The Hague, as requested by Magnus073 by efron_241
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Description
A couple of days ago Magnus asked me for a photo of my city and a little story about it...
I had to finish the Negotiator-story the way it has been finished and make yesterdays image for reasons known to you now.
I am who I am.. and I "know" too much.. that is sometimes difficult.. as I knew when my parents went to the other side.. date and time. And it happens often more with friends and those who touched me in a way.
anyway.... I told Magnus the 17th that the photo had to wait till today.. and here it is...
Den Haag/The Hague with a setting winter sun. If it wasn't for the bikes one could say the view has hardly changed in the last 350 years.
On the left Parlementbuildings (1456/1912 AD) and castle (1248AD) with the high towers... 'Ridderzaal' or The Hall of Knights as it is called now (Just 'Grote Zaal' or "big hall" in the past). Like the hall you see in the Lord of the Ring Movie Two Towers in Rohan, or better the hall of the Kings and Steward near the white tree in the final movie of Lord and Rings. In front of you the lake in the center of town (anno 1345), created to give the look over it, the feeling asif you were at a river, like Thames or Seine. The Hague has no large river nearby. It is a dune town, where the Counts of Holland could hunt in the Forest. Holland means Woodland. Think of the German "Holz" Holland is a small part of the Netherlands. In fact there are now 2 United Kingdoms in Europe. The one known as UK-Great Brittian and the Kingdom of the United Netherlands. That Kingdom was a Republic between the mid 16th century and 1795. In 1813 the Prince of Orange returned from Exhile and in 1814 we became a Kingdom. Mind you.. there will be PARTIES in 2013 and 2014.. grin.. and perhaps a new king. Our Queen (unlike the one in the other United Kingdom) does not have to rule till she dies. Luckely. She can enjoy .. we hope in good health .. a couple of years away from the throne. Amsterdam was made capital of the country by Napoleon. It still is that way. But Government is and Royals live in (and around) The Hague. The Republic had no real capital, and The Hague was not even allowed to call itself a city. No giant palaces here.. no giant monuments for Kings and Religion. The powerful cities of the Republic.. mainly in Holland and Zeeland .. did not allow that. Holland was so powerful in the Republic they divided it in two smaller parts when the Netherlands became a Monarchy. North Holland (with Amsterdam) with Haarlem as capital (think of Harlem in New York) and South Holland with Den Haag/The Hague as capital and Rotterdam as largest city. Two Hollands that would not rival the King's authority and governmentseat (The Hague) and national capital (Amsterdam) stayed divided too... where Haarlem became capital of the province Amsterdam is in. All done to break the old powers of the cities. Fun he... Still you can see an old church at the other side of the lake, in the center of the former village.. that still has the atmosphere of a small community. It was in front of the castle.. and that was in front of the forest. .. and still is.. so the city center of The Hague is also the edge of town. The Hague mainly grew towards the south and towards the beach. The Church was build in the 15th century, it's tower around 1540 (first one collapsed during a thunderstorm). On the right a walking path with little shells from the coast. In the past sea shells were thrown on roads in The Hague to make it possible for coaches to drive around.. even during rainy weather. The slope towards the lake on the far right was for the horses (15th century and on).. so they could enter the lake to drink, cool down and have fun.. grin. the classic light has the sign of the Monarchy in top. The crown. The pillar/pole it stands on was designed in The Hague in the 1860s.
Den Haag/The Hague with a setting winter sun. If it wasn't for the bikes one could say the view has hardly changed in the last 350 years.
On the left Parlementbuildings (1456/1912 AD) and castle (1248AD) with the high towers... 'Ridderzaal' or The Hall of Knights as it is called now (Just 'Grote Zaal' or "big hall" in the past). Like the hall you see in the Lord of the Ring Movie Two Towers in Rohan, or better the hall of the Kings and Steward near the white tree in the final movie of Lord and Rings. In front of you the lake in the center of town (anno 1345), created to give the look over it, the feeling asif you were at a river, like Thames or Seine. The Hague has no large river nearby. It is a dune town, where the Counts of Holland could hunt in the Forest. Holland means Woodland. Think of the German "Holz" Holland is a small part of the Netherlands. In fact there are now 2 United Kingdoms in Europe. The one known as UK-Great Brittian and the Kingdom of the United Netherlands. That Kingdom was a Republic between the mid 16th century and 1795. In 1813 the Prince of Orange returned from Exhile and in 1814 we became a Kingdom. Mind you.. there will be PARTIES in 2013 and 2014.. grin.. and perhaps a new king. Our Queen (unlike the one in the other United Kingdom) does not have to rule till she dies. Luckely. She can enjoy .. we hope in good health .. a couple of years away from the throne. Amsterdam was made capital of the country by Napoleon. It still is that way. But Government is and Royals live in (and around) The Hague. The Republic had no real capital, and The Hague was not even allowed to call itself a city. No giant palaces here.. no giant monuments for Kings and Religion. The powerful cities of the Republic.. mainly in Holland and Zeeland .. did not allow that. Holland was so powerful in the Republic they divided it in two smaller parts when the Netherlands became a Monarchy. North Holland (with Amsterdam) with Haarlem as capital (think of Harlem in New York) and South Holland with Den Haag/The Hague as capital and Rotterdam as largest city. Two Hollands that would not rival the King's authority and governmentseat (The Hague) and national capital (Amsterdam) stayed divided too... where Haarlem became capital of the province Amsterdam is in. All done to break the old powers of the cities. Fun he... Still you can see an old church at the other side of the lake, in the center of the former village.. that still has the atmosphere of a small community. It was in front of the castle.. and that was in front of the forest. .. and still is.. so the city center of The Hague is also the edge of town. The Hague mainly grew towards the south and towards the beach. The Church was build in the 15th century, it's tower around 1540 (first one collapsed during a thunderstorm). On the right a walking path with little shells from the coast. In the past sea shells were thrown on roads in The Hague to make it possible for coaches to drive around.. even during rainy weather. The slope towards the lake on the far right was for the horses (15th century and on).. so they could enter the lake to drink, cool down and have fun.. grin. the classic light has the sign of the Monarchy in top. The crown. The pillar/pole it stands on was designed in The Hague in the 1860s.
Comments (44)
Faemike55
This is a very good photo and wonderful history of your city.
SSoffia
Beautiful capture & view :)
odile
Lovely shot!
zaigodou
Beautiful!! Your best shot!!!
claude19
Thanks for all these explanations ! Splendid shot !
missblue
BEautiful shot =)!
ZanderXL
That's a nice shot and a very informative script. Lining the road with seashells so that coaches didn't slip and slide during rainy weather - genius! Also didn't know that Holland meant "Woodland". Thanks for sharing all that!
Ac-Dc
wonderful shot.
UteBigSmile
Great picture Chris, your City is one of the beautiful ones here in Europe!
gaius
I don't remeber this place...it was so long ago...Thank you Chris for sharing and for the tips.
VEDES
VERY NICE!!!
capelito
Wonderful photo.
lyron
Beautiful view!!
Foink
Beautiful photo.
carlx
Great capture and history!!!
Rhanagaz
Excellent shot and nice to get the History of this unique city! :o)
FaeMoon
Beautiful capture, and thank you for the history.. fascinating!
Madbat
Cool history!
LBJ2
Beautiful capture and motif, Efron. Amazing piece of history. Fantastic buildings, more than 500 years old. A fine piece for Dave.
evielouise
Another place I would love to go however,ever since I can remember Australia has been on my list first it sounds like a beautiful place with a history define : thanks for sharing your homeland Great idea magnus:
magnus073
Chris, THANK YOU so much for this wonderful dedi and this beautiful photo of your lovely homeland. Sorry I'm late to see it this morning as the flu has had me down. This really made my day as The Hague seems to be one of the most fascinating places on earth with a history that is second to none. Thank you for the detailed history and the description of the structures as it made it come to life even more. Also the comparisons you did made it easier to understand and put in context. It is so nice to see someone take such pride in their country and be willing to pass along it's beauty to everyone the way you do.
jmb007
superbe photo
flaviok
Que local maravilhoso, texto excelente, grande dedi, obrigado por todo o conjunto meu amigo, aplausos (5)
willpee
Great photo and history !!
2121
great shot, wonderful details in the text
tennesseecowgirl
Very nice~
renecyberdoc
a fine little voyage into history.
ontar1
Outstanding capture!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Savage_dragon
Super shot! ")
Sepiasiren
What a lovely, beautiful scene