1.
Binnenhof
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The Binnenhof is a complex of buildings in the city centre of The Hague, next to the Hofvijver lake. It houses the place of both houses of the States General of the Netherlands, as well as the Ministry of General Affairs. Built primarily in the 13th century, the Gothic castle originally functioned as residence of the counts of Holland and it is counted among the Top 100 Dutch heritage sites. The Binnenhof is the oldest House of Parliament in the still in use. Little is known about the origin of the Binnenhof, presumably, the grounds next to the Hofvijver lake, and the small homestead on it, were purchased by Count Floris IV of Holland from Meiland van Wassenaar in November 1229. Between 1230 and 1234 he had the homestead expanded to a small keep, after Floris son and successor William II was crowned King of the Romans in 1248, this construction continued. Between 1248 and 1280, William had the Ridderzaal built, to its left and right, walls were built, which divided the area in front of the building from that behind it. At the end of the wall on the left, near the Hofvijver, the chapel was built. William died in battle in 1256, before the construction of the Ridderzaal had finished, the Binnenhof was the residence of the counts of Holland for a short period. After the house of Holland died out in 1299, the county fell in the hands of the counts of Hainaut, the counts of Hainaut barely resided in the Binnenhof in the early 14th century. Duke Albert I of Bavaria and his successor William II lived in the Binnenhof virtually permanently, under their reign, the castle saw a sizeable expansion, and gradually became enclosed by buildings. When Holland had become part of the Burgundian Empire in 1432, part of the complex was later made into the residence of the stadtholder of Holland, who governed the county in absence of its ruler. After Philip II was deposed as Count of Holland and the Dutch Republic was proclaimed in 1581, in 1584, stadtholder Maurice moved into the stadtholders quarter, and in the same year, the Ridderzaal became the meeting place of the newly formed States General of the Dutch Republic. Between 1806 and 1810, under French rule, the centre of the Netherlands was moved to Amsterdam. When the Netherlands gained independence from France, however, the government moved back to the Binnenhof, the local residents, however, cared more for the historic value of the building, and successfully protested against demolition. Originally built as a ballroom, the Gothic Ridderzaal today forms the centre of the Binnenhof, every third Tuesday of September, on Prinsjesdag, this is where the King holds his annual Speech from the Throne. Other buildings shape a rectangle around the Ridderzaal, creating a courtyard in front of the building. A gilt Neo-Gothic fountain adorns the courtyard and a statue of King William II, one of few Dutch equestrian statues, guards its gate, the Stadtholders Gate, today, the lower house meets in a chamber in the large modern eastern part of the complex
2.
Mauritshuis
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The Mauritshuis is an art museum in The Hague in the Netherlands. The museum houses the Royal Cabinet of Paintings which consists of 841 objects, the collections contains works by Johannes Vermeer, Rembrandt van Rijn, Jan Steen, Paulus Potter, Frans Hals, Jacob van Ruisdael, Hans Holbein the Younger, and others. Originally, the 17th century building was the residence of count John Maurice of Nassau and it is now the property of the government of the Netherlands and is listed in the top 100 Dutch heritage sites. On the plot, the Mauritshuis was built between 1636 and 1641, during John Maurices governorship of Dutch Brazil, the Dutch Classicist building was designed by the Dutch architects Jacob van Campen and Pieter Post. The two-storey building is symmetrical and contained four apartments and a great hall. Each apartment was designed with an antechamber, a chamber, a cabinet, originally, the building had a cupola, which was destroyed in a fire in 1704. After the death of Prince John Maurice in 1679, the house was owned by the Maes family, in 1704, most of the interior of the Mauritshuis was destroyed by fire. The building was restored between 1708 and 1718, in 1820, the Mauritshuis was bought by the Dutch state for the purpose of housing the Royal Cabinet of Paintings. In 1822, the Mauritshuis was opened to the public and housed the Royal Cabinet of Paintings, in 1875, the entire museum became available for paintings. The Mauritshuis was privatised in 1995, the foundation set up at that time took charge of both the building and the collection, which it was given on long-term loan. This building, which is the property of the state, is rented by the museum, in 2007, the museum announced its desire to expand. In 2010, the design was presented. The museum would occupy a part of the nearby Sociëteit de Witte building, the two buildings would be connected via an underground tunnel, running underneath the Korte Vijverberg. The renovation started in 2012 and finished in 2014, during the renovation, about 100 of the museums paintings were displayed in the Gemeentemuseum in the Highlights Mauritshuis exhibition. About 50 other paintings, including the Girl With the Pearl Earring, were on loan to exhibitions in the United States, the museum was reopened on 27 June 2014 by King Willem-Alexander. The collection of paintings of stadtholder William V, Prince of Orange was presented to the Dutch state by his son and this collection formed the basis of the Royal Cabinet of Paintings of around 200 paintings. The collection is called the Royal Picture Gallery. There are also works of Hans Holbein in the collection in the Mauritshuis, the Mauritshuis was state museum until 1995, when it became independent
3.
