1.
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
2.
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
3.
Miniature park
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A miniature park is an open space that displays miniature buildings and models, and is usually open to the public. A miniature park may contain a model of a city or town, often called a miniature city or model village. They have been developed as recreational and tourist attractions, with roots in Japanese miniature gardens. Most examples are located in landscaped outdoor spaces, but the definition has widened in recent years to encompass large-scale miniature landscapes indoors. There is evidence to suggest the existence of model villages and miniature parks since the 19th century. Early examples include Bekonscot in the UK and Madurodam in The Hague, most model villages and parks are built to a consistent scale, varying from 1,76 as used by the intricately detailed Pendon in England up to the 1,9 scale of Wimborne Model Town. Continental Europe and Asia have tended to favour the scale of 1,25, whilst North American and UK examples have been based upon 1,12 and other variants. PIPKA There has been a move away from the village concept since the mid- to late 20th century towards a miniature park concept. Model villages are typically larger-scale, sit in a miniature landscape and allow viewing and physical interaction with the exhibits, such as publicly accessed streets. Miniature parks however, are concerned with the display of exhibits in their own right. Model railways, rivers and roads may provide a continuation between miniature parks exhibits, the most common forms are model railroads and dollhouses. Diorama with miniature replicas of Mexico´s wonders and monuments, tiny Town in Morrison, Colorado opened in 1921, is an amusement park. Tiny Town in Springfield, Missouri, opened in 1925, is the first miniature park village, Miniature train and village at the Germany Pavilion in Epcot at Disney World. Agilitynut feature The Gauge One Model Railway Association The Miniature Plant Files Database at All Things Miniature
4.
Scheveningen
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Scheveningen, is one of the eight districts of The Hague, as well as a subdistrict of that city. Scheveningen is a seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier. The beach is popular for sports such as windsurfing and kiteboarding. The harbour is used for fishing and tourism. Some local politicians are trying to re-brand Scheveningen to The Hague Beach and this has created problems with the local population that is proud of the name Scheveningen. Initiatives have been launched to teach people all over the world how to pronounce the name properly and it has its own dialect, which is different from The Hague dialect. The earliest reference to the name Sceveninghe goes back to around 1280, the first inhabitants may have been Anglo-Saxons. Other historians favour a Scandinavian origin, fishing was the main source of food and income. The Battle of Scheveningen was fought between English and Dutch fleets off the coast of the village on 10 August 1653, thousands of people gathered on the shore to watch. A road to neighbouring The Hague was constructed in 1663, in 1470, a heavy storm destroyed the church and half the houses. The village was hit by storms in 1570,1775,1825,1860,1881. After this last storm, the decided to build a harbour. Until then, the boats had had a flat bottom. By around 1870, over 150 of these boats were in use, once the harbour had been constructed in 1904, more modern ships replaced the bomschuiten. In 1818, Jacob Pronk constructed a building on a dune near the sea. It marked the start of Scheveningen as a bathing resort, since then, Scheveningen has attracted numerous tourists from all over Europe, notably from Germany. The hotel and restaurant Kurhaus was opened in 1886, the village attracted a number of Dutch artists over the centuries, who painted the bomschuiten drawn up on the beach, or fishermen at work in the North Sea. The International Skating Union was founded in Scheveningen in 1892, nevertheless, Scheveningen always had a strong identity of its own
5.
