Hofvijver
The Hofvijver (; ) is a small lake in the centre of The Hague, Netherlands. It is adjoined in the east by the Korte Vijverberg road, in the south by the Binnenhof and the Mauritshuis, in the west by the Buitenhof (The Hague), Buitenhof and in the north by the Lange Vijverberg road. In the middle there is an islet with plants and trees which has no name; it is usually referred to as "the island in the Vijverberg". History The term "pond" is actually a misnomer, as the Hofvijver has its origin in a natural dune lake fed by the Haagse Beek (Hague Creek, originally Dunecreek) and the, nowadays muted, Bosbeek (Forestcreek) from the Haagse Bos (Hague Forest). The Haagse Beek still feeds the Hofvijver and so the pond is directly connected to the dunes in Kijkduin. In this dune lake there was an island (not the current island in the Hofvijver) on which William II of Holland, Willem II built his palace in 1248. Other sources say he built his palace alongside the pond and created a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Hague
The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in 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 has been described as the country's ''de facto'' capital since the time of the Dutch Republic, while Amsterdam is the official capital of the Netherlands. The Hague is the core municipality of the COROP, Greater The Hague urban area containing over 800,000 residents, and is also part of the Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area, which, with a population of approximately 2.6 million, is the largest metropolitan area of the Netherlands. The city is also part of the Randstad region, one of the largest conurbations in Europe. The Hague is the seat of the Cabinet of the Netherlands, Cabinet, the States General of the Netherlands, States General, the Supreme Court of the Neth ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Binnenhof
The Binnenhof (; ) is a complex of buildings in the city centre of The Hague, Netherlands, next to the Hofvijver (Court Pond). It houses the meeting place of both houses of the States General of the Netherlands, as well as the Ministry of General Affairs and the office of the Prime Minister of the Netherlands. Built primarily in the 13th century, the Gothic castle originally functioned as residence of the counts of County of Holland, Holland and became the political centre of the Dutch Republic in 1584. Together with the Buitenhof (The Hague), Buitenhof it is ranked among the Top 100 Dutch heritage sites. The Binnenhof is among the oldest parliament buildings in the world still in use. History Comital period Counts of Holland Little is known about the origin of the Binnenhof. Count of Holland Floris IV, Count of Holland, Floris IV purchased the grounds of the Binnenhof in 1229 from and built a hunting lodge. Despite Floris IV's purchase, his successor William II of Holla ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gevangenpoort
The Gevangenpoort (''Prisoner's Gate'') is a former gate and medieval prison on the Buitenhof in The Hague, Netherlands. It is situated next to the 18th-century art gallery founded by William V, Prince of Orange in 1774 known as the '' Prince William V Gallery''. History of the prison From 1420 until 1828, the prison was used for housing people who had committed serious crimes while they awaited sentencing. Its most famous prisoner was Cornelis de Witt, who was held on the charge of plotting the murder of the stadtholder. He was lynched together with his brother Johan on 20 August 1672 on the square in front of the building called ''groene zoodje'' after the grass mat used for the scaffold. When public executions went out of fashion the area was used to build the "Witte Society", a literature club that still exists today, but had to move when the street was built in 1923. In 1882, the Gevangenpoort became a prison museum. The "gate" function was lost in 1923 when the houses ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Torentje
The Torentje ( ; English: "The Little Tower"), located at the Binnenhof in The Hague next to the Mauritshuis museum, has been the office of the Prime Minister of the Netherlands since 1982. History The torentje (literally turret) is a small octagonal building at the Hofvijver, which is first mentioned in chronicles in 1354 and probably dates from the first half of the 14th century. At the edge of the Parliament Buildings it was originally a summer gazebo for Counts of Holland. It was connected by a drawbridge with the count's garden. At the site of this garden, later east of the Tower the Mauritshuis (now a museum) was built around 1640 as the residence for John Maurice, Prince of Nassau-Siegen. Location The building is part of the Binnenhof complex, the seat of the Dutch parliament (eerste kamer and tweede kamer) as well as the ministry of general affairs (housed in het Torentje). East of the Tower is the Mauritshuis and the Grenadiers Gate, that gives access to Parliament Buil ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Buitenhof (The Hague)
The Buitenhof (, ; English: Outer Court) is a square in The Hague, Netherlands, adjacent to the Binnenhof (Inner Court) and the Hofvijver (Court Pond). It is listed in the Top 100 Dutch heritage sites. History The square originated in the 13th century, during the construction of the Binnenhof. It was filled with houses and stables and, in the reign of Count Albert I, it even featured a zoo. The zoo exhibited mostly falcons and other birds of prey that were used for hunting. Later, hounds were exhibited as well. The Buitenhof was moated for safety in the 15th century. People that did not belong to the court, lived outside of it, around the Plaats and the Korte Voorhout, and along the Hofvijver. The only entrance to the square was the Gevangenpoort, ''Prison Gate''. A second entrance was introduced in 1814 with the construction of the Gravenstraat. In 1923, the houses between the gate and the Hofvijver were demolished, as was advised by architect Hendrik Petrus Berlage. This cre ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lakes Of The Netherlands
