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)
drifterlee
Beautiful shot!!!!!
kareldg
Hele mooie sfeervolle foto. Gaat ook veel meer leven met zo'n goed stuk geschiedenis erbij. Knap gedaan.
artistheat
Excellent Capture
npauling
A lovely capture of The Hague in the afternoon sunlight and thanks for all the info too.
sandra46
EXCELLENT! SUPERLATIVE!
brewgirlca
Thank you for this entertaining history of your city and the great shot.
mgtcs
Absolutely marvelous image and story, great style my friend, well done!
wilhelm2
Beautiful shot!
Trifid
Lovely shot!
flavia49
wonderful image and text
three_grrr
Oh Chris, what a wonderful shot of the Hague! The lighting is spectacular. Winter light is awesome, to me anyway. But I love winter, even though sometimes I grumble at the cold, and at the sidewalks that have not been shoveled. The Hague seems to be free of snow now. I bet it was beautiful when it had a blanket of snow. There was a lot I learned today. I don't remember ever reading in school about the two "sides" of Holland .. I don't think it was even called The Netherlands in our school books, of course that was over a thousand years ago, and The Netherlands weren't even a country then! Truly, thank you for the history lesson .. and the wonderful picture. Each enhances the other .. the photo makes the history come to life, and the history adds so much to the photo.
tryky5carla
Seaview123
Great looking picture of your city. Nice shot.
anitalee Online Now!
Great work