The History of The Hague

Paintings and objects bring the history of The Hague to life in the Haagse Historisch Museum.

A few top pieces are the – don’t be shocked – tongue and finger of the brothers De Witt, a dollhouse from 1910 and the nearly five-metre-wide A View of The Hague from 1651 by Jan van Goyen.

Discover how The Hague grew from village ‘Die Haghe’ into a large city with over half a million citizens.

The Haags Historisch Museum tells the story of the history of the city at a historic location by the Hofvijver pond. Here, the shooters of the Sint Sebastiaans Guild used to meet. Several group portraits of these shooters can be viewed in the Schutterszaal, such as the one of painter Jan van Ravesteyn. Be sure to take a look at the digital grow card of The Hague and discover how the city started out from village ‘Die Haghe’ with 1,200 people and grew to become a large city with over half a million citizens.

Hey, did you know?

Those who pay attention will see the stork everywhere in The Hague: on paintings, in logos of football club ADO Den Haag and in the city’s crest. The stork has been The Hague’s mascot since the 16^th century. The bird was probably chosen because it was a frequent occurrence in the city and because it’s lucky.