What does Hague mean in Dutch?
The city's name recalls the hunting lodge of the counts of Holland, which was located in a woodland area called Haghe, or “hedge” (whence 's-Gravenhage, “the counts' private enclosure”).
Meaning of The Hague in English
The Hague. /ðə ˈheɪɡ/ us. /ðə ˈheɪɡ/ the government capital of the Netherlands, in the western part of the country: The tribunal was held in The Hague.
The Hague was first mentioned as Die Haghe in 1242. In the 15th century, the name des Graven hage came into use, literally "The Count's Wood", with connotations like "The Count's Hedge, Private Enclosure or Hunting Grounds".
The origin of the name is that the court of the Counts of Holland and their successors has been in The Hague since the Middle Ages and still is (now the Royal Court and Parliament); one would say "hij is in den Hage", meaning "he is in the Hedge/Court", where den is the dative/accusative case of the article de, "the".
Globally, The Hague is known as the international city of peace and justice. For over more than a century, it has been the place where countries gathered in peace conferences and international courts to foster peace through justice, rather than through war and conflict.
The Hague was first mentioned as Die Haghe in 1242. In the 15th century, the name des Graven hage came into use, literally "The Count's Wood", with connotations such as "The Count's Hedge, Private Enclosure or Hunting Grounds". The spelling "'s-Gravenhage" was officially used for the city from the 17th century onward.
The word Holland literally meant “wood-land” in Old English and originally referred to people from the northern region of the Netherlands. Over time, Holland, among English speakers, came to apply to the entire country, though it only refers to two provinces—the coastal North and South Holland—in the Netherlands today.
The Hague, Dutch 's-Gravenhage or Den Haag, City (pop., 2010 est.: 488,553), seat of government of the Netherlands. Located 4 mi (6 km) from the North Sea, it is the administrative capital of the Netherlands, home to its court and government, though Amsterdam is the official capital.
Known worldwide as the city of Peace and Justice, there are several international organizations located in The Hague, Netherlands. For example, the UN's International Court of Justice, which regularly holds trials.
Why is it called The Hague and not Hague?
It has a "the" before its name as this originates from the Dutch appellation (title) 's-Gravenhage, which translates to "The Count's Hedge". During the Middle Ages, the city was known for its vast expanse of forests where the counts of Holland would regularly indulge in a spot of hunting.
The Hague is the 3rd largest city in the Netherlands. Located along the coast, the city is particularly popular with beachgoers who enjoy the sun, sand, sea and the associated amenities.
![What does Hague mean in Dutch? (2024)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/idusXj6REEo/hq720.jpg?sqp=-oaymwE2CNAFEJQDSFXyq4qpAygIARUAAIhCGAFwAcABBvABAfgB1AaAAuADigIMCAAQARhKIFAoZTAP&rs=AOn4CLAM5wgOroWlbWCi5EaxL3FbTcaD0g)
A brief history of the Netherlands and Holland
The Netherlands remained a kingdom after Napoleon's defeat. At that time, the area called “Holland” made the biggest contribution to the entire nation's economy and wealth. As such it became the commonly used name to indicate the entire country.
It comprises much of the northern part of the Randstad, one of the larger conurbations in Europe, with a population of approximately 7 million. Amsterdam's name derives from Amstelredamme, indicative of the city's origin as a dam of the river Amstel.
The term Holland has frequently been used informally to refer to the whole of the modern country of the Netherlands in various languages, including Dutch and English. In some languages, Holland is used as the formal name for the Netherlands.
Historically, the Netherlands has been predominantly Christian, with regional differences in denominations: While the southern provinces are overwhelmingly Catholic, the north and the west of the country (including The Hague) are traditionally Protestant.
The Hague: Job and political security
Similarly, The Hague performed best in the Urban Work Life Index, coming in 15th place. It also achieved an above-average ranking in the Quality of Urban Living Index (29th place vs Amsterdam's 34th) due to the local public transport system and political stability.
These days, The Hague is known as the 'City of Peace and Justice' thanks to the many organisations that have since established themselves in the city; they include the Peace Palace, the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.
The Netherlands has 16 million inhabitants and Dutch is the only official language of the country. Frisian, spoken in the Northern province of Fryslân, has been granted local offical language status too.
It's pretty simple really: technically, the name Holland refers to just part of the Netherlands. Like many other countries around the world, the Netherlands is split into different provinces.
Is Holland and the Netherlands the same thing?
The difference between Holland and Netherlands is the former is a province, while the later is the name of the entire country. According to the CIA World Factbook, the Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed in 1815 (and Belgium seceded from it in 1830—another fun fact I didn't know).
The Dutch people prefer you use “The Netherlands” as Holland is a Western region of the country and consists of two provinces: North Holland and South Holland [it used to be a single Province].
Popular belief holds that the Dutch are a mixture of Frisians, Saxons, and Franks. In fact, research has made plausible the contention that the autochthonous inhabitants of the region were a mixture of pre-Germanic and Germanic population groups who in the course of time had converged on the main deltaic…
The Koninkrijk der Nederlanden (Kingdom of the Netherlands) is made up of 4 countries: Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and the Netherlands.
The United States signed the Convention in 1994, and the Convention entered into force for the United States on April 1, 2008.
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