The Hague
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The Hague is a city on the western coast of the Netherlands, and the capital city of the province of South Holland. With a population of 520,704 inhabitants and more than one million including the suburbs, it is the third-largest city of the Netherlands. The Rotterdam The Hague Metropolitan Area, with a population of approximately 2.7 million, is the 12th-largest in the European Union and the most populous in the country. Located in the west of the Netherlands, The Hague is in the centre of the Haaglanden conurbation and lies at the southwest corner of the larger Randstad conurbation. The Hague is the seat of the Dutch government, parliament, the Supreme Court, and the Council of State, but the city is not the capital of the Netherlands, which constitutionally is Amsterdam. King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands plans to live at Huis ten Bosch and works at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague, the Hague is also home to the world headquarters of Royal Dutch Shell and numerous other major Dutch companies. The Hague originated around 1230, when Count Floris IV of Holland purchased land alongside a pond, in 1248, his son and successor William II, King of the Romans, decided to extend the residence to a palace, which would later be called the Binnenhof. He died in 1256 before this palace was completed but parts of it were finished by his son Floris V, of which the Ridderzaal and it is still used for political events, such as the annual speech from the throne by the Dutch monarch. From the 13th century onwards, the counts of Holland used The Hague as their administrative centre, the village that originated around the Binnenhof was first mentioned as Haga in a charter dating from 1242. In the 15th century, the smarter des Graven hage came into use, literally The Counts Wood, with connotations like The Counts Hedge, s-Gravenhage was officially used for the city from the 17th century onwards. Today, this name is used in some official documents like birth. The city itself uses Den Haag in all its communication and their seat was located in The Hague. At the beginning of the Eighty Years War, the absence of city walls proved disastrous, in 1575, the States of Holland even considered demolishing the city but this proposal was abandoned, after mediation by William of Orange. From 1588, The Hague also became the seat of the government of the Dutch Republic, in order 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, only in 1806, when the Kingdom of Holland was a puppet state of the First French Empire, was the settlement granted city rights by Louis Bonaparte. After the Napoleonic Wars, modern-day Belgium and the Netherlands were combined in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands to form a buffer against France, as a compromise, Brussels and Amsterdam 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, when the government started to play a more prominent role in Dutch society after 1850, The Hague quickly expanded. The growing city annexed the rural municipality of Loosduinen partly in 1903, the city sustained heavy damage during World War II
4.
