| The Hague 's-Gravenhage (Den Haag) |
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| — Municipality — | |||
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| Nickname(s): Residentiestad (Residential City), Hofstad (Court city) | |||
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| Coordinates: 52°5′N 4°19′E / 52.083°N 4.317°E | |||
| Country | Netherlands | ||
| Province | South Holland | ||
| Area (2006) | |||
| - Municipality | 98.20 km2 (37.9 sq mi) | ||
| - Land | 82.66 km2 (31.9 sq mi) | ||
| - Water | 15.54 km2 (6 sq mi) | ||
| Population (30 November 2009) | |||
| - Municipality | 488,370 | ||
| - Density | 5,894/km2 (15,265.4/sq mi) | ||
| - Urban | 1,016,940 | ||
| - Metro | 1,406,000 | ||
| - Randstad | 6,659,300 | ||
| - Demonym | Hagenaar or Hagenees | ||
| Source: denhaag.nl. | |||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
The Hague (with capital T; Dutch: 
Den Haag, officially also 's-Gravenhage) is the third largest city in the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam, with a population of 485,818 (as of May 31, 2009) (population of agglomeration: 1,011,459)[1] and an area of approximately 100 km². It is located in the west of the country, in the province of South Holland, of which it is also the provincial capital. The Hague is, like Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht and Almere, part of the Randstad metropolitan area, with 6,659,300 inhabitants.
The Hague is the seat of government, but not the capital of the Netherlands, a role set aside by the Dutch constitution for Amsterdam.
The Hague is the home of the States-General of the Netherlands. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands lives and works in The Hague. All foreign embassies and government ministries are located in the city, as well as the Hoge Raad der Nederlanden (Supreme Court), the Raad van State (Council of State) and many lobbying organisations.
The Hague is also the de facto judicial capital of the United Nations, being the location of its primary judicial institutions.
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The Hague originated around 1230, when Floris IV, Count of Holland purchased land alongside a pond (now the Hofvijver) in order to build a hunting residence. In 1248 William II, Count of Holland and Rex Romanorum, decided to extend the residence to a palace. He died in 1256 before this palace was completed, but parts of it were finished by his son Floris V, of which the Ridderzaal (Knights' Hall), still extant, is the most prominent. It is still used for political events, such as the annual speech from the throne by the monarch.
Later, the counts of Holland used The Hague as their administrative centre and residence when in Holland. 'Des Graven Hage' literally means "the count's wood", with connotations like "the count's hedge or private enclosure".
When the Dukes of Burgundy gained control over the counties of Holland and Zeeland at the beginning of the 15th century, they appointed a stadtholder to rule in their stead with the States of Holland as an advisory council. Their seat was located in The Hague. At the beginning of the Eighty Years' War, the absence of city walls proved disastrous, as it allowed Spanish troops easily to occupy the town. In 1575 the States of Holland even considered demolishing the city, but this proposal was abandoned, after mediation by William of Orange. From 1588 The Hague also became the location of the government of the Dutch Republic. In order for the administration to maintain control over city matters, The Hague never received official city status (although it did have many privileges, normally only attributed to cities). However, since the days of King Louis Napoleon (1806) The Hague has been allowed to call itself a city.
After the Napoleonic Wars, modern-day Belgium and the Netherlands were combined in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands to form a buffer against France. As a compromise, Brussels and The Hague alternated as capital every two years, with the government remaining in The Hague. After the separation of Belgium in 1830, Amsterdam remained the capital of the Netherlands, while the government was situated in The Hague.
Since early times, probably dating as far back as the 15th century, the stork has been the symbol of The Hague.
Because of its history, the historical inner city of The Hague differs in various respects from the nearby smaller cities of Leiden and Delft. It doesn't have a cramped inner city, bordered by canals and walls. Instead it has some small streets in the town centre that may be dated from the late Middle Ages, and several spacious streets boasting rich 18th century houses built for diplomats and affluent Dutch families. It has a large church dating from the 15th century, an impressive City Hall (built as such) from the 16th century, several large 17th-century palaces, a 17th-century Protestant church built in what was then a modern style, and many important 18th-century buildings. When the government started to play a more prominent role in Dutch society after 1850, The Hague quickly expanded. Many streets were specifically built for the large number of civil servants employed in the country's government and for the Dutchmen who were retiring from the administration and exploitation of the Netherlands East Indies. The growing city annexed the rural municipality of Loosduinen partly in 1903 and completely in 1923.
