The Hague and on to Amsterdam

Friday 11^th May

The Hague is a city of international importance with many faces, home to many different cultures. Once little more than a country house near a pond, The Hague has developed into a city of international character and importance, a never ending story: a little bit of history is added every day.

                                                         'View of The Hague from the southeast' (1650) by Jan van Goyen

Though officially called Den Haag, the locals often refer to it as ‘s-Gravenhage, literally: 'The Counts' Hedge'. The Counts of Holland enjoyed hunting and took special interest in the area’s vast forests that reached from Gravenzande to Leiden in the Middle Ages, the remains of which are now known as the Haagse Bos.

Originally basing themselves near the pond now known as the Hofvijver in the centre of The Hague, in the 13th century Count Willem II built the Binnenhof, or current houses of parliament, on the same spot. Lacking city rights, The Hague was unable to build the traditional wall and moat system of the day, so a town hall was built which can still be seen today in the Groenmarkt.

The Hague was first chartered as a village called Die Haghe, until Louis Napoleon, King of the Netherlands from 1806, took entry. He insisted that by the following day he “be offered the keys of the city at a ceremony in The Hague”.  Without walls, or even a gate, the city couldn’t offer much in the line of actual keys. In some haste the elders asked the silversmith François Simons to produce two gilded silver keys which were offered to the king on an embroidered cushion. A few months later Napoleon proclaimed The Hague 'third city of the kingdom'.

By 1851 local legislation no longer distinguished cities from villages and they all became municipalities, or gemeenten, with The Hague as the Royal Residence and Amsterdam as the capital. As a government town and seat of the monarchy, The Hague attracted many embassies and began its reputation as an international city.

The Royal Residence was not walled, in full view of its surroundings it rose proudly from the fields, water and dunes. Vulnerable but hospitable, the city welcomed all visitors who arrived by canal boat, stagecoach or ship, and the town grew gradually until the Industrial Revolution, when growth exploded. Suddenly The Hague attracted migrants from near and far, overcrowding the town and forcing development to continue outside the original city centre, an area known aptly enough as The Hague New Centre. The 20th century saw The Hague’s coming of age as an international city of peace and justice. In 1899 hundreds of delegates from 26 countries gathered for three months at Huis ten Bosch for the First Peace Conference. In an effort to set standards for conflict resolution between nations, it gave birth to the Permanent Court of Arbitration and was followed by an even larger Second Peace Conference in The Hague in 1907.

The Third Hague Peace Conference, planned for 1915, was usurped by the First World War, but four years of trench warfare did their work and the Conference’s ideals were institutionalised in a Permanent Meeting of the League of Nations in Switzerland. In The Hague the ideals took actual form: the world-famous Peace Palace, financed by Andrew Carnegie, was officially opened in 1913 on the eve of the First World War. Home to the Permanent Court of Arbitration, it welcomed the Permanent Court of International Justice (under the League of Nations) in 1922 and is now the seat of its successor, the International Court of Justice, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.

The international reputation of The Hague continues to develop. The city centre still features the ancient buildings where its history was forged, with world-class, modern architecture sprouting throughout the city, and the international organisations in the International Zone continue to expand.  The UN Security Council established the Yugoslavia Tribunal in 1993 to try individuals for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the former Yugoslavia. The International Criminal Court was established in The Hague in 2002, and the OPCW and many other organisations make their home here.

With over 100 ethnic groups living side by side, The Hague has embraced its heritage and strives to be deserving of the title 'International City of Peace and Justice'.

Some interesting facts about the City

• The Hague is the third largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 500,000 (2011).
• The Hague has traditionally been a city of storks, thus the stork on the coat of arms and as the logo of the municipality. In the Middle Ages they were domesticated to remove fish remains at the fish market and nested on the buildings around the Binnenhof and in the area of the Groenmarkt and were seen as bringers of luck and prosperity.
• In 1456 the Thirty Knights of the Mighty Order of the Gulden Vlies (Golden Fleece) came to The Hague for their first meeting in full armour, some on horseback and many on foot. The Knights had their meeting in the Hall of Knights, or Ridderzaal, and at the Grote Kerk (Big Church) where you can still see remnants of their weaponry.
• The greenery in The Hague has always been protected. In the early Middle Ages by the Counts of Holland and, from the 14th century onwards, by forest wardens and citizens alike. They were supported by the 1576 Act of Redemption, a law banning the felling or selling of trees. 
  
   Some famous visitors to The Hague Include:

• Tsar Peter the Great of Russia tried to visit The Hague incognito in 1697 to meet ordinary people, but at 2 metres (in those days the average Dutchman was about 1.65 metres) he was quickly found out. In 1717 he returned to The Hague openly and received a royal welcome.
• The Italian adventurer Giacomo Casanova visited The Hague in 1759 and fought a duel on the Malieveld. His attentions naturally turned to the fairer sex during his visit and in his memoirs he wrote that one of them had such an extreme beauty that 'it set my blood on fire'.
• Other famous visitors or residents have included: Van Gogh, Descartes, Spinoza, Erasmus, Hugo Grotius and Mozart. 

The New City Hall a large white metal and glass building with a 40 metre high atrium was our first visit, to purchase a walking tour booklet and we were told it would take us around two hours to complete the walk.

Starting at the hall, number 21 of 66 points of interest, we walked down the steps to the underground tram stop with timber floors and two train stations at lower levels, it also has car parking and pedestrian passageways in its 1.2 km underground construction.

Emerging in a shopping strip we walked past many old and modern multi-storied stores, churches, market squares and the old Butter Weighing House and next door the Butter House, where the butter was sold.  Around the corner and through an arched walkway, we arrived at the ‘t Goude Hooft Inn built in the middle of the 17^th century, this beautiful building has been desecrated with a large canvas advertising sign which almost covers the building’s façade.