Netherlands
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The Netherlands, also informally known as Holland is the main constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a densely populated country located in Western Europe with three territories in the Caribbean. The European part of the Netherlands borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, and the North Sea to the northwest, sharing borders with Belgium, the United Kingdom. The three largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, Amsterdam is the countrys capital, while The Hague holds the Dutch seat of parliament and government. The port of Rotterdam is the worlds largest port outside East-Asia, the name Holland is used informally to refer to the whole of the country of the Netherlands. Netherlands literally means lower countries, influenced by its low land and flat geography, most of the areas below sea level are artificial. Since the late 16th century, large areas have been reclaimed from the sea and lakes, with a population density of 412 people per km2 –507 if water is excluded – the Netherlands is classified as a very densely populated country. Only Bangladesh, South Korea, and Taiwan have both a population and higher population density. Nevertheless, the Netherlands is the worlds second-largest exporter of food and agricultural products and this is partly due to the fertility of the soil and the mild climate. In 2001, it became the worlds first country to legalise same-sex marriage, the Netherlands is a founding member of the EU, Eurozone, G-10, NATO, OECD and WTO, as well as being a part of the Schengen Area and the trilateral Benelux Union. The first four are situated in The Hague, as is the EUs criminal intelligence agency Europol and this has led to the city being dubbed the worlds legal capital. The country also ranks second highest in the worlds 2016 Press Freedom Index, the Netherlands has a market-based mixed economy, ranking 17th of 177 countries according to the Index of Economic Freedom. It had the thirteenth-highest per capita income in the world in 2013 according to the International Monetary Fund, in 2013, the United Nations World Happiness Report ranked the Netherlands as the seventh-happiest country in the world, reflecting its high quality of life. The Netherlands also ranks joint second highest in the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, the region called Low Countries and the country of the Netherlands have the same toponymy. Place names with Neder, Nieder, Nether and Nedre and Bas or Inferior are in use in all over Europe. They are sometimes used in a relation to a higher ground that consecutively is indicated as Upper, Boven, Oben. In the case of the Low Countries / the Netherlands the geographical location of the region has been more or less downstream. The geographical location of the region, however, changed over time tremendously
5.
Gevangenpoort
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The Gevangenpoort is a former gate and medieval prison on the Buitenhof in The Hague, Netherlands. It is situated next to the 18th-century art gallery founded by William V, from 1420 until 1828, the prison was used for housing people who had committed serious crimes while they awaited sentencing. Its most famous prisoner was Cornelis de Witt, who was held on the charge of plotting the murder of the stadtholder. He was lynched together with his brother Johan on 20 August 1672 on the square in front of the building called groene zoodje after the grass mat used for the scaffold. When public executions went out of fashion the area was used to build the Witte Society, a club that still exists today. In 1882, the Gevangenpoort became a prison museum, the gate function was lost in 1923 when the houses adjoining the Hofvijver were taken down to build the street that now allows busy traffic to run by it. Since 2010, museum visitors can view the art gallery that can be reached through a special staircase that connects the two buildings. The collection which hangs here is a reconstruction of the original 1774 art cabinet that was situated upstairs above the fencing school. The paintings are again upstairs, hanging crowded together on the walls in the style of the late 18th century, in 1822 the collection was moved to the Mauritshuis which remains the formal owner of the paintings on display. During restoration activities, highlights of the permanent Mauritshuis collection have been displayed in the gallery
6.
William V, Prince of Orange
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William V, Prince of Orange was the last Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic. He went into exile to London in 1795 and he was the reigning Prince of Nassau-Orange until his death in 1806. In that capacity he was succeeded by his son William, William Batavus was born in The Hague on 8 March 1748, the only son of William IV, who had the year before been restored as stadtholder of the United Provinces. He was only three years old when his father died in 1751, and a long regency began, William was made the 568th Knight of the Order of the Garter in 1752. William V assumed the position of stadtholder and Captain-General of the Dutch States Army in 1766, on 4 October 1767 in Berlin, Prince William married Princess Wilhelmina of Prussia, the daughter of Augustus William of Prussia, niece of Frederick the Great and a cousin of George III. He became an art collector and in 1774 his Galerij Prins Willem V was opened to the public, the position of the Dutch during the American War of Independence was one of neutrality. However, things came to a head