"So much of what you are is where you have been."
The Hague
Pronounced as Den Haag in Dutch, located in the western coast of The Netherlands, on the North Sea. With a population of over half a million, it is the third largest city in The Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam. The city is the home to Dutch government and parliament instead of Amsterdam which is the capital of the country.
This city is also well known to host the International Court of Justice & International Criminal Justice which we often see it from all sorts of media.
History of The Hague
The city was a center of commerce and trading during late 1200s and 1300s. The Hague was established as the center for the Dutch under the rule of William the 1st where it became the capital of The Netherlands. Most Dutch government departments made their way into The Hague in 1585, boosting The Hague as the power of the country. After the WW2, massive building, rebuilding and repairs were done to accommodate to the massive growth of population. Today the city is still flourishing as ever.
Access to The Hague
Easily access from anywhere and everywhere! The nearest mini-international airport is Rotterdam The Hague Airport. The main international airport is Schiphol International Airport in Amsterdam which is just 30 min train ride away.
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| Grabbed from google |
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| Grabbed from goggle |
The Hague Central Station.
Pronounced as Den Haag in Dutch, this is a huge public transportation hub in The Netherlands. It was built in 1973, modern design ample sunlight. It is connected to a metro station which is located after the exit from the railways. Bus terminal is located at level 2 whereas the tram station is located just outside of the Central station as well as at level 2 too. The place is spacious and clean. there are several shops and food kiosks too.
First stop: We took bus 24 from level 2 to Peace Palace.
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| The Wishing Tree |
Peace Palace
We been hearing about this place many times from the news, reading up from the papers.
Peace Palace (Vredespaleis) which is an international law administrative building in The Hague.
It was named Permanent Court of International Justice from 1922 - 1946 until it renamed to International Court of Justice in 1946 until present.
The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial body of the UN. It was established in 1945 by the Charter of UN and began work in April 1946. The Court's role is to settle legal disputes between states, in accordance with international law. The Court is made up of 15 judges who are elected for terms of office of 9 years by UN General Assembly and Security Council. The official languages are English & French.
Here are some notable cases (that Singaporeans are familiar of) handled here:
1) Sovereignty over Pedra Branca - disputes between Singapore and Malaysia.
2) Sovereignty over Pulau Ligitan and Palau Sipadan - disputes between Indonesia and Malaysia
World Peace Flame
The World Peace Flame monument was inaugurated on 18 April 2002 in The Hague. It represents a symbol of international unity, it stands right outside of the Peace Palace, there is a world peace pathway leading to the monument. The pathway is decorated with 196 pebbles and rocks from 196 countries. Most of the stones has a story behind like a piece of rubble from The Berlin Wall and a rock from Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned.
International Criminal Court
Above 2 photos are taken from Goggle.
The International Criminal Court investigates and tries individuals charged with the gravest crimes of concern to the international community, genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and crime of aggression.
The Courts aims to hold those responsible accountable for their crimes and help to prevent these crimes from happening again.
The world's first permanent international criminal court is governed by an international treaty called the Rome Statute.
Peppermint Cafe
We were walking along Frederikstraat ( Frederick street) and the color of the shop caught my eyes. They even have Mee Goreng on the menu.
Staffs are friendly and the place feels very cozy.
Buitenhof Square
There is a square at the front of this building. Due to construction at the area, we did not go to this square which is known as Buitenhof Square. Known as the heart of The Hague which is situated in The Oude Centrum (Old Center). The Buitenhof is a square that is listed in the Top 100 Dutch Heritage. This ancient square dated since 13th century and was surrounded with moats for protection, the only entrance to the square was Gevangenpoort Prison Gate until second gate was constructed to ease the human traffic passing through every day.
Today, this ancient square become a great meeting place for the people. There are many shops, restaurants, cafes and cinema surrounded the square. It still attracts many people today like before.
The Prison Gate (Gevangenpoort)
Medieval Prison , Medieval Building, Medieval Days, Medieval year 1296!
Very well-preserved gate house
For centuries, The Hague represented the heart of political thus many famous regents and politician were being held as prisoners here between 1428 and 1828. Located on Buitenhof Square, the inhouse museum will share with you about political conspiracies, assassination plots and punishments of prisoners. Some of these stories from the history were pretty gruesome for today. Prisoners were often subjected to torture for forced confession. The torture chambers and torture devices are all on display today. It also housed a large collection of relics and paintings from the Medieval Days. It was such a shame that the museum was closed upon our visit.
The New Church (The Nieuwe Kerk)
The New Church was built in 1656 and is one of the oldest buildings in the city centre of The Hague. It was once stood on an island until canals were built, surrounding it in the year 1900. The Nieuwe Kerk is listed on UNESCO due to its rich history, impressive architecture.
Chinatown
Two Chinese Arch Gates marks the start and the end of Chinatown.
An Asian district in The Hague is the home for numerous Asian food. There is even an Asian supermarket here to support the growing Asian community residing here. There are even some unique shops here like South American Hair Saloon, Vietnamese Manicure, Turkish Jewellery Shop and Moroccan Fish Shop etc.
Woeng Kee
Another Cantonese restaurant with most Cantonese speaking staff.
This restaurant also serves BBQ Porks in pieces rather than in slices. So, it seems this is the standard serving for BBQ Porks here.
To me, this is another average Cantonese restaurant. I even overheard a elderly lady speaking Cantonese with the staff to change the meat they served as it was from previous day.
Grote Markt Square ( The Grand Market Square )
The Grote Markt Square been through various transformations throughout the centuries, welcoming crowds all day long till night. Throughout the year, many activities will hold here like music festival, Halloween and even Oktoberfest.
When the sun goes down, vibes from restaurants, bars and clubs immersed through the square.
Shopping is also for on the key fact lifeline here. Many major departmental stores made their way here like HEMA, De Bijenkorf, Uniqlo and many more. De Passage, a well-known indoor mall is also standing foot here. The square also connect you to various pedestrian streets.
We have come to the end for this blog on The Hague.
Meanwhile here are some blogs I like to share :
Feel free, you are most welcome to browse through my other blogs to Denmark, Japan, China, Thailand, Malaysia and cruises etc.
Thank you for dropping by.
Wish you good luck. 😄
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