Parts of the city sustained heavy damage during World War II. The Atlantic Wall was built through part of the city, causing a large quarter to be torn down by the Nazi occupants. On March 3, 1945, the Royal Air Force mistakenly bombed the Bezuidenhout quarter. The target was an installation of V-2 rockets in a nearby park. Due to navigational errors, the bombs fell on a heavily populated and historic part of the city. Over 500 people died and the scars in the city may still be seen today.
After the war The Hague was at one point the largest building site in Europe. The city expanded massively to the southwest. The destroyed areas were also quickly rebuilt. The population peaked at 600,000 inhabitants around 1965.
In the 1970s and 1980s many, mostly white, middle class families moved to neighbouring towns like Voorburg, Leidschendam, Rijswijk and most of all Zoetermeer. This led to the traditional pattern of an impoverished inner city and more prosperous suburbs. Attempts to include parts of these municipalities in the city of The Hague were highly controversial. In the 1990s, with the consent of the Dutch Parliament, The Hague did succeed in annexing fairly large areas from its neighbouring towns, sometimes not even bordering The Hague, on which complete new residential areas were built and are still being built.
City life concentrates around the Hofvijver and the Binnenhof, where the parliament is located. The city has a limited student culture due to its lack of an actual university, although the Royal Conservatory of The Hague is located there, as well as The Hague University, a vocational university and a branch of The Open University of the Netherlands. The city has many civil servants and diplomats (see below). In fact, the number and variety of foreign residents (especially the expatriates) makes the city quite culturally diverse, with many foreign pubs, shops and cultural events.
The Hague is the largest Dutch city on the North Sea and includes two distinct beach resorts. The main beach resort Scheveningen, in the northwestern part of the city, is a popular destination for tourists and young people. With 10 million visitors a year it is the most popular beach town in the Benelux. It is perhaps for this reason that many, even some Dutch people, mistakenly believe Scheveningen is a city in its own right. However, Scheveningen is merely one of The Hague's eight districts ("stadsdelen"). Kijkduin, in the southwest, is The Hague's other beach resort. It is significantly smaller and attracts mainly local residents.
The former Dutch colony of Netherlands East Indies ("Nederlands-Indië", now Indonesia) has left its mark on The Hague. Many streets are named after places in the Netherlands East Indies (as well as other former Dutch colonies such as Suriname) and there is a sizable "Indisch(e)" or "Indo" (i.e. mixed Dutch-Indonesian) community. Since the loss of these Dutch possessions in December 1949, "Indisch(e)" or "Indo" people often refer to The Hague as "the Widow of the Indies".[citation needed]
The older parts of the town have many characteristically wide and long streets. Houses are generally low-rise (often not more than three floors). A large part of the southwestern city was planned by the progressive Dutch architect H.P. Berlage about 1910. This 'Plan Berlage' decided the spacious and homely streets for several decades. In World War II a large part of western The Hague was destroyed by the Germans. Afterwards, modernist architect W.M. Dudok planned its renewal, putting apartment blocks for the middle class in open, park-like settings.
The layout of the city is more spacious than other Dutch cities, and because of the incorporation of large and old nobility estates, the creation of various parks and the use of green zones around natural streams, it is a much more green city than any other in the Netherlands. That is, excepting some mediaeval close-knitted streets in the centre. There are only a few canals in The Hague, as most of these were drained in the late 1800s.
Some of the most prosperous and some of the poorest neighbourhoods of the Netherlands can be found in The Hague. The wealthier areas (Statenkwartier, Belgisch Park, Marlot, Benoordenhout and Archipelbuurt) are generally located in the northwest part of the city; however, the Vogelwijk and several very recently built quarters like Vroondaal are in the southwest, not far from the sea. Poorer areas like Transvaal, Moerwijk, and the Schilderswijk can be found in the southeastern areas, or near the coast in Scheveningen (Duindorp). This division is reflected in the local accent: The more affluent citizens are usually called "Hagenaars" and speak so-called "bekakt Haags" ("Bekakt" is Dutch for "stuck-up"). This contrasts with the "Hagenezen", who speak "plat Haags" ("plat" meaning "flat" or "common").
The tallest building is the 142-metre-tall Hoftoren (see image).
The Hague has eight official districts (stadsdelen). They are divided into smaller parts (wijken) [2]. In contrast to Amsterdam and Rotterdam, the "stadsdelen" have no political function and there are no elections for them.
See Districts of The Hague for a detailed breakdown.
