Into the Flowers: Netherlands (9) - The Imperial City by the Sea

If Amsterdam, the largest city in the Netherlands, is a city on a canal, and Rotterdam, the second largest city in the Netherlands, is a city on a river, then The Hague, the third largest city in the Netherlands, is on the seaside. city. This city adjacent to the North Sea is not only the only large city in the Netherlands adjacent to the sea, but also the out-and-out political center of the Netherlands. It is the seat of the Dutch central government, parliament and foreign embassies. It is also the home of international organizations including the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. It is also the long-term residence of the Dutch royal family. Why did The Hague, which was not the capital, become the imperial city of the Netherlands?

This goes back to the time of Charlemagne in the Frankish Kingdom. Before the emperor's death, he signed the Treaty of Verdun, dividing the kingdom among his three sons, and the location of The Hague belonged to the Kingdom of Middle Frankia. Before the king of the Middle Frankish Kingdom passed away, he signed the Treaty of Meerssen and divided the Middle Frankish Kingdom among his three sons. The Hague became part of the East after the Middle Frankish Kingdom was divided into three. Frankia was later merged into the Kingdom of East Francia before the Treaty of Melsen was signed due to the extinction of the heirs. From the Treaty of Verdun signed in 843 AD to the Treaty of Melson signed in 870 AD, The Hague on the sea has been under attack by Viking pirates. A man named Gerolf of Holland defeated The Vikings were rewarded by the Frankish king. In addition to rewarding him with land including The Hague, the king also named him Count of the Netherlands. The name Holland was derived from his surname.

More than 300 years later, William I, a descendant of this Dutch earl, was born in The Hague. When William grew up, he participated in the Third Crusade to retake Jerusalem occupied by the Muslim Saladin, and then turned The Hague into his hunting ground, so The Hague is also known as the "Count's Forest". This name, at first glance, is different from Amsterdam and Rotterdam, which were "born" in the swamp. That’s right, if the biggest feature of Amsterdam and Rotterdam is water, then the biggest feature of The Hague is trees. This difference makes The Hague’s development path different from that of cities along the river. It failed to catch up with the development of the woolen textile industry along the Rhine, Scheldt and Meuse rivers after the 11th century, but found a unique way to develop into the imperial city of the Netherlands. The name of this imperial city comes from William II, the son of William I. World.

William II was elected king of the Romans, the German king, during the Great Interregnum of the Holy Roman Empire. It was he who granted Delft city rights. After the only German king in Dutch history was elected, he immediately built a castle in The Hague and erected high hedges. From the day this castle was "entrusted", The Hague's status as the Royal City of the Netherlands has been unshakable. These high hedges gave The Hague the name "Earl's Hedge". The castle built by William II became today's Knights Hall (Binnenhof). Whenever the Parliament is in session, the Dutch monarch will give a speech here, officially The royal reception will also be held here.

The imperial city with only fences and no walls was "born" in the middle of the 13th century. At this time, England was in the reign of Henry III, the founding monarch of the Plantagenet Dynasty, who ushered in the most powerful feudal dynasty in the Middle Ages; France was in the reign of Louis IX, who was both a king and a saint and was known as the "King of Kings" ". Each of these three "big names" is not a fuel-efficient lamp. You can imagine how lively Europe was at that time. And in the East at this time, Constantinople, which controlled the East-West trade hub, was in Latin America established by the Robber Crusaders. In the hands of the Empire; the Sultanate of Roma, which successfully resisted the invasion of the Crusaders, split and became a vassal of the Mongol Ilkhanate. It was during these historical events that The Hague entered the stage of history.

When The Hague was in its infancy, today's Netherlands had not yet emerged. With the murder of William II, the crown of "King of the Romans" was also placed on the head of Henry III of the Plantagenet Dynasty. When Henry III died, Holy. Rudolf I, the Roman emperor and the founder of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty, ended the Great Interregnum, and The Hague was merged into the Habsburg dynasty.

Although The Hague was not an important presence to the Habsburg Empire at this time, its geographical location near the North Sea allowed it to make a living from the herring trade. With the advent of the revolutionary innovation of the "one-shot evisceration method" of preserving herring in the Netherlands, and with the outbreak of the Black Death on the European continent, the obscure The Hague began to come to life, and some small towns were built near the castle. At that time, cities such as Antwerp and Bruges were so "red" that they turned purple, but The Hague was not even a city, let alone a city wall. However, this is the residence of the Dutch Count.

In the first year of the 16th century, when European super-monarch Charles V was born, The Hague was approved to build a city wall. However, the residents of the city rejected this directive and raised funds to build a city hall. This decision gave it a The tragedy that followed laid the foundation. When Charles V unified the northern and southern Netherlands, The Hague spent a quiet time, but it was still not a "new force" in the Netherlands economically. At this time, its neighbors Delft and Rotterdam had become textile companies. Trade center and brewing center, etc. Shortly after the death of Charles V, a revolution broke out in the Northern Netherlands against the Spanish Empire. The Hague, which had no city walls, was unlucky because it was the center of the revolution. Not only was the castle captured, but the settlement outside the castle was burned to the ground. It was not easy for the Dutch Republic to be established, but Maurice, who pushed the Republic to its climax, had an 80-year war with the Spanish Empire, and The Hague continued to suffer misfortune. At the beginning of the war, it was plundered by Spanish troops and almost destroyed.