Passing many old buildings and the last example of a 19^th century shopping arcade in the Netherlands we arrived at the Old Town Hall built in the 16^th century and the first example of the Renaissance style in the north of the Netherlands.  Not far from the Old Town Hall is the Big or St Jacobs Church a very impressive church, this was first built in the 14^th century and after a fire in 1539 was completely restored.  We entered the church to view its works of art and windows to find it has been adapted to commercial events and a Beer Trade Show was in progress, not what we expected.

Walking on past many old building along narrow lanes and streets we had to dodge cyclists and trams, cyclist particularly travel at quite high speed and you don’t hear them coming.  Many of these streets only had one tram track; the track for the reverse journey was in an adjoining street.  In one of the streets we heard a loud “thump” and turned to see a woman on the ground knocked over by a cyclist, given the way the cyclist travel we were surprised that this is the only accident we have seen.

 

Further along we noticed an ice cream van parked at the base of a large statue which turned out to be an equestrian statue of Prince William of Orange, dating from 1845.  The van and statue were in front of the gates to Noodeinde Palace, where Queen Beatrix works and holds her receptions.  We wondered how long and ice cream van would be allowed to park in front of the gates of “Buck House”.

Our walk took us past many old building occupied by the Government or used as Embassies for many countries; several lined the sides of a street with a double row of Lime (Linden) trees down the centre.  From the 16^th century on many noblemen and high ranking government officials built their homes in this street.  At  no. 32a is the narrowest house in The Hague, tax was once levied on the width of the windows and apparently someone of modest means built this house in a highly sought out street.  It was so narrow I doubt if a bed would fit across its width.  In the same area we found The Hague’s smallest house.

Across a nearby lake we could see the side of the Upper House of Parliament dating from the first half of the 17^th century.  Walking around the lake we entered a courtyard with the Parliament building on our left and directly in front of us were a Neo-Gothic wrought-iron fountain and behind it the Knights’ Hall.  This was the former castle of the Earls of Holland, built in the 13^th and 14^th centuries; it is the largest gothic building in Europe not built as a church.  Leaving the courtyard at the opposite end to our entry we walked past many old and some new building which house many of the country’s ministries and then through an area containing many modern buildings before arriving back at City Hall, five and a half hours after starting our walk.  We wondered if the young tourist information officer’s time estimation was based on riding a bike.

Later in the day we walked to The Hague University to view the modern circular building with its impressive atrium.  We then visited The Hague Tower, also known by the locals as the Empire State or The Flat Iron Building, due to its shape, this is the highest accessible building in Holland.  From the 42^nd floor we could see all over The Hague, back to Delft and Rotterdam and down to the coast, our youth hostel the other side of the canal appeared quite tiny.  Our 3 euro entry fee also included a large coffee which we enjoyed in the restaurant lounge while taking in the views.

Saturday 12^th May

We planned to leave for Amsterdam after breakfast but speaking with a teacher from Belgium the previous day she recommended that we visit the Panorama Mesdag before leaving The Hague.

Catching the no. 1 tram we received an additional bonus when we reached our stop.  Directly opposite the tram stop was the magnificent Peace Palace or the International Court of Justice.

It took a while to find the museum because the map on the back of the brochure has no correlation to the tram lines or streets in the vicinity but after asking a coach driver we arrived at the building.

The Panorama Mesdag was painted by one of the most famous painters of The Hague’ School, Hendrick Willem Mesdag. In two galleries before the Panorama are many of his paintings featuring Dutch fishing boats and seascapes. 

The Panorama was painted in 1881 by Mesdag, assisted by his wife and several students and was completed in four months. It was a commissioned work and if it wasn’t completed on time Mesdag would not have received any payment.

To view the work you climb a winding staircase and emerge in a circular rotunda surrounded with sand built to resemble a large sand dune with the rotunda perched on top.  Above the rotunda is a material top, like a bell tent and above that, though not visible is a large glass dome.  Because of the glass dome the Panorama changes according to the day, sunny, cloudy or rainy.

The Panorama is an enormous painting 120 metres by 14 metres high and totally surrounds the pavilion.  It is a painting of sea, sand dunes, fishing boats on the sand, with people, horses and a cavalry unit riding along the beach, out to sea there are some fishing and steam boats.  Turning 180 degrees you see the fishing village, fields with children and animals and in the village people are going about their daily activities.  In the distance behind the village, many of The Hague’s buildings can be seen, while to the left and rear of the village a steam train is chugging, bringing visitors to visit the seaside resort of Scheveningen.  Further to the left is a palace and a large hotel and to the right of the village on top of a hill is a large church and light house.

With the way the sand dune slopes away from the pavilion and blends with the painting, 14 metres away, you get the impression that you are standing on top of the sand dune and are able to take in a 360 degree view the illusion is further enhanced by the sound of gulls and waves lapping the shore  It was worth delaying our departure to Amsterdam to visit this museum.

Like our trip from Venlo the train trip to Amsterdam travelled alternately through farm land and towns and in many cases the town was on one side of the track and farms on the other.  Also around the edges of the towns were many allotments where locals had small gardens with a shed or greenhouse to grow their flowers and vegetables.

All the farm land was criss-crossed with drainage channels leading to canals and although there weren’t many animals grazing, paddocks were cut for hay or silage or had well advanced cereal crops.  The difference with the Amsterdam train trip was the many hectares of tulips growing but as they are grown for the bulbs all the flowers had been cut off.

Arriving at Amsterdam Centraal it was only a short tram ride to our youth hostel beside Vondelpark, an old friend.