A short exploration of the Netherlands’ de facto capital city.
The Hague, the Netherlands, is located near the coast of the North Sea. It’s not the official capital city of the Netherlands, which is Amsterdam, but it does host a lot of the country’s government for not being a capital. The States General of the Netherlands (parliament), the king’s palace, the king’s office (also a palace, but a different one, and other functions of government. The Hague is also home to the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.
During my time in the area, I stayed in the Hague. I had originally going to stay in Leiden, which has a more central location to where I wanted to visit, but the Hague had a cheaper place to stay. So, the Hague it was. I never ended up seeing much of the city, due to jet lag and being distracted by other places. Here’s a bit of what I saw:
Jana Irving The Hague has a nice shopping area, parts of which survived WWII. However, much was damaged in the city due to Nazi occupation. Well, more like the British bombing the Nazi positions, which happened to be in the city.
Jana Irving I love a good shopping gallery, De Passage. I found this one by accident.
Jana Irving These were popular in the late 19th century.
Jana Irving Grote Kerk (great church).
Jana Irving The Renaissance Het Oude Stadhuis (Old City Hall) built in 1565.
Jana Irving The 16th century Noordeinde Palace, the Dutch king’s offices.
Jana Irving The Gothic Kloosterkerk (monastery church). It’s a very boxy church.
Jana Irving Old Dutch building. Love it.
Jana Irving Even the Hague has canals.
Jana Irving China Town.
Jana Irving While some of the older buildings remain, many were lost in the war. New construction boomed after the war to fill in what was lost, and to expand the city footprint in general.
Jana Irving Mauritshuis (right) is a museum holding paintings by Dutch masters. The Binnenhof, the seat of the Dutch government, which is completely under construction so I couldn’t go inside the courtyards.
Jana Irving The Binnenhof sits on the Hofvijver (Court Pond). It was built primarily in the 13th century and was used a residence by the Counts of Holland.
Jana Irving The post war building boom included skyscrapers.
Jana Irving Gevangenpoort (Prison gate), now a museum fittingly dedicated to crime and punishment.
Jana Irving Paleis Kneuterdijk was right next to the tram stop I used. It is currently used for government offices.
Jana Irving The very Neo-Gothic Sint-Jacobus de Meerderekerk (Saint James the Greater).
That is basically all I saw in the Hague. I really needed another day in the area to explore the city fully. There are more palaces, museums, and fancy buildings, etc. to see.
Check out my next update where I explore Utrecht!
or
Start at the beginning of this European adventure!
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