The Scheveningen Pier is a pleasure

pier image:Brighton Pier, Brighton, East Sussex, England-2Oct2011 (1).jpg, Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century. A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of ...

in the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

resort town A resort town, often called a resort city or resort destination, is an urban area where tourism or vacationing is the primary component of the local culture and economy. A typical resort town has one or more actual resorts in the surrounding ...

Scheveningen Scheveningen is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict (''wijk'') of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is po ...

near

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 ...

. Opened in 1959, the current pier is the second in the town, the first being lost just after, and as a result of, the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

History

Wandelhoofd Koningin Wilhelmina

The first pier of Scheveningen, named Wandelhoofd Koningin Wilhelmina (''Stroll Main Queen Wilhelmina'') opened on 6 May 1901 and was designed by the Dutch architect

Wilhelmus Bernardus van Liefland "Wilhelmus van Nassouwe", usually known just as "Wilhelmus" ( nl, Het Wilhelmus, italic=no; ; English translation: "The William"), is the national anthem of both the Netherlands and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It dates back to at least 1572 ...

and W. Wyhowski. The wooden structure was built on a steel foundation directly in front of the

Kurhaus Kurhaus (German for "spa house" or "health resort") may refer to: * Kurhaus of Baden-Baden in Germany * Kurhaus, Wiesbaden in Germany * Kurhaus, Meran in South Tyrol, Italy * Kurhaus of Scheveningen in the Netherlands * Kurhaus Bergün, a grand ho ...

hotel. During the

Scheveningen was part of the

Atlantikwall The Atlantic Wall (german: link=no, Atlantikwall) was an extensive system of coastal defences and fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the coast of continental Europe and Scandinavia as a defence against an anticip ...

with the Germans using the pavilion as a storage facility as well as placing arms ammunition on the pier. To complicate an invasion by the Allies, the 30 meter promenade was removed and fitted with a suspension bridge. On March 26, 1943 the pavilion burned out completely. After the fire, the Germans demolished the pier by removing the wooden upper structure from its foundation, most likely due to fears the pier could be used by the Allied forces in an amphibious assault.

Current pier

On 17 September 1959 the current structure, designed by Dutch architects

Hugh Maaskant Huig (Hugh) Aart Maaskant (August 17, 1907 – May 27, 1977) was a Dutch architect. He designed a number of notable buildings in Rotterdam, his home city, and in Amsterdam, notably the Groothandelsgebouw in Rotterdam in 1951 and the Amsterd ...

and

Dick Apon Dick, Dicks, or Dick's may refer to: Media * ''Dicks'' (album), a 2004 album by Fila Brazillia * Dicks (band), a musical group * ''Dick'' (film), a 1999 American comedy film * "Dick" (song), a 2019 song by Starboi3 featuring Doja Cat Names ...

from

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 ...

, was opened by the then mayor of The Hague,

Hans Kolfschoten Henri Anthony Melchior Tieleman "Hans" Kolfschoten (17 August 1903 – 2 August 1984) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Catholic People's Party (KVP) now merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). Kolfschoten was minister of Justice, ...

. Its unusual construction boasts two levels for the main pier, the lower deck a closed-in section, the upper open to the elements, and four terminal sections called 'islands', each originally with a separate focus. Its total length is 382 meters. After a period of decay the pier was purchased in 1991 by the

Van der Valk ''Van der Valk'' is a British television crime drama series produced for the ITV network. The first series ran from 1972 to 1992; followed by a remake in 2020. Created by Nicolas Freeling and based on his novels about a detective in Amsterd ...

group for one Dutch guilder. The company invested about 20 million euros in the pier, refurbishing the main span and one island, constructing a restaurant and casino. Following a fire in 2011 a new period of decay began and the pier was declared bankrupt in early 2013. The whole structure was closed in October 2013 by the town management, because the structure was no longer safe. The project developer Kondor Wessels Groep en Danzep BV bought the pier in October 2014 and planned to introduce various new features. On 19 July 2015, the upper deck of the pier was partly reopened, though safety concerns limited attendance to a maximum of 800 people at the same time. The lower deck is also open, although work continues. The upper deck contains a

Bungee jumping Bungee jumping (), also spelled bungy jumping, is an activity that involves a person jumping from a great height while connected to a large elastic cord. The launching pad is usually erected on a tall structure such as a building or crane, a ...

facility and a restaurant.

References

External links

Picture of burned pavilion
{{coord, 52, 07, 02, N, 4, 16, 48, E, region:NL_type:landmark, display=title Piers in the Netherlands Buildings and structures in The Hague