Nazism
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National Socialism, more commonly known as Nazism, is the ideology and practice associated with the 20th-century German Nazi Party and Nazi Germany, as well as other far-right groups. Nazism subscribed to theories of racial hierarchy and Social Darwinism, identifying Germans as part of what Nazis regarded as an Aryan or Nordic master race and it aimed to overcome social divisions and create a homogeneous society, unified on the basis of racial purity. The term National Socialism arose out of attempts to create a nationalist redefinition of socialism, the Nazi Partys precursor, the Pan-German nationalist and anti-Semitic German Workers Party, was founded on 5 January 1919. By the early 1920s, Adolf Hitler assumed control of the organisation, following the Holocaust and German defeat in World War II, only a few fringe racist groups, usually referred to as neo-Nazis, still describe themselves as following National Socialism. The full name of Adolf Hitlers party was Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, the shorthand Nazi was formed from the first two syllables of the German pronunciation of the word national. The term was in use before the rise of the NSDAP as a colloquial and derogatory word for a peasant, characterizing an awkward. It derived from Ignaz, being a version of Ignatius, a common name in Bavaria. Opponents seized on this and shortened the first word of the name, Nationalsozialistische. The NSDAP briefly adopted the Nazi designation, attempting to reappropriate the term, the use of Nazi Germany, Nazi regime, and so on was popularised by German exiles abroad. From them, the spread into other languages and was eventually brought back to Germany after World War II. In English, Nazism is a name for the ideology the party advocated. The majority of scholars identify Nazism in practice as a form of far-right politics, far-right themes in Nazism include the argument that superior people have a right to dominate over other people and purge society of supposed inferior elements. Adolf Hitler and other proponents officially portrayed Nazism as being neither left- nor right-wing, but the politicians of the Right deserve exactly the same reproach. It was through their miserable cowardice that those ruffians of Jews who came into power in 1918 were able to rob the nation of its arms, a major inspiration for the Nazis were the far-right nationalist Freikorps, paramilitary organisations that engaged in political violence after World War I. The Nazis stated the alliance was purely tactical and there remained substantial differences with the DNVP, the Nazis described the DNVP as a bourgeois party and called themselves an anti-bourgeois party. After the elections in 1932, the alliance broke after the DNVP lost many of its seats in the Reichstag, the Nazis denounced them as an insignificant heap of reactionaries. The DNVP responded by denouncing the Nazis for their socialism, their violence. Kaiser Wilhelm II, who was pressured to abdicate the throne and flee into exile amidst an attempted communist revolution in Germany, there were factions in the Nazi Party, both conservative and radical
6.
Dachau concentration camp
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Dachau concentration camp was the first of the Nazi concentration camps opened in Germany, intended to hold political prisoners. It is located on the grounds of a munitions factory northeast of the medieval town of Dachau, about 16 km northwest of Munich in the state of Bavaria. The Dachau camp system grew to include nearly 100 sub-camps, which were work camps or Arbeitskommandos. The camps were liberated by U. S. forces on 29 April 1945, There were 32,000 documented deaths at the camp, and thousands that are undocumented. Approximately 10,000 of the 30,000 prisoners were sick at the time of liberation, in the postwar years the Dachau facility served to hold SS soldiers awaiting trial. After 1948, it held ethnic Germans who had expelled from eastern Europe and were awaiting resettlement. It was finally closed in 1960, There are several religious memorials within the Memorial Site, which is open to the public. After the takeover of Bavaria on 9 March 1933, Heinrich Himmler, then Chief of Police in Munich, began to speak with the administration of an unused gunpowder and he toured the site to see if it could be used for quartering protective-custody prisoners. The Concentration Camp at Dachau was opened 22 March 1933, with the arrival of about 200 prisoners from Stadelheim Prison in Munich and it became the first regular concentration camp established by the coalition government of the National Socialist German Workers Party and the German National Peoples Party. Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals, and emigrants were sent to Dachau after the 1935 passage of the Nuremberg Laws which institutionalized racial discrimination, in early 1937, the SS, using prisoner labor, initiated construction of a large complex capable of holding 6,000 prisoners. The construction was completed in mid-August 1938. More political opponents, and over 11,000 German and Austrian Jews were sent to the camp after the annexation of Austria and the Sudetenland in 1938. Sinti and Roma in the hundreds were sent to the camp in 1939, the prisoners of Dachau concentration camp originally were to serve as forced labor for a munition factory, and to expand the camp. It was used as a center for SS guards and was a model for other concentration camps. The camp was about 300 m ×600 m in rectangular shape, the prisoners entrance was secured by an iron gate with the motto “Arbeit macht frei”. This reflected Nazi propaganda, which trivialized concentration camps as labor and re-education camps, as of 1938, the procedure for new arrivals occurred at the Schubraum, where prisoners were to hand over their clothing and possessions. One former Luxembourgian prisoner, Albert Theis, reflected about the room, everything had to be handed over, money, rings, watches. The camp included a building that contained offices for the Gestapo trial commissioner, SS authorities
7.
Military Order of William
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The Military William Order, or often named Military Order of William, is the oldest and highest honour of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Orders motto is Voor Moed, Beleid en Trouw, the chivalric order was established on 30 April 1815 by King William I and was presented for feats of excellent bravery on the battlefield and as a meritorious decoration to senior military officers. To date the Order is extremely rarely awarded and only for excellent bravery in battle, in the spring of 1940 it was decided that civilians would receive the Military Order of William for heroic acts in the resistance. After the liberation of the Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies, several men, the Grand Cross was awarded to Prince William of Orange, the Duke of Wellington, Fürst Blücher von Wahlstatt, Graf von Bülow von Dennewitz and Graf von Gneisenau. Until 1940, a total of 5,874 persons had been awarded the Military Order of William, in 1940, the Order was awarded to soldiers who had served with extreme valour in the defence of Netherlands from the 10 May attack by Nazi-Germany. Of the 3,500 servicemen who served in the Netherlands United Nations Detachment in Korea, since 1940,199 names have been added to the register of the Military Order of William. The latest conflict that has been cause for the honour to be awarded is the war in Afghanistan. Kroon was honoured for bravery, leadership, and devotion to duty during his service in Afghanistan from March to August,2006. By 1945, the classes of the Military William Order were in existence. The Grand Cross could also be awarded as a presentation to heads of state which had displayed feats of loyalty to the Netherlands during wartime. Only US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the British King George VI were conferred such an honour, in the 19th century, the Grand Cross was often conferred on foreign monarchs as a mere mark of respect. The 4th Class could also be awarded as a presentation to military commands which had displayed feats of gallantry during wartime. The badge of the Order is a white-enamelled Maltese Cross, in silver for the 4th Class and in gilt for higher classes, the obverse bears a golden firesteel at the centre, and the motto Voor Moed – Beleid – Trouw on the arms of the Maltese Cross. The reverse central disc bears a crowned monogram W surrounded by a laurel wreath, the badge hangs from a royal crown. The star of the Grand Cross is a silver, 8-pointed star with straight rays, the breast cross of the Commander is completely identical to the obverse of the badge of the Order. The ribbon of the Order is orange with blue stripes near the border, to be awarded the Military William Order a military unit must distinguish itself in battle to such a degree as would warrant the personal presentation of the Military William Order. The units Regimental Colour are decorated with the badge of the 4th Class itself, the version of the Military William Order for unit members is known as the Orange Lanyard. Only those who served in a unit at the particular time of action are entitled to wear the Orange Lanyard
8.
Bekonscot
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Bekonscot in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, is the oldest original model village in the world. It portrays aspects of England mostly dating from the 1930s, Bekonscot has been run by the Church Army since 1978 and donates large amounts of money to charity. It has raised the equivalent of almost £5,000,000 so far and has been visited by more than 14,000,000 visitors, Bekonscot was first created by a Beaconsfield resident, accountant Roland Callingham, in the 1920s. He developed the plan for his miniature empire as an addition to his large back garden, drawing in help from his staff. Together they developed the model landscape portraying rural England at the time, the swimming pool became the first sea and the undulating rockeries were built up as hills. Bassett-Lowke, the model railway manufacturers, were commissioned to build an extensive Gauge 1 railway network for the project. Callingham named the village Bekonscot after Beaconsfield and Ascot where he previously lived and it was not conceived as a commercial visitor attraction but as a plaything to entertain Roland and his guests. It was only after 1930 that its existence became known, catching the imagination of the press. Frequent newsreels such as Pathé, international and national newspaper coverage ensured a stream of visitors. As such, it is regarded as the grandfather of the model village, the village expanded in size throughout the first half of the 20th century. Callingham sold off much of the surrounding the model village. The village is now surrounded by urban development so further expansion is impossible. Bekonscot popularised the miniature park movement, put Beaconsfield on the map and has a financial legacy in donations to charitable organisations both national and local. The site is approximately two acres of which just over half is a miniature 1,12 landscape, buildings are constructed in natural materials, concrete, or dense foamboard, many are originals from the 1920s. There are six model villages set within the miniature landscape and these are entirely fictional towns, but many buildings within them are based on UK prototypes. Successive generations of modelmakers, gardeners and craftsmen have left their mark on their subjects, currently there are 12 full-time staff who maintain the village throughout the year, during the open season a further 20 or so seasonal staff are employed. Names of shops and other features include humorous puns, such as Lee Key Plumbers Merchants, Sam and Ellas Butchers, other model villages have run with the playful nature of the miniature business names and it has become something of a model tradition. Over the last year, a project to introduce more – smaller – moving models into the village has been underway
9.
Beatrix of the Netherlands
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Beatrix reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 1980 until her abdication in 2013, after a reign of exactly 33 years. Beatrix is the eldest daughter of Queen Juliana and her husband, upon her mothers accession in 1948, she became heir presumptive. Beatrix attended a primary school in Canada during World War II. In 1961, she received her law degree from Leiden University, in 1966, Beatrix married Claus von Amsberg, a German diplomat, with whom she had three children. When her mother abdicated on 30 April 1980, Beatrix succeeded her as queen, on Koninginnedag,30 April 2013, Beatrix abdicated in favour of her eldest son, Willem-Alexander, and resumed the title of princess. At the time of her abdication, Beatrix was the oldest reigning monarch of the Netherlands, Beatrix was born Princess Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau, Princess of Lippe-Biesterfeld, on 31 January 1938 at the Soestdijk Palace in Baarn, Netherlands. She is the first child of Princess Juliana of the Netherlands, Beatrix was baptized on 12 May 1938 in the Great Church in The Hague. Beatrixs middle names are the first names of her grandmother, the then reigning Queen Wilhelmina. When Beatrix was one old, in 1939, her younger sister Princess Irene was born. World War II broke out in the Netherlands on 10 May 1940, on 13 May, the Dutch Royal Family evacuated to London, United Kingdom. One month later, Beatrix went to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, with her mother Juliana and her sister Irene, while her father Bernhard, the family lived at the Stornoway residence. With bodyguards and ladies in waiting, the family summered at Bigwin Inn on Lake of Bays, while on Bigwin Island, the constitution of the Netherlands was stored in the cast iron safe of Bigwin Inns Rotunda building. In order to them with a greater sense of security, culinary chefs. Upon their departure, the musicians of the Bigwin Inn Orchestra assembled dockside, and at every public performance afterward through to the end of World War II. In the years following the shuttering and neglect of the island resort, the second sister of Beatrix, Princess Margriet, was born in Ottawa in 1943. During their exile in Canada, Beatrix attended nursery and Rockcliffe Park Public School, on 5 May 1945, the German troops in the Netherlands surrendered. The family returned to the Netherlands on 2 August 1945, Beatrix went to the progressive primary school De Werkplaats in Bilthoven. Her third sister Princess Christina was born in 1947, in April 1950, Princess Beatrix entered the Incrementum, a part of Baarnsch Lyceum, where, in 1956, she passed her school-graduation examinations in the subjects of arts and classics
10.
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
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Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is the main international airport of the Netherlands, located 9 kilometres southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer, province of North Holland. It is the third busiest airport in Europe in terms of passengers, the airport is built as a single-terminal concept, one large terminal split into three large departure halls. Schiphol is the hub for KLM and its regional affiliate KLM Cityhopper as well as for Corendon Dutch Airlines, Martinair, Transavia, the airport also serves as a European hub for Delta Air Lines and Jet Airways and as a base for EasyJet and Vueling. Schiphol opened on 16 September 1916 as a military airbase, the end of the First World War also saw the beginning of civilian use of Schiphol Airport and the airport eventually lost its military role completely. By 1940, Schiphol had four runways at 45-degree angles. The airport was captured by the German military that same year, the airport was destroyed through bombing but at the end of the war the airfield was restored quickly. In 1949, it was decided that Schiphol was to become the airport of the Netherlands. The airports official English name, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, reflects the original Dutch word order, Schiphol Airport is an important European airport, ranking as Europes third busiest and the worlds fourteenth busiest by total passenger traffic in 2015. It also ranks as the fifth busiest by international passenger traffic. 58.285 million passengers passed through the airport in 2015. In 2010,65. 9% of passengers using the airport flew to and from Europe,11. 7% to and from North America and 8. 8% to and from Asia, in 2010,106 carriers provided a total of 301 destinations on a regular basis. Passenger destinations were offered by 91 airlines, direct destinations grew by 9 to a total of 274. Regular destinations serviced exclusively by full freighters grew by eight to a total of twenty-seven, the airport is built as one large terminal, split into three large departure halls, which connect again once airside. The most recent of these was completed in 1994 and expanded in 2007 with a new section, called Terminal 4, plans for further terminal expansion exist, including the construction of a separate new terminal between the Zwanenburgbaan and Polderbaan runways that would end the one-terminal concept. Because of intense traffic and high landing fees, some low-cost carriers decided to move their flights to airports, such as Rotterdam The Hague Airport. Many low-cost carriers, such as EasyJet, however, continue to operate from Schiphol, there have been talks about using the Lelystad Airport for low-cost carriers. Schiphol is equipped with eighteen double jetway gates in preparation for airlines introducing the Airbus A380, Emirates was the first airline to fly the A380 to Schiphol in August 2012, deploying the aircraft on its double daily Dubai–Amsterdam service. During the summer, China Southern Airlines also uses the A380 on its Beijing–Amsterdam route, Schiphols name is derived from a former fortification named Fort Schiphol, which was part of the Stelling van Amsterdam defence works
11.
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
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Amusement parks in the Netherlands