The Hague, Netherlands
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The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the
South Holland South Holland ( ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.8 million as of January 2023 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely populated areas. ...
province of the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. 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 North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...
, The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its
seat of government The seat of government is (as defined by ''Brewer's Politics'') "the building, complex of buildings or the city from which a government exercises its authority". In most countries, the nation's Capital city, capital is also seat of its governmen ...
, and has been described as the country's ''de facto'' capital since the time of the
Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...
, while
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
is the official
capital of the Netherlands In the Netherlands, the Constitution of the Netherlands, Constitution refers to Amsterdam as the capital city. However, since 1588, the States General of the Netherlands, States General and the Cabinet of the Netherlands, Executive Branch, along ...
. 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 The Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area () is a metropolitan area encompassing the cities of Rotterdam and The Hague as well as 21 other municipalities. It was founded in 2014. The area has a population of approximately 2.7 million across . ...
, 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 The Randstad (; "Rim City" or "Edge City") is a roughly crescent- or Circular arc, arc-shaped conurbation in the Netherlands, that includes almost half the country's population. With a central-western location, it connects and comprises the Net ...
region, one of the largest
conurbation A conurbation is a region consisting of 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 ...
s in Europe. The Hague is the seat of the Cabinet, the States General, the
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
, and the
Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...
of the Netherlands.
King Willem-Alexander Willem-Alexander (; Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand; born 27 April 1967) is King of the Netherlands since 30 April 2013. Willem-Alexander was born in Utrecht during the reign of his maternal grandmother, Queen Juliana, as the eldest ch ...
officially lives in the
Huis ten Bosch Huis ten Bosch (, ; ) is a royal palace in The Hague, Netherlands. It is one of three official residences of the Dutch monarch; the two others being the Noordeinde Palace in The Hague and the Royal Palace of Amsterdam. Huis ten Bosch was th ...
and works at the
Noordeinde Palace Noordeinde Palace (, ) is one of three official palaces of the Dutch Royal House, Dutch royal family. Located in the city center of The Hague in the province of South Holland, it has been used as the official workplace of King Willem-Alexander of ...
together with Queen Máxima. 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 Shell plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational petroleum, oil and natural gas, gas company, headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and second ...
having major offices in the city as well. The
Royal Library of the Netherlands The KB National Library of the Netherlands (legal Dutch name: Koninklijke Bibliotheek or KB ; ''Royal Library'') is the national library of the Netherlands, based in The Hague, founded in 1798. The KB collects everything that is published in ...
is also located there. The Hague's coastal area includes the popular seaside resort
Scheveningen Scheveningen () is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict () of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is popular ...
. The Hague is known as the global hub of international law and arbitration. The
International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...
, the main judicial arm of the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
, is based in the city, as are the
International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...
, the
Permanent Court of Arbitration The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered at the Peace Palace, in The Hague, Netherlands. Unlike a judicial court in the traditional sense, the PCA provides administrative support in international ...
, the
Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW; French: ''Organisation pour l'interdiction des armes chimiques'', OIAC) is an intergovernmental organisation and the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), ...
,
Europol Europol, officially the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, is the law enforcement agency of the European Union (EU). Established in 1998, it is based in The Hague, Netherlands, and serves as the central hub for coordinating c ...
, and approximately 200 other international governmental organizations. The name "The Hague" is commonly used
metonymically Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something associated with that thing or concept. For example, the word "suit" may refer to a person from groups commonly wearing business attire, such as salespe ...
to refer to either of the international courts that reside in the city.


Etymology

The Hague was first mentioned as ''Die Haghe'' in 1242. In the 15th century, the name ''des Graven hage'' came into use, literally meaning "the Count's Grove", with connotations such as "hedge", "private enclosure" or "hunting grounds". The count in question was the
Count of Holland The counts of Holland ruled over the County of Holland in the Low Countries between the 10th and the 16th century. The Frisian origins While the Frisian kingdom had comprised most of the present day Netherlands, the later province of Friesland ...
(as is the case with nearby
's-Gravenzande s-Gravenzande is a town in the province of South Holland, in the Netherlands. It is a part of the municipality of Westland, and lies about southwest of The Hague. Until 2004 it was a separate municipality and covered an area of 20.77 km2 (of ...
). The spelling ''s-Gravenhage'' was officially used for the city from the 17th century onward. Today, this name is used only in some official documents, such as birth and marriage certificates. The city itself uses ''Den Haag'' in all its communications. The post office specifies that letters should be addressed to ''s-Gravenhage'', but a letter to ''Den Haag'' will be delivered just as well. The railway stations use the name ''Den Haag'', as do signposts.


History


Ancient history

The area was part of the
Roman province The Roman provinces (, pl. ) were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled by a Roman appointed as Roman g ...
of
Germania Inferior ''Germania Inferior'' ("Lower Germania") was a Roman province from AD 85 until the province was renamed ''Germania Secunda'' in the 4th century AD, on the west bank of the Rhine bordering the North Sea. The capital of the province was Colonia Cl ...
and was close to the border of the empire, the
Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes The Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes (), or ORL, is a 550-kilometre-long section of the former external frontier of the Roman Empire between the rivers Rhine and Danube. It runs from Rheinbrohl to Eining on the Danube. The Upper Germanic-Rhaetian L ...
. 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 Voorburg () is a town and former municipality in the west part of the province of South Holland, Netherlands. Together with the town Leidschendam and the village Stompwijk, it merged into the municipality of Leidschendam-Voorburg in 2002. Sit ...
), and can be dated to the reign of the emperors
Antoninus Pius Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius (; ; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from AD 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Born into a senatorial family, Antoninus held var ...
(138–161; the column is dated 151),
Caracalla Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname Caracalla (; ), was Roman emperor from 198 to 217 AD, first serving as nominal co-emperor under his father and then r ...
(211–217),
Gordian III Gordian III (; 20 January 225 – February 244) was Roman emperor from 238 to 244. At the age of 13, he became the youngest sole emperor of the united Roman Empire. Gordian was the son of Maecia Faustina and her husband Junius Balbus, who d ...
(238–244), and
Decius Gaius Messius Quintus Trajanus Decius ( 201June 251), known as Trajan Decius or simply Decius (), was Roman emperor from 249 to 251. A distinguished politician during the reign of Philip the Arab, Decius was proclaimed emperor by his troops a ...
(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 The Hofvijver (; ) is a small lake in the centre of The Hague, Netherlands. It is adjoined in the east by the Korte Vijverberg road, in the south by the Binnenhof and the Mauritshuis, in the west by the Buitenhof (The Hague), Buitenhof and in th ...
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 A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...
in 1234, before anything was built. His son and successor William II lived in the court, and after he was elected
King of the Romans King of the Romans (; ) was the title used by the king of East Francia following his election by the princes from the reign of Henry II (1002–1024) onward. The title originally referred to any German king between his election and coronatio ...
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 The Binnenhof (; ) is a complex of buildings in the city centre of The Hague, Netherlands, next to the Hofvijver (Court Pond). It houses the meeting place of both houses of the States General of the Netherlands, as well as the Ministry of Gener ...
("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 Floris V (24 June 1254 – 27 June 1296) reigned as Count of Holland and Zeeland from 1256 until 1296. His life was documented in detail in the Rijmkroniek by Melis Stoke, his chronicler. He is credited with a mostly peaceful reign, modern ...
, of which the Ridderzaal ("Knights' Hall"), still intact, is the most prominent. It is still used for political events, such as the annual
speech from the throne A speech from the throne, or throne speech, is an event in certain monarchies in which the reigning sovereign, or their representative, reads a prepared speech to members of the nation's legislature when a Legislative session, session is opened. ...
by the Dutch
monarch A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...
. 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. In its early years, the village was in the '' ambacht'', or rural district, of
Monster A monster is a type of imaginary or fictional creature found in literature, folklore, mythology, fiction and religion. They are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive, with a strange or grotesque appearance that causes Anxiety, terror ...
, 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. When the
House of Burgundy The House of Burgundy () was a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty, descending from Robert I, Duke of Burgundy, a younger son of King Robert II of France. The House ruled the Duchy of Burgundy from 1032 to 1361 and achieved the recognized title ...
inherited the counties of Holland and Zeeland in 1432, they appointed a
stadtholder In the Low Countries, a stadtholder ( ) was a steward, first appointed as a medieval official and ultimately functioning as a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and ...
to rule in their stead with the
States of Holland and West Friesland The States of Holland and West Frisia () were the representation of the two Estates of the realm, Estates (''standen'') to the court of the Count of Holland. After the Dutch Republic, United Provinces were formed — and there no longer was a count, ...
as an advisory council. Although their seat was in The Hague, the city became subordinate to more important centres of government such as
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
and
Mechelen Mechelen (; ; historically known as ''Mechlin'' in EnglishMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical context. T ...
, from where the sovereigns ruled over the increasingly centralised
Burgundian Netherlands The Burgundian Netherlands were those parts of the Low Countries ruled by the Dukes of Burgundy during the Burgundian Age between 1384 and 1482. Within their Burgundian State, which itself belonged partly to the Holy Roman Empire and partly t ...
. At the beginning of the
Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...
, the absence of city walls proved disastrous, as it allowed
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
troops to easily occupy the town. In 1575, the States of Holland, temporarily based in
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, ...
, even considered demolishing the city but this proposal was abandoned, after mediation by
William the Silent William the Silent or William the Taciturn (; 24 April 153310 July 1584), more commonly known in the Netherlands as William of Orange (), was the leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish Habsburg Netherlands, Habsburgs that set off the ...
. In 1588, The Hague became the permanent seat of the States of Holland as well as the States General of the
Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...
. 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 The Kingdom of Holland ( (contemporary), (modern); ) was the successor state of the Batavian Republic. It was created by Napoleon Bonaparte in March 1806 in order to strengthen control over the Netherlands by replacing the republican governmen ...
was a puppet state of the
First French Empire The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...
, the settlement was granted city rights by
Louis Bonaparte Louis Bonaparte (born Luigi Buonaparte; 2 September 1778 – 25 July 1846) was a younger brother of Napoleon, Napoleon I, Emperor of the French. He was a monarch in his own right from 1806 to 1810, ruling over the Kingdom of Holland (a French c ...
. After the
Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
, modern-day Belgium and the Netherlands were combined in the
United Kingdom of the Netherlands The United Kingdom of the Netherlands is the unofficial name given to the Kingdom of the Netherlands as it existed from 1815 to 1839. The United Netherlands was created in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars through the fusion of territories t ...
to form a buffer against France. As a compromise,
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
and
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
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 Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...
. The growing city amalgamated the rural municipality of
Loosduinen Loosduinen () is a former village in the Netherlands that was a municipality unto itself until 1923, when it was annexed by The Hague and subsequently became a district of the city. Within the district there is also a neighbourhood (Dutch:wijk) c ...
partly in 1903 and completely in 1923. The city sustained heavy damage during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Many Jews were killed during the German occupation. Additionally, the
Atlantic Wall The Atlantic Wall () was an extensive system of coastal defence and fortification, coastal defences and fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the coast of continental Europe and Scandinavia as a defense (military), d ...
was built through the city, causing a large quarter to be torn down by the
Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
occupants. On 3 March 1945, the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
mistakenly bombed the Bezuidenhout quarter. The target was an installation of
V-2 rocket The V2 (), with the technical name ''Aggregat (rocket family), Aggregat-4'' (A4), was the world's first long-range missile guidance, guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was developed during the S ...
s in the nearby Haagse Bos park, but because of navigational errors, the bombs fell on a heavily populated and historic part of the city. The bombardment wreaked widespread destruction in the area and caused 511 fatalities. 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 Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
. 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 Voorburg () is a town and former municipality in the west part of the province of South Holland, Netherlands. Together with the town Leidschendam and the village Stompwijk, it merged into the municipality of Leidschendam-Voorburg in 2002. Sit ...
,
Leidschendam Leidschendam () is a town and former municipality in the province of South Holland of the Netherlands. Along with Voorburg and Stompwijk, it is part of the municipality Leidschendam-Voorburg. History The town's name has been in use for centurie ...
,
Rijswijk Rijswijk (), formerly known as Ryswick ( ) in English, is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Its population was 59.642 in 2024, and it has an area of , of which is water. The municipality also i ...
and (most of all)
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 2023 this had grown to 126.998 ...
. 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 large areas from neighboring and non-adjacent towns to build new residential areas, which are still being developed today.


Geography

The Hague is the largest Dutch city on the
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...
in the Netherlands and forms the centre of the Greater The Hague urban area. Westland and Wateringen lie to the south,
Rijswijk Rijswijk (), formerly known as Ryswick ( ) in English, is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Its population was 59.642 in 2024, and it has an area of , of which is water. The municipality also i ...
,
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, ...
and the
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
conurbation (known as ''
Rijnmond Rijnmond (; literally 'Rhine Mouth', 'Mouth of the Rhine', 'Rhine Estuary') is the conurbation surrounding the city of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Another term used in this context is Stadsregio Rotterdam (literally 'Rotterdam Urban Region' or m ...
'') to the southeast, Pijnacker-Nootdorp and
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 2023 this had grown to 126.998 ...
to the east,
Leidschendam-Voorburg Leidschendam-Voorburg () is a municipality in the Western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland, just northeast of The Hague. It had a population of in , and covers an area of of which is water. Origin The municipality of Leidschendam- ...
, Voorschoten and the
Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...
conurbation to the northeast and
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 ...
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 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 r ...
and a light rail system called
RandstadRail RandstadRail () is a tram-train 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 Rott ...
. 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 The Randstad (; "Rim City" or "Edge City") is a roughly crescent- or Circular arc, arc-shaped conurbation in the Netherlands, that includes almost half the country's population. With a central-western location, it connects and comprises the Net ...
—specifically a band of municipalities called the South Wing (
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 conurba ...
). The Randstad, which also includes among others
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
and
Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...
, 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. 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 Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name ''Transvaal''. * South African Republic (1856–1902; ...
, Moerwijk, and the Schilderswijk are significantly poorer, except the
Vinex-location Vinex (''"Vierde Nota Ruimtelijke Ordening Extra"''; ''Fourth Memorandum on Extra Spatial Planning'') is a policy briefing note of the Dutch Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment (''Ministry of VROM'') that was released in ...
s 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 Demography () is the statistical study of human populations: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration. Demographic analysis examin ...
below. The districts are: * Centrum (110,000 inhabitants)Den Haag in Cijfers
(in Dutch)
forms the heart of The Hague. The
Binnenhof The Binnenhof (; ) is a complex of buildings in the city centre of The Hague, Netherlands, next to the Hofvijver (Court Pond). It houses the meeting place of both houses of the States General of the Netherlands, as well as the Ministry of Gener ...
, the
Noordeinde Palace Noordeinde Palace (, ) is one of three official palaces of the Dutch Royal House, Dutch royal family. Located in the city center of The Hague in the province of South Holland, it has been used as the official workplace of King Willem-Alexander of ...
, the
Mauritshuis The Mauritshuis (, ; ) is an art museum in The Hague, Netherlands. The museum houses the Royal Cabinet of Paintings which consists of 854 objects, mostly Dutch Golden Age paintings. The collection contains works by Johannes Vermeer, Rembrandt van ...
museum, the Nieuwe Kerk, the Grote Kerk, the
Old City Hall Old City Hall may refer to: Asia In Hong Kong * Old City Hall (Hong Kong) Europe In Croatia * Old City Hall (Zagreb) In Denmark * Old City Hall (1479–1728), in Copenhagen * Old City Hall (1728–1795), in Copenhagen * Old City Hall (Aalborg ...
and the
City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...
are located here. Architecture varies from medieval up to the 20th century. * Escamp (131,000 inhabitants) is the most populous district of The Hague, built largely after the
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
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 (51,000 inhabitants) 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 Huis ten Bosch (, ; ) is a royal palace in The Hague, Netherlands. It is one of three official residences of the Dutch monarch; the two others being the Noordeinde Palace in The Hague and the Royal Palace of Amsterdam. Huis ten Bosch was th ...
, in this forest. The district also includes the financial centre of the city, the
Beatrixkwartier The Beatrixkwartier (literally ''Beatrix Quarter'' in Dutch) is a modern financial district in The Hague, near the Central Station, in the Bezuidenhout district. The name was chosen when the Beatrixlaan was renewed. Officially this area is t ...
. * Laak (46,000 inhabitants) 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 Rijswijk (), formerly known as Ryswick ( ) in English, is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Its population was 59.642 in 2024, and it has an area of , of which is water. The municipality also i ...
until the municipality of The Hague bought the land in 1844. The Hollands Spoor railway station and
The Hague University The Hague University of Applied Sciences (abbreviated as: ''THUAS''; ) is a university of applied sciences with its campuses located in The Hague, Delft and Zoetermeer. The main campus in The Hague is located behind The Hague Hollands Spoor ra ...
are located here, as well as the site of the planned mixed-use development
Nieuw Binckhorst Nieuw Binckhorst is a former industrial area in southeast The Hague, Netherlands, originally called Binckhorst, for which a plan was adopted in 2009 to transform into a mixed-use development along the lines of New Urbanism, including residential, e ...
. * Leidschenveen-Ypenburg (48,000 inhabitants) is an early 21st-century
Vinex-location Vinex (''"Vierde Nota Ruimtelijke Ordening Extra"''; ''Fourth Memorandum on Extra Spatial Planning'') is a policy briefing note of the Dutch Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment (''Ministry of VROM'') that was released in ...
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 Leidschendam () is a town and former municipality in the province of South Holland of the Netherlands. Along with Voorburg and Stompwijk, it is part of the municipality Leidschendam-Voorburg. History The town's name has been in use for centurie ...
, Nootdorp, and
Rijswijk Rijswijk (), formerly known as Ryswick ( ) in English, is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Its population was 59.642 in 2024, and it has an area of , of which is water. The municipality also i ...
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 Loosduinen () is a former village in the Netherlands that was a municipality unto itself until 1923, when it was annexed by The Hague and subsequently became a district of the city. Within the district there is also a neighbourhood (Dutch:wijk) c ...
(53,000 inhabitants) 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 Scheveningen () is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict () of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is popular ...
(61,000 inhabitants) 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 Pathé SAS (; styled as PATHÉ!) is a French major film production and distribution company, owning a number of cinema chains through its subsidiary Pathé Cinémas and television networks across Europe. It is the name of a network of Fren ...
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 The Peace Palace ( ; ) is an international law administrative building in The Hague, Netherlands. It houses the International Court of Justice (which is the principal judicial body of the United Nations), the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PC ...
. *
Segbroek Segbroek () is one of eight districts of The Hague in the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is th ...
(63,000 inhabitants) 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 An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...
( 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.


Cityscape

City life concentrates around the
Hofvijver The Hofvijver (; ) is a small lake in the centre of The Hague, Netherlands. It is adjoined in the east by the Korte Vijverberg road, in the south by the Binnenhof and the Mauritshuis, in the west by the Buitenhof (The Hague), Buitenhof and in th ...
and the
Binnenhof The Binnenhof (; ) is a complex of buildings in the city centre of The Hague, Netherlands, next to the Hofvijver (Court Pond). It houses the meeting place of both houses of the States General of the Netherlands, as well as the Ministry of Gener ...
, 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 Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...
and
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, ...
. 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 In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
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 In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...
(built as such) from the 16th century, several large 17th-century palaces, a 17th-century
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
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 Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...
as well as
Leiden University College The Hague Leiden University College The Hague (LUC) is a small interdisciplinary Liberal Arts and Sciences honours college, part of the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs of Leiden University. The institution's curriculums focus on tackling global ...
, which was established in 2010. The
Royal Conservatory of The Hague The Royal Conservatoire (, KC) is a conservatoire in The Hague, providing higher education in music and dance. The conservatoire was founded by King William I in 1826, making it the oldest conservatoire in the Netherlands. Since September 2021, t ...
and the Royal Academy of Art are also located there, as well as
The Hague University The Hague University of Applied Sciences (abbreviated as: ''THUAS''; ) is a university of applied sciences with its campuses located in The Hague, Delft and Zoetermeer. The main campus in The Hague is located behind The Hague Hollands Spoor ra ...
, a
vocational university A vocational university or university of applied sciences (UAS), less commonly called a polytechnic university is an institution of higher education and increasingly research that provides applied professional education and grants academic de ...
and a branch of The
Open University of the Netherlands The Open University of the Netherlands () is a Dutch institution for distance learning at university level. It is an independent government-funded university and uses a variety of methods, including written materials, the Internet, and occasi ...
. The city has many
civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...
s and
diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...
s. In fact, the number and variety of foreign residents (especially the
expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. The term often refers to a professional, skilled worker, or student from an affluent country. However, it may also refer to retirees, artists and ...
s) make the city quite culturally diverse, with many foreign
pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...
s, shops and cultural events. The Hague is the largest Dutch city on the
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...
and includes two distinct
beach resort A seaside resort is a city, town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of an official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements such as in t ...
s. The main beach resort
Scheveningen Scheveningen () is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict () of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is popular ...
, 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 The Benelux Union (; ; ; ) or Benelux is a politico-economic union, alliance and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighbouring states in Western Europe: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The name is a portma ...
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 The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in Eastern world, the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainl ...
, now
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
, 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 The Indo people (, ) or Indos are Eurasian people living in or connected with Indonesia. In its narrowest sense, the term refers to people in the former Dutch East Indies who held European legal status but were of mixed Dutch and Native Indon ...
" also known as "Indische people" often refer to The Hague as "the Widow of the Indies". 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 but many have been restored recently. 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

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. 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. 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.


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.


Inhabitants by birthplace


Religion

Just under half of The Hague's population identifies with a religious group. The two most popular religions are
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
(29%) and Islam (14.1%). Religiosity is higher among people with a recent
migration background In the Germanosphere, ''migration background'' () is a term used to describe people on the basis of Identity politics, identity and ancestry. Migration background is a variably defined Social structure, socio-demographic characteristic that desc ...
from Indonesia, Turkey, Morocco and Surinam. Islam is the most common religion among people with a Turkish or Moroccan migration background. Among people of Surinamese heritage there is more religious diversity, with Hinduism being the most common. Of The Hague's native Dutch population, most religious people adhere to Christianity. Just under 40% of the population of The Hague regularly attends a house of worship.


Politics


Municipal government

Following the 2022 municipal election, the
municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...
of The Hague currently contains fourteen groups, most notably Heart for The Hague (HvDH; 11 seats),
Democrats 66 Democrats 66 (; D66) is a social liberal and progressive political party in the Netherlands, which is positioned on the centre to centre-left of the political spectrum. It is a member of the Liberal International (LI) and the Alliance of Li ...
(D66; 8 seats), the
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( , VVD) is a Conservative liberalism, conservative-liberal List of political parties in the Netherlands, political party in the Netherlands. The VVD, whose forerunner was the Freedom Party (Netherl ...
(VVD; 6 seats) and
GroenLinks (, ; GL) is a Green politics, green List of political parties in the Netherlands, political party in the Netherlands. It was formed on 1 March 1989 from the merger of four Left-wing politics, left-wing parties: the Communist Party of the Neth ...
(5 seats). ! colspan=2, Group ! Seats , - , bgcolor="#008f51", , align=left, Heart for The Hague, , , - , , align=left,
Democrats 66 Democrats 66 (; D66) is a social liberal and progressive political party in the Netherlands, which is positioned on the centre to centre-left of the political spectrum. It is a member of the Liberal International (LI) and the Alliance of Li ...
, , , - , , align=left,
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( , VVD) is a Conservative liberalism, conservative-liberal List of political parties in the Netherlands, political party in the Netherlands. The VVD, whose forerunner was the Freedom Party (Netherl ...
, , , - , , align=left,
GroenLinks (, ; GL) is a Green politics, green List of political parties in the Netherlands, political party in the Netherlands. It was formed on 1 March 1989 from the merger of four Left-wing politics, left-wing parties: the Communist Party of the Neth ...
, , , - , , align=left,
Party for the Animals The Party for the Animals ( , PvdD) is a List of political parties in the Netherlands, political party in the Netherlands. Among its main goals are animal rights and animal welfare. The PvdD was founded in 2002 as a single-issue party for animal ...
, , , - , , align=left, Labour Party, , , - , , align=left,
Christian Democratic Appeal The Christian Democratic Appeal ( , CDA) is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in the Netherlands. Formed as a federation in 1975 by the Catholic People's Party, the Anti-Revolutionary Party, and the Christian Historical ...
, , , - , , align=left, DENK, , , - , bgcolor="#fcda00", , align=left, The Hague City Party, , , - , , align=left,
Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...
, , , - , , align=left,
Party for Freedom The Party for Freedom ( , PVV) is a right-wing populist, far-right political party in the Netherlands. Geert Wilders is the founder, party leader, and sole registered member of the party. Founded in 2006 as the successor to Wilders' one-ma ...
, , , - , , align=left,
Christian Union – Reformed Political Party A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words ''Christ'' and ''Ch ...
, , , - , , align=left,
Forum for Democracy Forum for Democracy ( ; FvD) is a far-right political party in the Netherlands, originally founded as a think tank by Thierry Baudet and Henk Otten in 2015 before registering itself as a party the following year. The FvD first participated i ...
, , , - , , align=left, Van den Goorbergh group, , , - , align=left colspan=3, Source: Municipal Council Since 2019, the
municipal executive In the Netherlands, the municipal executive (, oftentimes abbreviated to ; ) is the executive board of a municipality. It plays a central role in municipal politics in the Netherlands, similar to the communal college in Belgium. It consists of t ...
has comprised VVD, D66, GroenLinks, CDA and PvdA. The chairman of the college is Mayor
Jan van Zanen Jan Hendrikus Cornelis van Zanen (born 4 September 1961) is a Dutch politician who has served as Mayor of The Hague since 1 July 2020. A member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), he previously served as Mayor of Utrecht (201 ...
(VVD), and the city has eight aldermen: Anne Mulder, Kavita Parbhudayal (both VVD), Robert van Asten, Saskia Bruines (both D66),
Liesbeth van Tongeren Liesbeth van Tongeren (born 31 March 1958 in Vlaardingen) is a Dutch politician, and former civil servant and director of Greenpeace Netherlands (2003–2010). As a member of GroenLinks, she was a member of the House of Representatives from 17 ...
, Bert van Alphen (both GroenLinks), Hilbert Bredemeijer (CDA) and Martijn Balster (PvdA). Each alderman is responsible for a number of particular policy areas and one of the city's eight districts. On 1 October 2019, the National Department of Criminal Investigation (''Rijksrecherche'') performed a
raid RAID (; redundant array of inexpensive disks or redundant array of independent disks) is a data storage virtualization technology that combines multiple physical Computer data storage, data storage components into one or more logical units for th ...
on the homes and offices of then-aldermen Richard de Mos and Rachid Guernaoui, as part of an investigation of alleged administrative corruption, bribery and violation of confidentiality. The offices of several municipal civil servants and the homes of three entrepreneurs were also searched for the investigation. The aldermen were suspected of receiving bribes in exchange for granting permits. In April 2023, De Mos and Guernaoui were acquitted of all charges.


International politics

The Hague is home to many different international judicial bodies, such as the
International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...
(ICJ), the
International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...
(ICC), and the
International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) or the MICT in Kinyarwanda, also known simply as the Mechanism, is an international court established by the United Nations Security Council in 2010 to perform the remaining fun ...
(IRMCT). It houses Scheveningen Prison, the ICC's detention center for those suspected of war crimes and other violations of international law. The Hague is the fourth major centre for the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
, after New York, Geneva and Vienna. The foundation of The Hague as an "international city of peace and justice" started at the end of the 19th century, when the first global peace conference took place in The Hague on
Tobias Asser Tobias Michael Carel Asser (; 28 April 1838 – 29 July 1913) was a Dutch lawyer and legal scholar. In 1911, he won the Nobel Peace Prize (together with Alfred Fried) for his role in the establishment of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the ...
's initiative, with a second one a few years later. A direct result of these meetings was the establishment of the world's first organisation for the settlement of international disputes, the
Permanent Court of Arbitration The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered at the Peace Palace, in The Hague, Netherlands. Unlike a judicial court in the traditional sense, the PCA provides administrative support in international ...
(PCA). Shortly thereafter, the Scottish-American millionaire
Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...
made the necessary funds available to build the
Peace Palace The Peace Palace ( ; ) is an international law administrative building in The Hague, Netherlands. It houses the International Court of Justice (which is the principal judicial body of the United Nations), the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PC ...
to house the PCA. After the establishment of the
League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...
, The Hague became the seat of the
Permanent Court of International Justice The Permanent Court of International Justice, often called the World Court, existed from 1922 to 1946. It was an international court attached to the League of Nations. Created in 1920 (although the idea of an international court was several cent ...
, which was replaced (after
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
) by the UN's
International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...
. The establishments of the Iran–United States Claims Tribunal (1981), the
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes in the Yugoslav Wars, war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to tr ...
(1993), and the
International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...
(2002) in the city further consolidated its role as a centre for international legal arbitration. Most recently, on 1 March 2009, the
Special Tribunal for Lebanon The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), also referred to as the Lebanon Tribunal or the Hariri Tribunal, was a tribunal of international character that was active between 2009 and 2023. It applied Lebanese criminal law under the authority of ...
, a UN tribunal to investigate and prosecute suspects in the 2005 assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, opened in the former headquarters of the Dutch
General Intelligence and Security Service The General Intelligence and Security Service ( ; AIVD) is the intelligence and security agency of the Netherlands, tasked with domestic, foreign and signals intelligence and protecting national security as well as assisting the Five Eyes in i ...
in
Leidschendam Leidschendam () is a town and former municipality in the province of South Holland of the Netherlands. Along with Voorburg and Stompwijk, it is part of the municipality Leidschendam-Voorburg. History The town's name has been in use for centurie ...
, a town within the greater area of The Hague. Other major international and European organisations based in The Hague include: *
Europol Europol, officially the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, is the law enforcement agency of the European Union (EU). Established in 1998, it is based in The Hague, Netherlands, and serves as the central hub for coordinating c ...
, European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation *
Eurojust The European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) is an agency of the European Union (EU) dealing with judicial co-operation in criminal matters among agencies of the member states. It is seated in The Hague, Netherlands. Est ...
, European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation *
Europeana Europeana is a web portal created by the European Union containing digitised cultural heritage collections of more than 3,000 institutions across Europe. It includes records of over 50 million cultural and scientific artefacts, brought togethe ...
, European Union digital platform for cultural heritage. *
The Hague Academy of International Law The Hague Academy of International Law () is a center for high-level education in both public and private international law housed in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. Courses are taught in English and French and, except for External ...
, centre for high-level education in both public and private international law *
Hague Conference on Private International Law The Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) is an intergovernmental organisation in the area of private international law (also known as ''conflict of laws''), that administers several international conventions, protocols and soft ...
(HCCH), the oldest and preeminent private international law harmonisation institution *
International Commission on Missing Persons The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) is an intergovernmental organization that addresses the issue of persons missing as a result of armed conflicts, violations of human rights, and natural disasters. It is headquartered in The H ...
(ICMP) *
European Patent Office The European Patent Office (EPO) is one of the two organs of the European Patent Organisation (EPOrg), the other being the Administrative Council. The EPO acts as executive body for the organisation
*
Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) is an international organization established to facilitate the voices of unrepresented and marginalized nations and peoples worldwide. It was formed on 11 February 1991 at the Peace Pal ...
*
NATO Communications and Information Agency The NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCI Agency) is NATO's technology and cyber hub. The Agency provides C4ISR (Command, Control, Communications, and Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance; refer to Command and cont ...
, (NCI Agency) *
Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW; French: ''Organisation pour l'interdiction des armes chimiques'', OIAC) is an intergovernmental organisation and the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), ...
(OPCW) * The European Library Many academic institutions in the fields of international relations, international law, and international development are based in The Hague. The Hague Academic Coalition (HAC) is a consortium of those institutions. Its member institutions are: * Carnegie Foundation * Hague Institute for the Internationalisation of Law (HiiL) *
International Institute of Social Studies The International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) of Erasmus University Rotterdam is an independent international graduate school of policy-oriented social science. ISS was established in 1952 by Dutch universities and the Netherlands Mini ...
(ISS) of
Erasmus University Rotterdam Erasmus University Rotterdam ( ; abbreviated as EUR) is a public research university located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The university is named after Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, a 15th-century Christian humanist and theologian. Erasmus M ...
*
Leiden University College The Hague Leiden University College The Hague (LUC) is a small interdisciplinary Liberal Arts and Sciences honours college, part of the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs of Leiden University. The institution's curriculums focus on tackling global ...
* Netherlands Institute of International Relations 'Clingendael' *
The Hague Academy of International Law The Hague Academy of International Law () is a center for high-level education in both public and private international law housed in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. Courses are taught in English and French and, except for External ...
*
The Hague University of Applied Sciences The Hague University of Applied Sciences (abbreviated as: ''THUAS''; ) is a university of applied sciences with its campuses located in The Hague, Delft and Zoetermeer. The main campus in The Hague is located behind The Hague Hollands Spoor ra ...
* T.M.C. Asser Instituut In 1948, the
Congress of Europe The Hague Congress or the Congress of Europe was a conference that was held in The Hague from 7–11 May 1948 with 750 delegates participating from around Europe as well as observers from Canada and the United States of America. The Congress, or ...
was held with 750 delegates from 26 European governments, providing them with the opportunity to discuss ideas about the development of
European integration European integration is the process of political, legal, social, regional and economic integration of states wholly or partially in Europe, or nearby. European integration has primarily but not exclusively come about through the European Union ...
, which eventually culminated in the creation of the modern-day
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
.


Economy

The Hague has a service-oriented economy. A professional life in the city is dominated by a large number of civil servants and diplomats working in the city; , 26% of the jobs in The Hague are those offered by the Dutch government or the international institutions. Large employers in this sector include the ministries of Defence,
Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...
, Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment,
Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership or ...
, the
Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations The Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (; BZK) is the Ministries of the Netherlands, Netherlands' ministry responsible for domestic policy, civil service, public administration, elections, relations with local governments, intelligen ...
and Transport, Public Works and Water Management. Several large international businesses have their headquarters in The Hague. Significant companies headquartered in The Hague include Aegon,
APM Terminals APM Terminals is a Port operator, port operating company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands. A unit of Denmark, Danish Freight transport, shipping company Maersk's Transport and Logistics division. It manages container terminals and provides ...
, Damco, NIBC Bank, Chicago Bridge & Iron Company and
PostNL PostNL N.V., commonly known as PostNL () (formerly TNT N.V.) is a Dutch mail, parcel and e-commerce company with operations mainly in the Benelux area. It provides universal delivery in the Netherlands, and is publicly listed at Euronext Amster ...
. The city is also host to the regional headquarters of
Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...
,
T-Mobile T-Mobile is the brand of telecommunications by Deutsche Telekom Deutsche Telekom AG (, ; often just Telekom, DTAG or DT; stylised as ·T·) is a partially state-owned German telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn and the largest telec ...
,
AT&T AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...
,
Huawei Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. ("Huawei" sometimes stylized as "HUAWEI"; ; zh, c=华为, p= ) is a Chinese multinational corporationtechnology company in Longgang, Shenzhen, Longgang, Shenzhen, Guangdong. Its main product lines include teleco ...
,
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (; KPC) is Kuwait's major national oil company, headquartered in Al Kuwait. The activities of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation are focused on petroleum exploration, production, petrochemicals, refining, marketing, a ...
,
McDermott International McDermott International, Ltd provides engineering and construction services to the energy industry. Operating in over 54 countries, McDermott has more than 30,000 employees, as well as a fleet of specialty marine construction vessels and fabri ...
,
Saudi Aramco Saudi Aramco ( ') or Aramco (formerly Arabian-American Oil Company), officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a majority state-owned petroleum and natural gas company that is the national oil company of Saudi Arabia. , it is the fourth- l ...
,
TotalEnergies TotalEnergies SE is a French multinational integrated energy and petroleum company founded in 1924 and is one of the seven supermajor oil companies. Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from crude oil and natural gas explorati ...
and Worley. There has never been any large-scale industrial activity in The Hague, with the possible exception of the fishing activities of the harbour in
Scheveningen Scheveningen () is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict () of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is popular ...
. Many of the city's logistical and minor-industrial services are in the Binckhorst in the Laak district, which contains many sizeable warehouses. The city is the second biggest Dutch tourist destination after
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
. In 2012, The Hague welcomed 1.2 million tourists, half of whom came from abroad. Tourists spend an average of €2 billion a year in the local economy. 1 in 10 residents make their living in the tourism sector.


