Binnenhof, Hofvijver en Mauritshuis!

Dutch Parliament

Gevangenpoort, The Hague!

De Gevangenpoort!

De Gevangenpoort is een middeleeuwse gevangenis in Den Haag. Sinds 1882 is in het gebouw een museum gevestigd. De gevangenpoort ligt dicht bij het Binnenhof en de Hofvijver. Achter de poort ligt wat in Den Haag nu de "Plaats" wordt genoemd. Aan het hoofd van dit plein bevond zich 'het Groene Zoodje'. Dit was de executieplaats.


The Prison is a medieval prison in The Hague. Since 1882, the building houses a museum. The gatehouse is close to the Parliament and the Hofvijver. Behind the gate is now in The Hague as the "City" is mentioned. At the head of the square stood "Green Zoodje. This was the execution site.





Mauritshuis, The Hague! The girl with a Pearl Earring!

In 1820 the Dutch state bought the Mauritshuis for the purpose of housing the Royal Cabinet of Paintings. The new museum opened its doors in 1822. At first the building also housed the Royal Cabinet of Rarities, another collection that had been owned by the stadholders. Only in 1875 did the entire Mauritshuis become available for the collection of paintings.


Over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, the Mauritshuis has grown into a museum that attracts visitors from all over the world. The building was not designed for such intensive use, however, so between 1982 and 1987 it was renovated to meet the requirements of a modern museum.

http://www.mauritshuis.nl/index.aspx?Chapterid=2295

In this museum one can view two famous paintings 

of Johannes Vermeer, The Girl with a Pearl Earring 

and View of Delft and many more 

renowned paintings of Rembrandt van Rijn, 

Paulus Potter and Jan Steen.

Palace Noordeinde! The Hague

Noordeinde Palace in The Hague is since 1984, the working palace of the Queen. The Palace includes the Royal Stables. In the palace garden are situated the Royal Archives, which is owned by the Foundation Historical Collections of the House of Orange-Nassau. Koninklef is eigendom van de Stichting Historische Verzamelingen van het Huis Oranje-Na

Panorama Mesdag!

Click on the image

Panorama Mesdag is a cylindrical painting of about 14 meters high with a circumference of 120 meters. The painting, one of the oldest 19th century panorama in the world, has a view over the North Sea, the dunes, The Hague and Scheveningen. It was painted in 1881 by Hendrik Willem Mesdag, a famous painter of the Hague School. He specialized in painting seascapes. His wife Sientje Mesdag-van Houten and the painters Theophile de Bock, George Hendrik Breitner and Bernard Blommers have also contributed significantly.  http://www.panorama-mesdag.com/

Detail

Detail

Hotel des Indes!

Hotel Des Indes is a luxurious 5-star hotel on the Lange Voorhout in the city centre of The Hague. There is an exclusive Health Club with a swimming pool.

The hotel rooms are elegant in style and have a seating area, satellite Tv and a bathroom with bath. The large beds with soft white duvets offer a comfortable setting for your night's rest.

Hotel Des Indes was designed by the famous architect Jacques Garcia. There is also a lounge, restaurant and meeting facilities.

 

Milestones from the Roman period!

Near my home town old Roman milestones

have been found in excavations!

De mijlpalen stonden aan een Romeinse weg, die vanaf de kust bij Naaldwijk naar de Romeinse stad Forum Hadriani liep. Het was een standaard Romeins gebruik om langs de hoofdwegen om de Romeinse mijl een paal te plaatsen die de afstand naar de dichtstbijzijnde stad aangaf en bovendien de keizer eerde tijdens wiens regering de weg was aangelegd of gerepareerd. Hiervoor werd een lange inscriptie op de paal aangebracht met de naam van de keizer en al zijn eretitels. Aan de hand van de functies die een keizer een bepaald jaar bekleedde kan een mijlpaal gedateerd worden.

The milestones were on a Roman road leading from the coast near Naaldwijk to the Roman town Forum Hadriani. It was a standard Roman practice, along the main roads to the Roman mile pole for holding a distance to the nearest town and was also to honour the emperor during whose reign the road was constructed or repaired. For this was a long inscription on the pole providing the name of the emperor and all his honors. On the basis of the functions that an emperor held a given year a milestone is dated.

Milestone of Monster!

Replica Roman milestone found at the same
place were it is standing now in The Hague,
near Wateringen.

Binnenhof, The Hague, the Dutch Parliament!

The Binnenhof (Dutch, literally "inner court"), is a complex of buildings in The Hague. It has been the location of meetings of the Staten-Generaal, the Dutch parliament, since 1446, and has been the centre of Dutch politics for many centuries.

The grounds on which the Binnenhof now stands were purchased by Count Floris IV of Holland in 1229, where he built his mansion, next to the little lake that has been called Hofvijver or 'Court Pond' since the 13th century. More buildings were constructed around the court, several of which are well known in their own right, such as the Ridderzaal (Great Hall; literally Knight's Hall), where the queen holds her annual speech at Prinsjesdag. One of the towers, simply known as het Torentje ('the Little Tower'; directly next to the Mauritshuis museum) has been the office of the Prime Minister of the Netherlands since 1982.
 

Kijkduin near The Hague! A little seaside resort!

There are some nice shops and a lot of

 restaurants at Kijkduin!

You can eat pancakes, 'poffertjes',

all sorts of fish,

Italian pizza and also Chinese food.

And you can (of course) make

 a long walk along the seashore!

Peace Palace, The Hague!

The Peace Palace in The Hague is home to a number of international judicial institutions, including the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), the renowned Peace Palace Library, as well as the Hague Academy of International Law, which attracts law students from all over the world every summer.

The Peace Palace is one of the most photographed landmarks of The Hague and is accessible to the public through guided tours.

City center The Hague, The Passage!



Christmas Tree in The Passage, The Hague!



Christmas decoration lights in The Passage, The Hague!

Madurodam!

For almost 60 years Madurodam has been the

smallest city in the Netherlands.

Canals, gabled houses and all kinds

of other typical Dutch scenes: the miniature city

offers you the highlights of the Netherlands

on a scale 1:25

Seagull in Madurodam

If you like please visit: http://www.madurodam.nl/

Skyline The Hague! Centrum Den Haag!

Den Haag richting Centraal Station vanaf Koekamp/Malieveld!

The Hague near Central Station!

Binnenhof, Den Haag

Parliament, The Hague