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Het Plein (The Square) in The Hague, Netherlands. Photo by Rene Mensen. .

Top 10 Facts about The Hague

The Hague or ‘s鈥慓ravenhage is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. It is the administrative and royal capital of the Netherlands and its seat of government, as well as the capital of the province of South Holland.

It hosts the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. It has been described as the de facto capital of the Netherlands. The Hague is always in the news due to the work of numerous international organizations and companies which headquarter in this city. Here are the Top 10 Facts about The Hague.

1. The Hague is home to many museums

Court of Arms of The Hague. Photo by Unknown. Wikimedia Commons.

The Hague has its share of museums, most notably the Mauritshuis, located next to the Binnenhof, which exhibits many paintings by Dutch masters, such as Johannes Vermeer, Rembrandt van Rijn and Paulus Potter.

 Other museums include the science museum Museon, the modern art museum Kunstmuseum, the historic museum Haags Historisch Museum, the national postal museum voor Communicatie, the Museum Bredius, the Louis Couperus Museum, the museum Beelden aan Zee in Scheveningen, and the Gevangenpoort, a former prison housed in a 15th-century gatehouse.

2. It has an eternal flame

The Hague has a flame in the Peace Palace. The Eternal Peace Flame as it is called never dies. This flame burns beside the entrance to the Palace and was placed there in 2002. The monument housing the flame has a particularly moving inscription: 鈥淢ay all beings find peace鈥�.

In 2004, the flame was surrounded by the World Peace Path, which consists of 196 stones, big and small, from 196 countries. Some stones are particularly special, such as a piece of the Berlin Wall and a stone from the island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned.

3. You can watch live hearings in The Hague鈥檚 courts

The Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands, which is the seat of the International Court of Justice. Photo by International Court of Justice. .

We all know the Hague is known as the International City of Peace and Justice, but did you know that you can watch hearings in both the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC)?

Both are open to the public almost all of the time unless a judge orders a closed hearing. You don鈥檛 need to register at all! You can just arrive at the hearing of your choosing, and if you鈥檙e there early enough, you鈥檒l get a spot (it鈥檚 first come, first served).

4. It’s official Dutch name is ‘s-Gravenhage

The official Dutch name of The Hague is not The Hague 鈥� it鈥檚 鈥榮-Gravenhage. In 1990 there was a try to rename the city into 鈥淒en Haag鈥�, which is the name the city is internationally known by 鈥� but that got rejected. Although the city uses the name The Hague, all official papers have 鈥榮-Gravenhage on them.

5. The Dutch royal family lives in The Hague

The ‘sharp’ building to the left is the 142m tall Hoftoren, the highest building in The Hague. It houses The Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science. The building to the right is the Netherlands Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport. Photo by Jensbn.

Although Amsterdam is the capital of The Netherlands, the parliament is located in The Hague. And so is the residence of the Dutch royal family and the capital of the province of South Holland. 

6. The Hague Forest was used to launch rockets during WWII

During World War II, the Germans used the Haagse Bos (or the Hague forest) as a rocket launching area for their V1 and V2 rockets. The Allies tried to bomb it during the war but accidentally hit the nearby Bezuidenhout district.

The forest has an interesting history in other ways too: its name actually gave rise to the word Holland. It was originally called Die Hout, which changed to Houtland, which, as you can see, could (and did) easily morph into Holland. The forest also closely escaped being completely cut down in the 19th century during the French Occupation.

7. The Hague has many vintage stores

The Hague has quite a selection of vintage and second-hand stores. With clothes hailing from the 40s till the 90s, it鈥檒l fulfil all your vintage dreams, with the added advantage of reducing the demand for new clothes.

Plus, there鈥檚 no better way to explore the city than to wander from shop to shop. Some stores will even have furniture, second-hand books, or records for you to peruse.

8. The first tennis court in Netherlands was in the Hague

The first tennis court in the Netherlands was in The Hague. At the Parliament Buildings to be precise. There is still a memorial stone near the office of our Prime Minister Mark Rutte. The inscription roughly translates as 鈥淎t this spot between around 1500 and 1650 there was the country鈥檚 first tennis court 鈥渄e Caetsbaan鈥� of the Princes of Orange鈥�.

Of course, tennis back then is not the same tennis we know today. Back then, the predecessor of tennis was played in Western Europe between 1500 and 1800. Today鈥檚 tennis came into existence in 1874.

9. The territory of The Hague was purchased in 1229

Floris IV of Holland. Photo by Unknown.

The territory of The Hague was purchased in 1229 by Count Floris IV of Holland. His successor, William II, Count of Holland and King of Germany, who was supposed to become Holy Roman Emperor, constructed a castle there in 1248.

He intended to live there after his coronation, but died in battle before he could be crowned. His castle was not finished, but parts of it survived and are now called the Ridderzaal (Knights’ Hall). It is still in use for political events, such as the annual speech by the monarch on Prinsjesdag (“day of the princelings”).

10. The city underwent damages during World War Two

Parts of the city sustained heavy damage during World War II. The Atlantic Wall was built through part of the city, causing whole neighborhoods to be torn down by the German occupiers.

On March 3, 1945, the Royal Air Force mistakenly bombed the Bezuidenhout district. The target was an installation of V-2 rockets in a nearby park. Due to navigational errors, the bombs fell on a heavily populated and historic part of the city. Over 500 people died and the scars in the city can still be seen today.