with the Dutch attempt to join the Russian-led League of Armed Neutrality, after much political debate and pressure from American and French diplomats such as John Adams, Joan van der Capellen tot den Pol and Court Lambertus van Beyma took the initiative. After the signing of the Treaty of Paris, there was growing restlessness in the United Provinces with Williams rule, in the meantime, a band of young revolutionaries, called Patriots, was challenging his authority more and more. In 1785 William left the Hague and removed his court to Guelders, in September 1786 he had to send an army to stop Herman Willem Daendels, organizing an overthrow at the cities vroedschap. In June 1787 his energetic wife Wilhelmina tried to travel to the Hague, outside Schoonhoven, she was stopped by militia, taken to a farm near Goejanverwellesluis and within two days made to return to Nijmegen. To Wilhelmina and her brother, Frederick William II of Prussia, Frederick sent in an army to attack the dissidents. Many Patriots fled to the North of France, around Saint-Omer, until his overthrow they were supported by King Louis XVI of France. With the coming of the French Revolution William V joined the First Coalition against Republican France in 1793 and his troops fought bravely in the Flanders Campaign, but in 1794 the military situation deteriorated and the Dutch Republic was threatened by invading armies. The year 1795 was a one for the ancien régime of the Netherlands. Supported by the French Army, the revolutionaries returned from Paris to fight in the Netherlands, a few days later the Batavian Revolution in Amsterdam occurred, and the Dutch Republic was replaced with the Batavian Republic. Though only a number complied this contributed to their confusion and demoralisation. Almost all Dutch colonies were in the course of time occupied by the British, who in the end returned most, in 1799 the Hereditary Prince took an active part in the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland, engineering the capture of a Batavian naval squadron in the Vlieter Incident. The surrender of the ships was formally accepted in the name of William V as stadtholder, but that was his only success, as the troops suffered from choleric diseases, and civilians at that time were unwilling to re-instate the old regime
7.
Torentje
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Het Torentje, located at the Binnenhof in The Hague next to the Mauritshuis museum, has been the official office of the Prime Minister of the Netherlands since 1982. This small octagonal building at the Hofvijver is first mentioned in chronicles in 1354, at the edge of the Parliament Buildings was originally a summer gazebo for Counts of Holland. It was connected by a drawbridge with the counts garden, at the site of this garden, later east of the Tower the Mauritshuis was built around 1640 as the residence for John Maurice, Prince of Nassau-Siegen. Today the Mauritshuis is a museum, west of the Tower is the Mauritshuis and the Grenadiers Gate, that gives access to Parliament Buildings. Directly opposite the Tower are offices of the House of Representatives, on the ground floor in the Tower there is small meeting room. The first floor houses the office of the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, the Tower is part of the portfolio of the Rijksgebouwendienst. It was first used as the office of the Prime Minister by Ruud Lubbers when he became Prime Minister in 1982, media related to Torentje at Wikimedia Commons Ministry of General Affairs
8.
William II of Holland
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William II of Holland was a Count of Holland and Zeeland. He was elected as German anti-king in 1247 and remained king until his death and he was the son of Floris IV and Matilda of Brabant. When his father was killed at a tournament at Corbie, William was only seven years old and his uncles, William and Otto, were his guardians until 1239. With the help of Henry II, Duke of Brabant and the archbishop of Cologne, the next year, he decided to extend his fathers hunting residence to a palace which met his new status. This would later be called the Binnenhof and was the beginning of the city of The Hague, meanwhile, after a siege of five months, William took Aachen from Fredericks followers. Only then could he be crowned as king and his power never extended beyond the Rhineland. In his home county, William fought with Flanders for control of Zeeland and he made himself count of Zeeland. In July 1253, he defeated the Flemish army at Westkapelle and his anti-Flemish policy worsened his relationship with France. From 1254, he fought a number of wars against the West Frisians and he built some strong castles in Heemskerk and Haarlem and created roads for the war against the Frisians. William gave city rights to Haarlem, Delft, s-Gravenzande and Alkmaar, William married Elizabeth, daughter of Otto the Child, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, in 1252. They had, Floris V, Count of Holland, in battle near Hoogwoud on 28 January 1256, William tried to traverse a frozen lake by himself, because he was lost, but his horse fell through the ice. In this vulnerable position, William was killed by the Frisians and his body was recovered 26 years later by his son Floris V, who took terrible vengeance on the West-Frisians. William was then buried in Middelburg, contemporary sources, including the chronicle of Melis Stoke, portray William as an Arthurian hero. A golden statue of William can be found on the Binnenhof in The Hague, the inner court of the parliamentary complex of the Netherlands
9.