Culture

The Hague originated around the 13th century
Binnenhof The Binnenhof (; ) is a complex of buildings in the city centre of The Hague, Netherlands, next to the Hofvijver (Court Pond). It houses the meeting place of both houses of the States General of the Netherlands, as well as the Ministry of Gener ...
, and this is still considered the cultural centre of the city. Nightlife centres around the three main squares in the city centre. The ''
Plein Plein is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Wittlich-La ...
'' (meaning "Plaza" or "Town square") is taken by several large sidewalk cafés where often politicians may be spotted. The ''Grote Markt'' (literally "Big Market") is completely strewn with chairs and tables, summer or winter. The Buitenhof (literally "Outer Courtyard", located just outside the
Binnenhof The Binnenhof (; ) is a complex of buildings in the city centre of The Hague, Netherlands, next to the Hofvijver (Court Pond). It houses the meeting place of both houses of the States General of the Netherlands, as well as the Ministry of Gener ...
) contains a six-screen
Pathé Pathé SAS (; styled as PATHÉ!) is a French major film production and distribution company, owning a number of cinema chains through its subsidiary Pathé Cinémas and television networks across Europe. It is the name of a network of Fren ...
cinema and a handful of bars and restaurants in the immediate vicinity. Adjacent to the Buitenhof is De Passage, the country's first covered shopping mall. Dating from the late 19th century, it contains many expensive and speciality shops. One of the country's largest music venues, Paard van Troje, can be found in the centre of The Hague. Another popular music venue in The Hague is Muziekcafé de Paap. The Spuiplein is a modern fourth square in the city centre, opposite the Nieuwe Kerk. Besides the
City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...
, this was also the location of the Anton Philipszaal, home to the
Residentie Orchestra Het Residentie Orkest (; known also in English as ''Residentie Orkest The Hague'') is a Dutch orchestra based in The Hague. The orchestra is currently resident at the Amare performing arts centre in The Hague. History Henri Viotta founded the orch ...
, and the Lucent Danstheater, home to the internationally celebrated modern dance company
Nederlands Dans Theater Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT; literal translation Netherlands Dance Theatre) is a Dutch contemporary dance dance company, company. NDT is headquartered at the ''Amare'' building in The Hague. NDT also performs at other venues in the Netherlands ...
. These buildings, designed by
Rem Koolhaas Remment Lucas Koolhaas (; born 17 November 1944) is a Dutch architect, architectural theory, architectural theorist, urbanist and Professor in Practice of Architecture and Urban Design at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Graduate School of ...
in 1988, have been demolished to make space for a new theatre, Amare, which would house both institutes as well as the Royal Conservatory. Despite efforts of the municipality, public support for the proposed theatre remains low. At the heart of the city centre across the palace gardens is the home of Summerschool Den Haag, an international school for dance with guest teachers such as Valentina Scaglia,
Igone de Jongh Igone de Jongh (born 9 September 1979) is a Dutch ballerina and a former principal dancer with the Dutch National Ballet. She is featured in the music video for Anouk (singer), Anouk's song Birds (Anouk song), ''Birds'', the official Netherlands i ...
, and Maia Makhateli. The Koninklijke Schouwburg, home to Het Nationale Theater, can also be found in the city centre – on the Korte Voorhout. New European Ensemble is a collective for
contemporary music Contemporary music is whatever music is produced at the current time. Specifically, it could refer to: Genres or audiences * Adult contemporary music * British contemporary R&B * Christian adult contemporary * Christian contemporary hit radio * Con ...
consisting on international musicians. The ensemble has its main base in the city.
Scheveningen Scheveningen () is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict () of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is popular ...
forms a second cultural centre of The Hague, having its own
Pathé Pathé SAS (; styled as PATHÉ!) is a French major film production and distribution company, owning a number of cinema chains through its subsidiary Pathé Cinémas and television networks across Europe. It is the name of a network of Fren ...
cinema as well as the musical theatre Circustheater although, especially in the summer, most night life concentrates around the sea-front boulevard with its bars, restaurants and gambling halls. Several other attractions can be found in Scheveningen, such as the miniature park
Madurodam Madurodam () is a miniature park and tourist attraction in the Scheveningen district of The Hague in the Netherlands. It is home to a range of 1:25 scale model replicas of famous Dutch landmarks, historical cities and large developments. The par ...
, the Beelden aan Zee museum, and a Sea Life Centre. The Hague is the residence of the Dutch monarch, and several (former) royal palaces can be found in the city. King
Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands Willem-Alexander (; Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand; born 27 April 1967) is King of the Netherlands since 30 April 2013. Willem-Alexander was born in Utrecht during the reign of his maternal grandmother, Queen Juliana, as the eldest ch ...
and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands live in
Huis ten Bosch Huis ten Bosch (, ; ) is a royal palace in The Hague, Netherlands. It is one of three official residences of the Dutch monarch; the two others being the Noordeinde Palace in The Hague and the Royal Palace of Amsterdam. Huis ten Bosch was th ...
in the Haagse Bos and work in the
Noordeinde Palace Noordeinde Palace (, ) is one of three official palaces of the Dutch Royal House, Dutch royal family. Located in the city center of The Hague in the province of South Holland, it has been used as the official workplace of King Willem-Alexander of ...
in the city centre. Moreover, there are two former royal palaces in The Hague. The
Kneuterdijk Palace Kneuterdijk Palace ( ) is a former royal palace of the Netherlands located in The Hague, nowadays the seat of the Council of State (Netherlands), Council of State. Built in 1716 in the Louis XIV style by architect Daniel Marot, it was commissione ...
, built in 1716, is now home to the
Council of State of the Netherlands The Council of State () is a constitutionally established advisory body in the Netherlands to the government and States General that officially consists of members of the royal family and Crown-appointed members generally having political, comm ...
, and the Lange Voorhout Palace is now occupied by the Escher Museum, dedicated to Dutch graphical artist
M. C. Escher Maurits Cornelis Escher (; ; 17 June 1898 – 27 March 1972) was a Dutch graphic artist who made woodcuts, lithography, lithographs, and mezzotints, many of which were Mathematics and art, inspired by mathematics. Despite wide popular int ...
. The Hague has numerous museums, most notably the
Mauritshuis The Mauritshuis (, ; ) is an art museum in The Hague, Netherlands. The museum houses the Royal Cabinet of Paintings which consists of 854 objects, mostly Dutch Golden Age paintings. The collection contains works by Johannes Vermeer, Rembrandt van ...
, located next to the Binnenhof, which exhibits many
painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...
s by old masters up to 1800, such as
Johannes Vermeer Johannes Vermeer ( , ; see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. He is considered one of the greatest painters of the Dutch ...
,
Rembrandt van Rijn Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in the h ...
and
Paulus Potter Paulus Potter (; 20 November 1625 (baptised) – 17 January 1654 (buried)) was a Dutch painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid sur ...
. The art museum Kunstmuseum, housed in a striking building by architect HP Berlage, exhibits art from after 1800, including the world's large collection of paintings by
Piet Mondrian Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan (; 7 March 1872 – 1 February 1944), known after 1911 as Piet Mondrian (, , ), was a Dutch Painting, painter and Theory of art, art theoretician who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He w ...
. Other museums include the science museum Museon, the historic museum Haags Historisch Museum, the national postal museum
Museum voor Communicatie A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private collections that are used by researchers ...
, the
Museum Bredius Museum Bredius is a museum showing the collection of the early twentieth century Dutch art historian Abraham Bredius. The collection is remarkable for its seventeenth-century etchings and paintings, but is most attractive to visitors for its accu ...
, the Louis Couperus Museum, the museum Beelden aan Zee in
Scheveningen Scheveningen () is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict () of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is popular ...
, Panorama Mesdag, and the Gevangenpoort, a former prison housed in a 15th-century gatehouse. Since early times, possibly as far back as the 16th century, the
stork Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons and ibise ...
has been the symbol of The Hague. Several films have been (partially) shot in The Hague, including ''
Mindhunters ''Mindhunters'' is a 2004 crime slasher film directed by Renny Harlin and starring Kathryn Morris, LL Cool J, Jonny Lee Miller, Patricia Velásquez, Clifton Collins Jr., Christian Slater, and Val Kilmer. It was written by Wayne Kramer and ...
'' (2004), '' Hum Tum'' (2004), ''
Ocean's Twelve ''Ocean's Twelve'' is a 2004 heist comedy film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by George Nolfi. Serving as the second installment in the ''Ocean's'' film trilogy, it is a direct sequel to ''Ocean's Eleven'' (2001). The film feature ...
'' (2004), '' Black Book'' (2006) and '' Sonny Boy'' (2011). Parts of the second season of the Netflix series ''
Sense8 ''Sense8'' () is an American science fiction drama television series created by Lana and Lilly Wachowski and J. Michael Straczynski for Netflix. The production companies behind ''Sense8'' included the Wachowskis' Anarchos Productions (replac ...
'' were filmed in The Hague. Notable actors and filmmakers from The Hague include
Martin Koolhoven Martinus Wouter "Martin" Koolhoven (born 25 April 1969) is a Dutch film director and screenwriter. Internationally he is most known for ''Schnitzel Paradise'' (2005), ''Winter in Wartime (film), Winter in Wartime'' (2008) and ''Brimstone (2016 fi ...
,
Georgina Verbaan Georgina Carolina Verbaan (born 9 October 1979) is a Dutch actress and singer. Verbaan is best known for her recurring role in soap opera '' Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden''. She has also appeared in various Dutch films, including '' Costa!'', '' ...
,
Carel Struycken Carel Struycken (; born 30 July 1948) is a Dutch actor. He is known for playing the Giant/Fireman in the television series ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991, 2017), the occasional guest role of Mr. Homn in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1987– ...
,
Frederique van der Wal Frederique van der Wal (also Frédérique van der Wal) is a Dutch former model, actress, television personality, and a businesswoman. She is known for having appeared in Victoria's Secret and on the covers of magazines such as '' Cosmopolitan' ...
, Marwan Kenzari, Anna Drijver, Renée Soutendijk and
Paul Verhoeven Paul Verhoeven (; born 18 July 1938) is a Dutch filmmaker, who has worked variously in the Netherlands, the United States, and in France. He is known for directing genre films with strong satirical elements, often featuring graphic violence and ...
, who grew up in the city from an early age. File:Bevel Koninklijke Marechaussee in handen van Leijtens-9.jpg, The Ridderzaal inside the
Binnenhof The Binnenhof (; ) is a complex of buildings in the city centre of The Hague, Netherlands, next to the Hofvijver (Court Pond). It houses the meeting place of both houses of the States General of the Netherlands, as well as the Ministry of Gener ...
, the political centre of the Netherlands File:Plein 1813.JPG, Monument commemorating the founding of the Kingdom of the Netherlands at Plein 1813 File:Noordeinde Palace.jpg,
Noordeinde Palace Noordeinde Palace (, ) is one of three official palaces of the Dutch Royal House, Dutch royal family. Located in the city center of The Hague in the province of South Holland, it has been used as the official workplace of King Willem-Alexander of ...
File:Den Haag, Grote Kerk foto2 2010-03-07 15.31.JPG, Grote or Sint-Jacobskerk File:Overzicht voorgevel met gedeelte zijvleugels, vanaf de oprijlaan - 's-Gravenhage - 20358480 - RCE.jpg,
Huis ten Bosch Huis ten Bosch (, ; ) is a royal palace in The Hague, Netherlands. It is one of three official residences of the Dutch monarch; the two others being the Noordeinde Palace in The Hague and the Royal Palace of Amsterdam. Huis ten Bosch was th ...
is the residence of the king. File:Den Haag Louwman Museum 005.jpg, Louwman Museum is a museum for historic cars, coaches, and motorcycles. File:Kloosterkerk (The Hague) (5).jpg, the Lange Voorhout is a street in the old city centre File:De zandstenen voorgevel heeft een middenrisaliet met fronton - 's-Gravenhage - 20396168 - RCE.jpg, Escher in the Palace File:Gemeente museum.jpg, View of the
Kunstmuseum Den Haag The Kunstmuseum Den Haag is an art museum in The Hague in the Netherlands, founded in 1866 as the Museum voor Moderne Kunst. Later, until 1998, it was known as Haags Gemeentemuseum, and until the end of September 2019 as Gemeentemuseum Den Haag. I ...
, Designed by H. P. Berlage, and opened in 1935


