, built in the 13th and 14th centuries as the castle for the Earls of Holland.

The Main Hall, which has been called the Knights’ Hall since the 19th century, dates from the second half of the 13th century. The famous wooden covering was demolished in 1861, however, less than forty years later it was replaced by an exact copy. Since 1904 the Knights’ Hall has been the setting for the reading of the Queen’s speech at the annual opening of Parliament. In her speech, the Queen announces the government’s plans for the coming year to the parliament and to the Dutch people.

Passage
The Passage is the only remaining example in Holland in this type of covered shopping streets, popular in major European and American cities in the second half of the 19th century. The Hofweg wing, in expressionist style, was not added to the Passage until 1928. The other two wings, which run to Spuistraat and the Buitenhof, are in Neo-Renaissance style and date from 1882.

Prison Gate
In the middle ages, the Prison Gate was one of the gates to the earl’s castle on Binnenhof. From approximately 1420 the building was a prison used by the earls, later it was a prison for the Court of Holland. Since 1828 the building has had other purposes, since 1882 it has been a museum for instruments of torture and punishment. The thoroughfare past the Prison Gate dates from 1923; before that time houses were situated between the gate and the Hofvijver Pond. Through the gate you can see the statue of Johan de Witt. It reminds us of the spot where this Grand Pensionary and his brother Cornelis were murdered in 1672.

Old Town Hall
From the middle ages The Hague has consisted of two parts, each with a character all of its own: the earl’s Court with the prosperous areas around Hofvijver and Lange Voorhout, and the village of Die Haeghe, around the Grote Kerk and the town hall, where the commoners lived. The town hall, built on the cellars of the medieval Hof van Brederode, is one of the first examples of the Renaissance in the north of Holland. The richly decorated facade features the maxim: ‘Ne Jupiter Quidem Omnibus’ - even Jupiter cannot please everyone. The sculptures above the middle represent Justice and Caution, with the stork of The Hague and a Latin maxim which, freely translated, means ‘one man’s fault is another man’s lesson’. The building was restored between 1968 and 1975 and a council chamber was added. These days the former town hall is only used for marrying people.

Des Indes Inter-Continental Den Haag
This monumental building was built as the city residence of Baron van Brienen, who also owned country estate Clingendael, and has been a hotel since 1881. The building style is eclectic, the fronton features the coat of arms of Batavia. The stairways in the entrance hall and the main foyer were renovated in 1902. Before the restoration, the current entrance hall was a ‘porte-cochère’, a gate through which you could drive your carriage into the castle. The present-day foyer used to be a courtyard where the carriages could turn around. A host of celebrities have stayed here, including the South-African President Paul Kruger, the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, who died in the hotel in 1931, Sir Winston Churchill and pop star Prince.

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