The city contributes substantially to international politics: The Hague is home to over 150 international organizations. These include the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Criminal Court (ICC), the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), and the Appeals Chamber of the ICTY and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).
The foundation of The Hague as an "international city of peace and justice" was laid in 1899, when the world's first Peace Conference took place in The Hague on Tobias Asser's initiative, followed by a second in 1907. A direct result of these meetings was the establishment of the world's first organisation for the settlement of international disputes: the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA). Shortly thereafter the Scottish-American millionaire Andrew Carnegie made the necessary funds available to build the Peace Palace ("Vredespaleis") to house the PCA.
After the establishment of the League of Nations, The Hague became the seat of the Permanent Court of International Justice, which was replaced by the UN's International Court of Justice after the Second World War. The establishment of the Iran-US Claims Tribunal (1981), the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (1993) and the International Criminal Court (2002) in the city further consolidated the role of The Hague as a center for international legal arbitration. Most recently, on 1 March 2009, a U.N. tribunal to investigate and prosecute suspects in the 2005 assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri opened in the former headquarters of the Netherlands General Intelligence Agency in Leidschendam, a town within the greater The Hague area.
Currently, The Hague is the world's second UN city, after New York.[3] In line with the city's history as an important convention center and the current presence of institutions such as the ICJ, The Hague's city council employs a city branding strategy that aims to establish The Hague as the Legal Capital of the World and the International City of Peace and Justice
Major international organisations based in The Hague include:
Many academic institutions in the fields of international relations, international law and international development are based in The Hague. The Hague Academic Coalition (HAC) is a consortium of those institutions.
Its member institutions are:
In 1948 The Hague Congress was held with 750 delegates from 26 European countries, providing them with the opportunity to discuss ideas about the development of the European Union.
Professional life in The Hague is dominated by the large number of civil servants and diplomats who work in the city. Government ministries and public institutions are almost all located in The Hague. It is also home to several large international business, including:
There has never been any large-scale industrial activity in The Hague, with the possible exception of the fishing harbour in Scheveningen. Many of the city’s logistical and minor-industrial services are located in the Binckhorst district, which contains many large warehouses.
The Hague has its share of museums and cultural institutions:
Other tourist attractions and landmarks in The Hague include:
The Hague does not have the customary metropolitan reputation for a bustling night life, with some festivity exceptions in the course of the year. This is partly explained by the city's lack of a university and hence student life. Night life centers around the three main squares in the city center: the Plein (literally "Square"), the Grote Markt (literally "Great Market") and the Buitenhof (literally the "Outer Court", which lies just outside the Binnenhof). The Plein is taken by several large sidewalk cafés where often politicians may be spotted. The Grote Markt is completely strewn with chairs and tables, summer or winter. The Buitenhof contains the popular Pathé Buitenhof cinema and a handful of bars and restaurants in the immediate vicinity. A similar pattern of night life centers on the cinema in Scheveningen, although, especially in summer, night life concentrates around the sea-front boulevard with its bars, restaurants and gambling halls.
Public transport in The Hague consists of a sizeable number of tram and bus routes, operated by HTM Personenvervoer. Plans for a subway were shelved in the early 1970s. However, in 2004 a tunnel was built under the city centre with two underground tram stations ("Spui" and "Grote Markt"); it is shared by tram routes 2, 3, 4 and 6.
A regional light rail system called RandstadRail connects The Hague to nearby cities, Zoetermeer and Rotterdam. The system suffered from startup problems and derailings in 2006, but is fully operational now.
There are two main train stations in The Hague: Den Haag Hollands Spoor (HS) and Den Haag Centraal Station (CS), only 1.5 km distant from each other. Because these two stations were built and exploited by two different railway companies in the 19th century, east-west lines terminate at Centraal Station, whereas north-south lines run through Hollands Spoor. The international Thalys and Benelux trains to Paris and Brussels call only at Hollands Spoor. Centraal Station does, however, now offer good connections with the rest of the country, with direct services to most major cities, for instance Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht.
The nearest airport to The Hague is Rotterdam The Hague Airport. It is, however, not easily reachable by public transport. With several direct trains per hour from the railway stations Hollands Spoor and Centraal, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is more frequently used by people travelling to and from The Hague by air.