Sports

The city's major
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
club is
ADO Den Haag Alles Door Oefening Den Haag (), commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag (), is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation ...
, which competes in the
Eerste Divisie The Eerste Divisie (; ) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as the Keuken Kampioen Divisie due to sponsorship reasons, while ...
, the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. ADO Den Haag has won the
KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...
twice and won the League twice in the era before professional football. They play their matches at the 15,000 seat ADO Den Haag Stadium. Amateur team HVV are also based in the city. Before the professional era, the club won 10 national titles and one KNVB Cup, and they remain fourth in the all-time list of national title winners.
HBS Craeyenhout HBS Craeyenhout is an omnisports club based in The Hague that fields teams in association football, cricket and hockey. The club is best known for its football team, which is one of the original clubs of Dutch football, and three times national c ...
is another amateur club in the city, which won three national titles before the establishment of the Eredivisie. On 13 May 2021, football club ADO Den Haag was relegated from the Eredivisie as they lost their final game of the season against Willem II. In effect, ADO Den Haag no longer holds a position in the top division of professional Dutch football. Since 2020, the basketball club
The Hague Royals The Hague Royals were a Dutch basketball club based in The Hague. Established in 2020, the team played in the highest level of basketball in the Netherlands for two seasons. Home games are played in the Sportcampus Zuiderpark, which has a capaci ...
plays in the professional
Dutch Basketball League The Dutch Basketball League (DBL), formerly the Eredivisie, was the highest professional basketball league in the Netherlands, run by the Federatie Eredivisie Basketball (FEB). Since 2021, the league has been replaced by the Belgian-Dutch BNXT Le ...
(DBL). Home games are played at the Sportcampus Zuiderpark. The local
rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
team is Haagsche Rugby Club (a.k.a. HRC). The ice hockey team is HYS The Hague and the local
American Football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
team is Den Haag Raiders '99.
Darts Darts is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small projectile point, sharp-pointed projectile, projectiles known as dart (missile), darts at a round shooting target, target known as a #Dartboard, dartboard. Point ...
is another sport played in The Hague; its popularity was increased by
Raymond van Barneveld Raymond van Barneveld (born 20 April 1967) is a Dutch professional darts player who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where he was ranked world number one from January 2008 to June 2008. Nicknamed "Barney", he is a five-t ...
winning several World Championships. The half-marathon race CPC Loop Den Haag is held annually in The Hague. In 1994, The Hague held the FEI World Equestrian Games.


Annual events

Koningsdag () or King's Day is a national holiday in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Celebrated on 27 April (26 April if the 27th is a Sunday), the date marks the birth of King Willem-Alexander. When the Dutch monarch is female, the holiday is kno ...
, or ''King's Day'', is held annually on 27 April. It is traditionally celebrated with fairs and flea markets throughout the city. On this day, the colour orange predominates at a
funfair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...
(which sells orange
cotton candy Cotton candy, also known as candy floss (candyfloss) and fairy floss, is a spun sugar confection that resembles cotton. It is made by heating and liquefying sugar, and spinning it centrifugally through minute holes, causing it to rapidly cool ...
) and scores of informal street markets. The day is a ''vrijmarkt'' (literally "free market"), which means no licence is needed for street vending; children traditionally use this day to sell old unwanted toys. Since King's Day is a national holiday and thus a day off, many people also go out and party on the evening before King's Day. This evening is called King's Night, or ''Koningnacht'' in The Hague. The "t" is left out because ''nacht'' is pronounced as ''nach'' in The Hague. Outdoor concerts throughout the city centre of The Hague draw tens of thousands of visitors every year. Every third Tuesday in September is , or ''Prince's Day'', the opening of the Dutch parliament. On a festive day, children in The Hague are free from school so they may watch the procession of the Golden Coach. The King is driven in the coach from
Noordeinde Palace Noordeinde Palace (, ) is one of three official palaces of the Dutch Royal House, Dutch royal family. Located in the city center of The Hague in the province of South Holland, it has been used as the official workplace of King Willem-Alexander of ...
to the Ridderzaal in the
Binnenhof The Binnenhof (; ) is a complex of buildings in the city centre of The Hague, Netherlands, next to the Hofvijver (Court Pond). It houses the meeting place of both houses of the States General of the Netherlands, as well as the Ministry of Gener ...
. Here, the King reads the
Speech from the Throne A speech from the throne, or throne speech, is an event in certain monarchies in which the reigning sovereign, or their representative, reads a prepared speech to members of the nation's legislature when a Legislative session, session is opened. ...
, written jointly by the Ministers and Secretaries of State. This ''troonrede'' outlines the government's plans for the coming year. As the procession returns to the Noordeinde Palace, the road is lined with members of the Dutch Royal Armed Forces, and in the afternoon, the Royal Family appears on the palace balcony to address an adoring and often frenzied public (''balkonscène''). Vlaggetjesdag ( nl), literally ''Flag Day'', is the annual celebration of the arrival of the year's first herring (Hollandse Nieuwe) in
Scheveningen Scheveningen () is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict () of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is popular ...
. Hundreds of thousands of people gather in Scheveningen for the festivities, and the fishing boats are decorated specially for the occasion. In addition to the omnipresent herring, this day also features several activities unrelated to fish. In Scheveningen, the first barrel of herring is traditionally sold at an auction on the Thursday preceding the official Vlaggetjesdag, and the proceeds go to charity. Vlaggetjesdag was made official in 1947, although the festive tradition around the beginning of herring season is much older: in the 18th century, the villages along the coast, including Scheveningen, were forbidden to gut the caught herring. Since herring was most appropriate for smoking around September, most fishing boats caught flatfish or round-bodied fish during part of the summer, to avoid a surplus of fresh herring. In July or August, The Hague hosts a series of weekly firework displays by the sea front in
Scheveningen Scheveningen () is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict () of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is popular ...
, as part of an international fireworks festival and competition. Tong Tong Fair, formerly ''Pasar Malam Besar'', is the largest festival in the world for Indo culture. Established in 1959, it is one of the oldest festivals and the fourth-largest grand fair in the Netherlands. It is also the annual event with the highest number of paying visitors to The Hague, having consistently attracted more than 100,000 visitors since 1993. The Milan Festival is Europe's biggest Hindustani open-air event, annually held in Zuiderpark. The Hague also hosts several annual music festivals; on the last Sunday in June, the city hosts Parkpop, the largest free open-air pop concert in Europe.
Crossing Border Festival Crossing Border Festival is an annual festival in The Hague, Netherlands focusing on new pop music acts and literature. It is one of the largest combined music and literature festivals in Europe. The first edition took place in 1993, as a larger fo ...
,
State-X {{Infobox music festival , , music_festival_name =State-X , image = , location = The Hague, Netherlands , years_active= 2004 – present , founders = Jan Borchers , dates = December , genre = Different , website www.state-xnewforms.nl Sta ...
and The Hague Jazz festival are among other music festivals in The Hague.
Crossing Border Festival Crossing Border Festival is an annual festival in The Hague, Netherlands focusing on new pop music acts and literature. It is one of the largest combined music and literature festivals in Europe. The first edition took place in 1993, as a larger fo ...
is an annual festival in November, focusing on music and literature. The first edition took place in 1993. Movies That Matter is an international film and debate festival about peace and justice that takes place every year at the end of March; nine days filled with screenings of fiction films and documentaries, daily talk-shows, music performances, and
exhibitions An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibition ...
. The first such event took place in 2006. Moreover, The Hague International Model United Nations, annually held in January, is a five-day conference held at the World Forum, gathering over 4,000 students from over 200 secondary schools across the globe. It is the oldest and largest high school
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
simulation in the world. ''Den Haag Sculptuur'' is an open-air exhibition of sculptures; the tenth such event, in 2007, celebrated the 400 years of the relationship between the Netherlands and Australia. Since 2009, the city of The Hague also annually presents an LGBTQ+ emancipation award, called the John Blankenstein Award. The exact date of the ceremony varies each year.


Notable people


Transport


Air

The Hague shares an
airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...
with
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
. It can be reached from Central Station by
RandstadRail RandstadRail () is a tram-train 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 Rott ...
Line E, with an Airport Shuttle to and from Meijersplein Station. However, with several direct trains per hour from the railway stations Hollands Spoor and Centraal,
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol Amsterdam Airport Schiphol , known informally as Schiphol Airport (, ), is the main international airport of the Netherlands, and is one of the major hubs for the SkyTeam airline alliance. It is located southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipal ...
is more frequently used by people travelling to and from The Hague by air.


Rail

There are two main
railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
s in The Hague: Hollands Spoor and Centraal Station, apart from each other. Because the two stations were built and run by two different railway companies in the 19th century, services have traditionally been split between the two: east–west lines terminate at Centraal Station, whereas north–south lines run through Hollands Spoor. However, Centraal Station now offers direct services to most major Dutch cities, such as
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
,
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
, and
Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...
. Other destinations include
Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...
,
Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...
,
Zwolle Zwolle () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the Capital city, capital of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel ...
,
Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...
,
Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; ; ; ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 127,073 (2023). It is the provincial capital and seat of the Provin ...
,
Amersfoort Amersfoort () is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht, Netherlands. As of 31 January 2023, the municipality had ...
,
Enschede Enschede (; local ) is a list of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the province of Overijssel and the Twente region of the eastern Netherlands. The east of the urban area reaches ...
,
Breda Breda ( , , , ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. ...
,
Tilburg Tilburg () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands, in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. With a population of 22 ...
and
Eindhoven Eindhoven ( ; ) is a city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, located in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant, of which it is the largest municipality, and is also locat ...
. International travellers for
Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
and
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
have to change trains at Rotterdam.


Urban transport

Public transport in The Hague consists of a tramway network and a sizeable number of bus routes, operated by HTM Personenvervoer. Plans for a subway were shelved in the early 1970s. However, in 2004 a tunnel was built under the city centre with two underground tram stations ( Spui and Grote Markt); it is shared by RandstadRail lines 3 and 4 and tram routes 2 and 6.
RandstadRail RandstadRail () is a tram-train 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 Rott ...
connects The Hague to nearby cities, Zoetermeer, Rotterdam, and Leidschendam-Voorburg. It consists of four light rail lines (3, 4, and 19 to Zoetermeer, Rijswijk, Delft, and Leidschendam-Voorburg) and one subway line (E to Rotterdam).


Road

Major motorways connecting to The Hague include the A12, running to Utrecht and the German border. The A12 runs directly into the heart of the city in a cutting. Built in the 1970s, this section of the motorway (the "Utrechtsebaan") is now heavily overburdened. Plans were made in the late 1990s for a second artery road into the city (the "Rotterdamsebaan", previously called the "Trekvliettracé") which was completed in 2021. Other connecting motorways are the A4, which connects the city with
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
, and the A13, which runs to
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
and connects to motorways towards the Belgian border. There is also the A44 that connects the city to
Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...
,
Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...
and
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
. In the 1970s, plans of building another motorway to Leiden existed. This "Leidsebaan" was supposed to start in the city centre and then follow the railway line from The Hague to Amsterdam. Some works had been executed but had been removed by the 1980s.


See also

* List of people from The Hague


Notes


References


Citations


Sources

*


External links


City of The Hague

The largest painting in the Netherlands
. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hague, The 1248 establishments in Europe Cities in the Netherlands Former national capitals Municipalities of South Holland Populated places in South Holland Populated coastal places in the Netherlands Populated places established in the 13th century Provincial capitals of the Netherlands Port cities and towns of the North Sea