Blog 2: History of The Hague

The Hague, International City of Peace and Justice.

Blog 2:  History of The Hague
The Hague started as a small village around 1230 with the building of the Knight Hall.

In 1899 there were hundreds of delegates from 26 countries met for three months at Huis ten Bosch (the royal residence) for the First Peace Conference. An attempt to set standards for resolving conflicts between nations, gave birth to the Permanent Court of Arbitration, The conference was originally summoned at the urging of Mikhail Nikolayevich Muravyov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, followed by an even larger Second Peace Conference in The Hague in 1907.

The world-famous Peace Palace in The Hague, was officially opened in 1913 on the eve of the First World War, it was funded by Andrew Carnegie. It is the home to the Permanent Court of Arbitration, it welcomed the Permanent Court of International Justice (under the League of Nations) in 1922. The International Court of Justice is seen as the judicial organ of the United Nations. In 1998, The Hague's 750th birthday celebrated with a grand memorial, and the city international community was well recognized.

The Hague had many special people and celebrities who visited the city of The Hague. The Russian Tsar Peter the Great of Russia visited The Hague in 1697 and 1717, he received a royal welcome. The Italian adventurer Giacomo Casanova visited The Hague in 1759 and fought a duel on the Malieveld. Other famous visitors and residents were Van Gogh, Descartes, Spinoza, Erasmus, Hugo Grotius and Mozart. 

Today The Hague is the third largest city in the Netherlands with a population of ca.463.754 inhabitants. The Hague has always been a city of storks, the stork is on the arms and the logo of the municipality.