Major motorways connecting to The Hague include the A12, running to Utrecht and the German border. The A12 runs directly into the heart of the city in a cutting. Built in the 1970s, this section of motorway (the "Utrechtsebaan") is now heavily overburdened. Plans were made in the late 1990s for a second artery road into the city (the "Trekvliettracé" or previously called "Rotterdamsebaan") but have continually been put on hold. Other connecting motorways are the A4, which connects the city with Amsterdam, and the A13, which runs to Rotterdam and connects to motorways towards the Belgian border. There is also the A44 that connects the city to Leiden, Haarlem and Amsterdam.
The Hague is twinned with:
Bethlehem, Palestinian Authority [5]
Juigalpa, Nicaragua
Nazareth, Israel
Swansea, United Kingdom
Warsaw, Poland[6]
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The Hague [1] (Dutch: Den Haag or 's-Gravenhage) is in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. It is the seat of the Dutch government, and the residence of the Queen, although Amsterdam is officially the capital city. The municipality has about 470,000 inhabitants, with the greater urban area numbering about 1,000,000. The Hague lies on the North Sea and is home to Scheveningen beach, the most popular beach of the Netherlands, as well as the seaside resort of Kijkduin.
Internationally, The Hague is probably best known as a place where many international courts are located. Among these are the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and, since 2004, the controversial International Criminal Court. Because of these UN institutions along with other EU institutions, multinational companies such as Shell Oil, and embassies, The Hague has a distinct international character - one that is noticeably different from Amsterdam. Rather than having the many foreign tourists and fortune-seekers attracted by Amsterdam's reputation for excitement and liberalism, The Hague generally has more expatriates working and living in the city because of the number of international institutions and companies. Because of this, The Hague has a reputation as a wealthy, conservative and somewhat sedate city.
The Hague has very little of the edginess and excitement of Amsterdam; however, it provides well for its inhabitants in different ways, such as large areas of green space, 11 km of coastline, attractive shopping streets and an extensive multicultural scene. Rather than having canals like other Dutch cities, The Hague has streets and avenues which are just a little bit wider than those in the rest of the country, giving the city a more continental feel. Instead of the typical Dutch renaissance 17th-century step-gabled houses, it has 18th-century mansions in baroque and classicist styles. The city is considered by many as the most stately of the country. Just outside the city center, posh neighborhoods effuse a more 19th century look with eclectic and art nouveau architecture.
The further you get from the sea front and the city center, however, the more neighborhoods tend to become less well-off. One dividing line between affluent and sketchier areas is drawn by some at Laan van Meerdervoort, which runs parallel to the seaside. Areas away from the sea tend to have much less in the way of green space. An exception to this is one centrally located park, Zuiderpark, which also used to contain the stadium of the local football team ADO Den Haag. Some of its supporters were known as the most notorious hooligans of the country, perpetuating a stereotype of "lower-class" for the inhabitants of that area.
The Hague offers great architecture, from the picturesque government complex of the Binnenhof, to the grand and stately mansions on Lange Voorhout. Museums like the Mauritshuis rank among the best in the country. For food aficionados, The Hague offers some of the country's best Indonesian cuisine, due to large-scale immigration from this former Dutch colony. The city also offers good opportunities for outings, such as extensive green spaces for walking and bicycling as well as dunes and seaside recreation areas just a few tram stops away from the city center. Quaint cities like Delft, known for its famous blue pottery, and the university town of Leiden are just 15 minutes by train. The Hague also offers a few attractions especially appealing to children, such as the miniature city of Madurodam and the 360 degree Omniversum cinema.
Over the past 10 years, the city has undergone an extensive amount of development in the form of modern architecture projects. Recent constructions include the City Hall and Central Library by American architect Richard Meier, De "Snoeptrommel" (known by the locals as Candy-Box) - a round shopping center next to the old town hall, and a collection of post-modern, brick-clad office towers in between the city hall and the Centraal railway station, which provide new housing for a number of ministries. A major infrastructural development has been the construction of an underground tram tunnel underneath Grote Marktstraat, which is used by regular trams, and a new light-rail system linking The Hague with the neighboring cities of Zoetermeer and Rotterdam.
A major redevelopment project is currently underway in the area around the Centraal railway station. Here, skyscrapers like the 142 meter Hoftoren rise up over the city and several other high-rise towers are currently under construction. Among them will be a giant building in the shape of a gate between the station and the city by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas. There are also plans to build a museum of national history.
The Hague does not have its own airport. The closest major international hub is Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, which is between 30 and 40 minutes away by train. Another option is Rotterdam Airport, which serves a few European cities, and is about 25 minutes away from the city center by car, but can be difficult to get to via public transportation.
The Hague has two main train stations, serving domestic and international routes.
Den Haag Centraal is in the process of being renovated, and is the biggest train station in The Hague. It is within walking distance of the city center and from Malieveld park. It has connections to Amsterdam (45 minutes), Schiphol Airport (30 minutes), Utrecht (35 minutes), Groningen (2 and 1/2 hours) and many other cities throughout the Randstad and the Netherlands. You can get to Centraal Station from a variety of international destinations such as Cologne, Berlin, Frankfurt, Prague, Moscow, Basel and Copenhagen via the city of Utrecht. Upon arrival, the city center of The Hague is about a 5 minute walk from the Centraal Station. Leave through the left side entrance (look for the tram station stops) and walk through the glass passageway and straight ahead. You should reach the center of town in less than 5 minutes.
Den Haag HS (Hollands Spoor) is only a 15 minute walk from Central Station. It has connections by Thalys high-speed train to Antwerp, Brussels and Paris, as well as domestic connections to Rotterdam, Eindhoven, Amsterdam, Leiden and Delft. Southbound trains from Den Haag CS always pass through Hollands Spoor. To get to the city center, walk straight ahead from the main entrance and follow the Stationsweg road through Chinatown, and you'll end up right in the middle of town.
Visitors are most likely to use Centraal Station, as it is closer to the center of town, tourist attractions and shopping. It also has the best local public transport links via tram and bus, and is also safer at night than Hollands Spoor, which is in a somewhat sketchy area of town. The only reason for using Hollands Spoor is to catch the international trains to Antwerp, Brussels and Paris. In addition to southbound trains from Centraal, tram lines 9, 10, 15, 16 and 17 also cover the short distance from Centraal Station to Hollands Spoor. Both stations have trains that go to and from Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam.
The Hague is connected by toll-free motorways to Amsterdam (A4 and A44), Rotterdam (A13) and Utrecht (A12). Access to the center of town is through the A12 motorway which penetrates the city center like a needle and ends on a large traffic junction just north of the historic center. Approaching and leaving the city from any of these motorways can take a long time during the morning and evening rush hours. On hot summer days, hundreds of thousands of people try to reach Scheveningen beach by car, and huge traffic jams of up to 50 km long may occur, causing traffic delays of up to several hours. On such days, consider taking public transportation. A park and ride facility, P+R Hoornwijck, opened in 2008 on the Laan van Hoornwijck by the Ypenburg interchange. Motorists can easily reach it from the A4 (Exit 9) and A13 (Exit 7).
The Hague has an efficient city wide system of lightrail (called Randstadrail), trams and buses, running mostly on free tracks allowing for a fairly speedy ride. HTM [2] runs the public transport system in The Hague and some of the surrounding area. Rotterdam-based RET [3] runs a Randstadrail line between The Hague and Rotterdam, through various suburbs. Connexxion [4] runs regional bus services to the areas surrounding The Hague.
Fares are paid using the "strippenkaart" system as everywhere else in the country. Strippenkaarten containing between 2 and 45 strips are bought in advance; travellers are expected to validate one strip plus one extra for every "zone" they travel through on their trip. You can find out where zones begin and end on any route map. For example, trips within the city center require two strips, while trips to the Statenkwartier area or to Scheveningen require three. When travelling on trams, validate your ticket at the on-board machines. On buses, just tell the driver where you need to go and he will validate the appropriate number of strips. It is possible to use one strippenkaart for two people; just validate the same amount of strips twice. Night buses run on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays only and use special tickets which can be purchased from the driver.
If this all sounds too complicated to you, day tickets are available as well at €6, and bus and tram drivers sell single tickets, day returns and day tickets as well. As opposed to the nationwide strippenkaart, these are only valid in The Hague, and they are all more expensive than the strippenkaart, which should cost you the equivalent of €0.90 per town center trip. Tickets can be bought from the HTM offices at Centraal Station and Hollands Spoor as well as from the 'Kiosk' stands at those stations. In town, tobacconists, book shops, supermarkets and tourist office usually sell strippenkaarts and tickets, as does the HTM shop at Wagenstraat 35.
Centraal Station has easy access to trams on the south side (Rijnstraat), but the main lines (Randstadrail 3 and 4, tram 2 and 6) stop on platforms crossing the main station hall at level 1. You can find buses on the bus platform above the railway tracks. Central Station is currently finishing up a major reconstruction work which may make some connections hard to find. Just ask at the information kiosk at the center of the station if you can't find your tram or bus. Hollands Spoor has trams and buses stopping in the front of its main entrance.