Albert I, Duke of Bavaria
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Duke Albert I KG, was a feudal ruler of the counties of Holland, Hainaut, and Zeeland in the Low Countries. Additionally, he held a portion of the Bavarian province of Straubing, his Bavarian ducal lines appanage, Albert was the third son of Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor from his second wife Empress Margaret, who was the daughter of William III, Count of Holland and Hainaut. Albert was originally a younger son, apportioned at best an appanage and he was only 10 years old when his father died, leaving most of his Bavarian inheritance to his eldest half-brother, Louis V, Duke of Bavaria, but also some appanages to the younger sons. His elder brother, William V, Count of Holland, had engaged in a struggle with their mother, obtaining Holland and Zeeland from her in 1354. William was supported by the party of burghers of the cities and they were opposed in this by the Hook faction, the party of disaffected nobles who were supporters of Empress Margaret. Margaret had been Countess of Holland, Zeeland and Hainault in succession to her brother William IV, who was killed in battle. She had resigned her sovereignty in favour of her son William V, however, Williams insanity resulted in the appointment of the then 22-year-old Albert as governor of his brothers territories from 1358 onwards. During Alberts regency, affairs ran smoothly and trade improved, troubles between the two political parties, the Hoeks and Kabeljauws, remained barely beneath the surface. William lived for thirty years. Albert did not formally succeed him until his death in 1388, by time he had already arranged the marriage of his daughters to a number of Imperial princes. The eldest daughter to have children was Margaret, her son Philip III, in Alberts own reign, troubles erupted between the Hoeks and the Kabeljauws because of a woman. Albert always had mistresses, but this time his attentions were drawn to Aleid van Poelgeest and she was considered very beautiful and was able to gain political influence which was resented. A plot was hatched among the Hoeks as well as members of Alberts household, on 22 September 1392 Aleid was murdered in The Hague. In his rage Albert persecuted the Hoeks, by sword and fire, even his own son and heir, William, did not feel safe and went to live in Hainault. During his last years, Albert fought the Frisians and they were beaten time and time again, but were never completely conquered. On Alberts death in 1404, he was succeeded by his eldest son, a younger son, John III, became Bishop of Liège. However, on Williams death in 1417, a war of succession broke out between John and Williams daughter Jacqueline of Hainaut and this would be the last episode of the Hook and Cod wars and would lead to the counties being placed into Burgundian hands. Johanna of Bavaria, married Wenceslaus, King of the Romans, Margaret of Bavaria, married in Cambrai in 1385 John the Fearless
10.
John I, Count of Holland
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John I was Count of Holland and son of Count Floris V. John inherited the county in 1296 after the murder of his father, shortly after his birth, after negotiations between Floris and King Edward I of England in April 1285, he was betrothed to Elizabeth, a daughter of Edward and Eleanor of Castile. Soon after this the infant John was sent to England to be raised and educated there at Edwards court, on 7 January 1297 John married Edwards daughter Elizabeth at Ipswich. Soon after this, he was allowed to return to Holland, although being made to promise to heed the council of Renesse, Elizabeth was expected to go to Holland with her husband, but did not wish to go, leaving her husband to go alone. After some delay and spending Christmas 1297 with part of her family in Ghent, at first Renesse acted as regent, but on 30 April 1297, John had appointed Wolfert van Borselen regent in his stead, until his fifteenth birthday. As regent, Wolfert van Borselen, pursued a policy of neutrality towards Flanders and he came into conflict with the city of Dordrecht and was killed there by a mob on 30 August 1299. After this Count John II of the house of Avesnes took over the regency, Count John I of Holland died at Haarlem in the same year, on 10 November, childless and only fifteen years old, reportedly of dysentery, but there were suspicions he was murdered. With his death without descendants, and all his siblings having died young, from this time to the extinction of Hainaut as an independent county, Holland was in personal union with Hainaut. Three years after Johns death, his widow remarried to Humphrey de Bohun. Jan I, graaf van Holland Count Holland and Frisia, Chapter 2, COUNTS OF HOLLAND -1299 Counts of Hainaut family tree Counts of Holland family tree
Media related to Hofvijver at Wikimedia Commons