From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Hague
(with capital T;
Dutch
: also called
's-Gravenhage
, commonly
Den Haag
) is the third-largest
municipality
in
the Netherlands
, after
Amsterdam
and
Rotterdam
. It has a population of about 546,000 (2020) and an area of around 98 km².
[1]
It is in the west of the country, in the province
South Holland
. It is the capital of the province. About 1 million people live in the
urban area
of The Hague, on about 405 square kilometers.
The Hague is the location of the
Binnenhof
, the building where the national
government
of the Netherlands meets. Built in the 13th century, the Binnenhof is the home of the "Eerste Kamer" (literally "
First Chamber
") or "Senaat", and the "Tweede Kamer" (literally "
Second Chamber
"). These are the same as the
upper
and
lower houses
in some other countries. They form the "
Staten Generaal
" (literally the "Estates-General").
Willem-Alexander
, the
king
of the Netherlands, lives and works in The Hague. His home is called the
Noordeinde Palace
and it is not far away from the Binnenhof. All foreign
embassies
and
government ministries
of the country are in the city, as well as the Hoge Raad der Nederlanden (The
Supreme Court
) and many
lobbying
organisations.
All of this is unusual for a country, because The Hague is not the
capital
of the Netherlands, which is Amsterdam. This is made so by the
Constitution of the Netherlands
.
Besides the buildings used by the government, the
International Court of Justice
of the
United Nations
is based in the
Peace Palace
, which is also in The Hague and often referred to as "The Hague" by
metonymy
. A tourist attraction is
Madurodam
, which has lots of tiny buildings that look like the real things.
The Hague is part of a large
conurbation
called the
Randstad
, where most
Dutch people
live. It is only an hour away from Amsterdam,
Utrecht
, and
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
by
train
(most of which are run by
Nederlandse Spoorwegen
) and with its two
train stations
, is easy to get to from many places in the Netherlands and all around Europe.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Den Haag
.
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