While you can enter trams without having a valid ticket, there is a €35 fine in addition to paying the price of your ticket if you end up getting caught by the conductor. If you do decide to sneak on and get caught, the conductor will sometimes let you just buy your ticket from the driver. Many local kids just sneak off the tram at the first stop when conductors enter the tram, as stops are usually fairly close to each other. More recently, security and HTM personnel have orders of checking tickets more thoroughly, especially in the City Center. This policy covers almost all tramlines. (i.e., on all tramways between the major train stations). When caught, there is the possibility of arrest (on top of a fine); therefore, it's advised to not try and cheat the system.
The Hague's city center is fairly compact and you can easily navigate the area on foot. From Centraal Station, it's about a 10 minute walk to the Binnenhof and the Hofvijver pond.
The heart of the city contains most of the historic architecture from the medieval, renaissance, and Baroque periods and is easily accessible on foot. You'll also find lots of outdoor cafes and shopping near the Plein on the Lange Poten or just east of there on the Hofweg.
The Statenkwartier area, located between the dunes and the city center, has leafy avenues and 19th century housing and is very popular with The Hague's large expatriate community. The area is nice for walking tours of the 19th-century mansions which showcase architectural diversity in The Hague. All kinds of neo- and modern-styles are represented here, especially Art Nouveau architecture. Good shops, delicatessens and restaurants are to be found on Statenkwartier's main street, Frederik Hendriklaan, or 'Fred'. The area also has a number of tourist attractions which make it worth a visit, most of them being clustered around the Gemeentemuseum on Stadhouderslaan.
Since The Hague was founded on a former hunting manor, there are a variety of parks and green spaces that are ideal for exploration. Like the majority of cities in the Netherlands, The Hague is extremely bike friendly and it's easy to get from one place to another on a bicycle if you feel like stepping outside the city center. Scheveningen (and to a lesser extent Kijkduin) is a busy seaside resort filled with boardwalk cafes and close to the dunes. The prime months to get out and see The Hague on foot or by pedal are in the late spring, summer, and early fall months; just note that the beachfront area can get extremely crowded as vacationers from all over Europe come to visit and bask along the North Sea coastline.
Most of the main department stores are located near the city center.
You can find the best shopping in The Hague on the side streets that circle out from the city center. While lots of them are upscale, you can find a few bargain stores dotted here and there.
Just as Indian restaurants abound in the UK, the Netherlands has an excellent tradition in Indonesian and colonial Dutch-Indies cuisine. After Indonesia became independent from the Netherlands in 1945, the country received a large number of former colonials from Dutch and mixed descent who had been forced to leave the newly independent colony. The Hague received a relatively large number of these people and is still a center of the Dutch-Indonesian community.
During summer, the "Grote markt" becomes a big open air terrace, great for people watching and music festivals!
Check the "Haagenda" for current events link->[24]
You should take normal precautions against pickpockets and baggage theft, especially in the main shopping streets, in trams and trains, at stations, and anywhere where tourists congregate. Street begging is common around the Hollands Spoor train station and at the Grote Markt. Most of them are homeless and non-aggressive and a simple 'no' will be enough. At night, the city center is pretty safe, because of the large number of police cameras monitoring this area. Neighborhoods south-west of the center are less affluent and may not be as safe. The area between Zuiderpark and Hollands Spoor has a bad reputation due to the increasing number of street gangs. Schilderswijk and Transvaal areas are blocks that should be avoided after dark. If you are unsure, take a taxi to your destination. Taking a tram is also considered safe, as the so-called 'risky lines' in this area now have a security team on board from 8PM till 1AM.
Many people move to the Randstad area (including The Hague, Amsterdam, Rotterdam) either for a year out, work (as an Expatriate) or to join partners (who are mostly either Expatriates or Dutch). There are specialist websites for English and non-Dutch speakers looking to work in The Hague (and Randstad area) and a good place to start; Blue Lynx - Employment by Language [38].
Immigration matters are dealt with by the Immigration Service IND [39]. Registration is done by both police and municipalities. Immigration policy is restrictive and deliberately bureaucratic. That is especially true for non-EU citizens.
European Union citizens do not require a work permit. Australians, New Zealanders and Canadians are afforded a one year working-holiday visa. In general the employer must apply for work permits. Immigration is easier for "knowledge migrants" earning a gross annual salary of over € 45 000 (over € 33 000 for those under 30).
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