26 Facts About The Hague

The Hague is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea.

The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of the Netherlands is Amsterdam, The Hague has been described as the country's de facto capital.

The Hague is the capital of the province of South Holland, and the city hosts both the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.

The Hague is the seat of the Cabinet, the States General, the Supreme Court and the Council of State of the Netherlands, but the city is not the constitutional capital, which is Amsterdam.

The Hague is home to the headquarters of many Dutch companies, with Shell plc having major offices in the city as well.

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The Hague is known as the home of international law and arbitration.

The Hague died in 1256 before this palace was completed but parts of it were finished during the reign of his son Floris V, of which the Ridderzaal, still intact, is the most prominent.

In 1588, The Hague became the permanent seat of the States of Holland as well as the States General 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.

The Hague is divided into eight official districts which are, in turn, divided into neighbourhoods.

The Hague is the largest Dutch city on the North Sea and includes two distinct beach resorts.

The Hague has a canal system around the old city center, which is mainly used for boat tours around the city.

Tallest buildings of The Hague are both 146-metre-tall ministries of Justice and Security and the Interior and Kingdom Relations of the Netherlands, designed by Hans Kollhoff.

Demonym of The Hague officially is Hagenaar, but the term Hagenees is informally used for someone who was born and raised in The Hague.

The Hague is home to many different international judicial bodies, such as the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, and the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals .

The Hague is the fourth major centre for the United Nations, after New York, Geneva and Vienna.

The Hague Academic Coalition is a consortium of those institutions.

Several large international businesses have their headquarters in The Hague, including Royal Dutch Shell, the world's fifth largest company in terms of revenue.

The Hague originated around the 13th-century Binnenhof, and this is still considered the cultural centre of the city.

Scheveningen forms a second cultural centre of The Hague, having its own Pathe cinema as well as the musical theatre Circustheater although, especially in the summer, most night life concentrates around the sea-front boulevard with its bars, restaurants and gambling halls.

The Hague is the residence of the Dutch monarch, and several royal palaces can be found in the city.

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.

Several films have been shot in The Hague, including Mindhunters, Hum Tum, Ocean's Twelve, Black Book and Sonny Boy .

Notable actors and filmmakers from The Hague include Martin Koolhoven, Georgina Verbaan, Carel Struycken, Frederique van der Wal, Marwan Kenzari, Anna Drijver, Renee Soutendijk and Paul Verhoeven, who grew up in the city from an early age.

Since 2020, basketball club The Hague Royals plays in the professional Dutch Basketball League .

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Major motorways connecting to The Hague include the A12, running to Utrecht and the German border.