The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency published a map of surface water bodies in the Netherlands in 2010. The map distinguishes over 20 different types of water bodies, including those with salty, brackish and fresh water. These water bodies encompass natural and artificial lakes of varying sizes, peat puddles and fens. The total combined surface area of the lakes larger than is . While a comprehensive list of past and present lakes in the Netherlands is not available, selected lists can be found. Groups of lakes Within the Netherlands, there are several groups of lakes or lake systems that are often referred to as a whole. Examples include: * Frisian Lakes, a group of 24 lakes located in the province of Friesland * Borderling lakes, a body of water surrounding the Flevopolder often divided into ten parts or lakes Lakes The following is a list of lakes of the Netherlands. Ancient lakes The waterscape of the Netherlands undergoes continuous change. The followi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mauritshuis
The Mauritshuis (, ; ) is an art museum in The Hague, Netherlands. The museum houses the Royal Cabinet of Paintings which consists of 854 objects, mostly Dutch Golden Age paintings. The collection contains works by Johannes Vermeer, Rembrandt van Rijn, Jan Steen, Paulus Potter, Frans Hals, Jacob van Ruisdael, Hans Holbein the Younger, and others. Originally, the 17th-century building was the residence of Count John Maurice of Nassau. The building is now the property of the government of the Netherlands and is listed in the top 100 Dutch heritage sites. History In 1631, John Maurice, Prince of Nassau-Siegen, a cousin of Stadtholder Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, Frederick Henry, bought a plot bordering the Binnenhof and the adjacent Hofvijver pond in The Hague, at that time the political centre of the Dutch Republic. Between 1636 and 1641, the Mauritshuis was built on this piece of land, during John Maurice's governorship of Dutch Brazil. It was built in the Dutch Baroque a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Hague Binnenhof At Night
''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with nouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of the archaic pronoun ''thee'' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Haagse Bos
Haagse Bos (; ) is a rectangular neighbourhood and forest in the Haagse Hout district of The Hague, Netherlands, reaching from the old city centre in the south-west to the border of Wassenaar in the north-east. It is also one of the oldest remaining forests of the country. During World War II, the park was used by the Germans for launching V-1 and V-2 rockets. History Originally, the Haagse Bos was a section of a bigger forest that stretched from 's-Gravenzande to Alkmaar. This was simply called ''Die Hout'' (The Woods). The title eventually gave way to the name ''Houtland'' (which literally means "woods lands") and later became ''Holland''. From this original forest only the Haagse Bos remains. During the reign of William II and Floris V, the forest was considerably reduced to make space and provide wood for the growing nearby fortress, the Binnenhof, and the surrounding village of The Hague. However, even in the Middle Ages there were strict rules in place to protect the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Netherlands consists of Provinces of the Netherlands, twelve provinces; it borders Germany to the east and Belgium to the south, with a North Sea coastline to the north and west. It shares Maritime boundary, maritime borders with the United Kingdom, Germany, and Belgium. The official language is Dutch language, Dutch, with West Frisian language, West Frisian as a secondary official language in the province of Friesland. Dutch, English_language, English, and Papiamento are official in the Caribbean Netherlands, Caribbean territories. The people who are from the Netherlands is often referred to as Dutch people, Dutch Ethnicity, Ethnicity group, not to be confused by the language. ''Netherlands'' literally means "lower countries" i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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William II Of Holland
William II (February 1227 – 28 January 1256) was the Count of Holland and Zeeland from 1234 until his death. He was elected anti-king of Germany in 1248 and ruled as sole king from 1254 onwards. Early life William was the eldest son and heir of Count Floris IV of Holland and Matilda of Brabant.M. A. Pollock, Scotland, ''England and France After the Loss of Normandy, 1204-1296'', (The Boydell Press, 2015), xv. When his father was killed at a tournament at Corbie, William was only seven years old. His paternal uncles William and Otto, bishop of Utrecht, were his guardians until 1239. Kingship With the help of his maternal uncle Duke Henry II of Brabant and the Cologne archbishop Konrad von Hochstaden, William was elected king of Germany after Emperor Frederick II was excommunicated by Pope Innocent IV. He succeeded Landgrave Henry Raspe of Thuringia who had died within a year after his election as anti-king in 1246. The next year, William decided to extend his father's ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |