:''Parts of this article have been translated from the Dutch version of this page'' Haaglanden (, literally ''Haguelands'') was a

conurbation A conurbation is a region comprising a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ca ...

surrounding

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of 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 ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

from 1992 until 2015. The city's position as the country's seat of government made the region prominent in the

. Located on the west coast of the province of

South Holland South Holland ( nl, Zuid-Holland ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.7 million as of October 2021 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely ...

, the region had a population of 1,050,543 in September 2013, and covered an area of 405 km². ''Haaglanden'' was an official term referring to an urban region"Urban region" referring to the Dutch terms ''stadsgewest'', ''stadsregio'' and ''plusregio'', which were more or less used interchangeably. literally called ''Haaglanden Urban Region'' (''Stadsgewest Haaglanden''). The official website of Haaglanden used the English translation ''The Hague Region''. Another translation would have been the ''Greater Hague Area''. The term was also sometimes used to refer to the

of The Hague in a general, informal sense; "the Hague area" or "the area around The Hague". This area was often treated as a single unit for organisational or statistical purposes. ''Haaglanden'' was part of the larger

Rotterdam The Hague Metropolitan Area Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

. On 1 January 2015 Haaglanden was merged into the Rotterdam-The Hague metropolitan area. Haaglanden has since only existed as a

safety region In the European Netherlands, a safety region () is a public body whose task is to facilitate regional cooperation in dealing with crises, disasters and disruptions of public order. Each municipal executive belongs to one of the twenty-five safe ...

. Its use for statistical purposes has since been replaced by the ''Greater The Hague'' and ''Delft & Westland'' COROP regions. In 2018, South Holland province commissioned a study into the economic benefits of reviving the urban region.

Geography

Haaglanden consisted of the nine municipalities of

Zoetermeer Zoetermeer () is a city in the Western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of of which is water. A small village until the late 1960s, it had 6,392 inhabitants in 1950. By 2013 this had grown to 123,328 ...

Westland Westland or Westlands may refer to: Places *Westlands, an affluent neighbourhood in the city of Nairobi, Kenya * Westlands, Staffordshire, a suburban area and ward in Newcastle-under-Lyme *Westland, a peninsula of the Shetland Mainland near Vaila ...

Delft Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...

Leidschendam-Voorburg Leidschendam-Voorburg () is a municipality in the western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It had a population of in , and covers an area of of which is water. Origin The municipality of Leidschendam-Voorburg is the resu ...

Pijnacker-Nootdorp Pijnacker-Nootdorp () is a municipality in the Randstad conurbation in the Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of of which is water. The municipality of Pijnacker-Nootdorp comprises three settlements: ...

Rijswijk Rijswijk (), formerly known as Ryswick ( ) in English, is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Its population was in , and it has an area of , of which is water. The municipality also includes th ...

Wassenaar Wassenaar (; population: in ) is a municipality and town located in the province of South Holland, on the western coast of the Netherlands. An affluent suburb of The Hague, Wassenaar lies north of that city on the N44/A44 highway near the Nort ...

and

Midden-Delfland Midden-Delfland () is a municipality (''gemeente'') in the Westland region in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. It had a population of in , and covers an area of of which is water. It was formed on January 1, 2004, through the ...

. The Haaglanden conurbation and the

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

conurbation to the east had grown to the point where they are almost contiguous. They were effectively a single urban area, even though they had separate governments, transport systems, etc. The Hague and Rotterdam share the

Rotterdam The Hague Airport Rotterdam The Hague Airport (formerly ''Rotterdam Airport'', ''Vliegveld Zestienhoven'' in Dutch language, Dutch), is a minor international airport serving Rotterdam, the Netherlands' second largest city, and The Hague, its administrative and ...

and a light rail system called

RandstadRail RandstadRail () is a light rail network in the Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area in the west of the Netherlands that is jointly operated by HTM Personenvervoer (HTM) and Rotterdamse Elektrische Tram (RET). It connects the cities of Rotte ...

. This led to the creation of an official Rotterdam-The Hague metropolitan region (''Metropoolregio Rotterdam Den Haag''), which has a combined population of approximately 2.4 million, making it one of largest metropolitan regions in Europe. Haaglanden was bordered to the north by the

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

conurbation, which had a population of about a quarter million. These two areas, much like The Hague and Rotterdam, had also grown together to the point where they are virtually contiguous. Haaglanden was part of the southern wing (the

Zuidvleugel Zuidvleugel (, literally "south wing") is the band of cities and towns located along the southern wing of the Randstad in the Netherlands. It is that part of the Randstad that is located in the Province of South Holland. This developing conurbat ...

) of the

Randstad The Randstad (; "Rim" or "Edge" City) is a roughly crescent-shaped conurbation in the central-western Netherlands, consisting primarily of the four largest Dutch cities (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht); their suburbs, and many tow ...

, which also includes the conurbations surrounding

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

and

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

. This conurbation is one of the most important economic and densely populated areas in the north-west of Europe.

References

External links

Stadsgewest Haaglanden
Metropolitan areas of the Netherlands Regions of the Netherlands Regions of South Holland {{SouthHolland-geo-stub

Geography

See also

References

External links