As the Republic of the Netherlands moves towards glory step by step, The Hague is also ushering in good times. Morris built a canal here, strengthened the fortifications, and moved the National Assembly and the National Congress here. However, it was still not a city at this time, and it still had no city walls. The Hague was finally upgraded to a city when Napoleon's brother Louis Bonaparte ruled here, but by this time, the bright flowers of the Netherlands had withered. So when did the flowers in The Hague really start blooming all year round?

We have to wait until the "waist" of the Dutch "in-laws" - the Russian Empire is particularly thick. After the Russian Tsar Alexander I, known as the "Savior of Europe", drove the French army away from the Dutch soil, Russia became the "big brother" of the Netherlands. He himself also betrothed his sister to the Benelux Kingdom. King of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. With the independence of Belgium and Luxembourg, the outbreak of the French Revolution, and the strengthening of the power of the Dutch House of Lords and the House of Commons, The Hague, the imperial city where the House of Lords and the House of Commons is located, developed rapidly with the full support of "Big Brother" , by the end of the 19th century, the population had reached nearly 200,000. The prosperity of the city brought great cultural development, and the Hague School, which presented Dutch scenery, emerged here. After that, the Hague School painters gathered in Amsterdam, forming Amsterdam Impressionism.

Chinese people often say, "A thousand-mile horse always exists, but a bole does not always exist." This is absolutely true. If the "thousand-mile horse" of Amsterdam had its first and second golden ages because of the favor of the two "bole" Maurice and the Russian Czar, then the "thousand-mile horse" of The Hague was favored by the German King. Only with the support of the two "bo le", William II and the Russian Tsar, did he gain the status of the imperial city and his unparalleled power. Looking at the modern development history of the Netherlands, is it true that the Netherlands and Russia have "broken bones but still connected tendons"? No wonder even Putin's eldest daughter married a wealthy Dutch businessman.

However, this "big brother" cannot protect the Netherlands and The Hague forever. During World War II, this imperial city was "fat beaten" by the German army because it was located on Germany's Atlantic defense line. In addition to the demolition of buildings on the Atlantic defense line, the German army also staged the first airborne battle in world history here. I don’t know if I should describe the Netherlands as “the head and the rat at both ends”. It remained neutral during World War I, but the pro-French royal family had been cooperating with France’s extension of the “Maginot Line” against Germany before the start of World War II. Carry out fortress defense. Seeing the outbreak of World War II, the Netherlands found that the situation was not good and declared neutrality. However, this time the Netherlands was not so lucky. During World War II, the vast Netherlands was located on the most convenient route for the German army to bypass the Maginot Line and attack France. Hitler was worried that the British and French forces would enter the Netherlands to set up defenses, so he hypocritically allowed the Netherlands to be neutral and recognized the Dutch as an Aryan nation. However, In fact, it was just to paralyze the Netherlands.

The Netherlands, which remained neutral, was not stupid. It entered a state of defensive operations the day after Poland was invaded, planning to use the Dutch army to delay the German attack before the arrival of the British and French armies. To this end, the Netherlands has set up three lines of defense. The last line is the Dutch fortress consisting of Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Utrecht and The Hague. But what the German army wants to destroy is this fortress of the Dutch central nervous system, and the Dutch royal family, government agencies and senior officials The Hague, where the headquarters is located, naturally bore the brunt. However, the German army, which used airborne troops for the first time, encountered a counterattack by the Dutch army after occupying three airports in The Hague. The German Air Force was driven out of The Hague Airport, and The Hague won the defense battle. Compared with the center of Rotterdam, which was bombed to pieces, The Hague, the royal city of the Netherlands, is lucky. I thought it should be as quaint as Delft and Amersfoort in the Netherlands, and it was with this expectation that I drove into its city center. Will my expectations be dashed?

Yes. The center of The Hague is not beautiful at all. It has neither the unique appearance of a medieval town, nor the canals of Amsterdam, nor the modern style of Rotterdam. The houses in the city generally have no more than three floors, and the buildings have no characteristics and are not eye-catching at all. Most of the canals built by Morris dried up in the 19th century. These make The Hague look so mediocre that I think I don’t even know where to take pictures, but fortunately there is the Peace Palace in The Hague. In my eyes, it is the most beautiful building in The Hague. Because of it, The Hague has become a major trustee city of the United Nations together with cities such as New York and Brussels.

This brown-red two-story palace-style building with two pointed towers was built in the early 20th century in Renaissance style and was donated by the American steel magnate Andrew Carnegie. It is said that the vaulted halls on the ground floor of the Peace Palace are all marble decorated with golden reliefs, and the floor is patterned with milky white and light blue marble. In the middle of the main corridor in the middle of the hall is a stone sculpture of the Goddess of Justice presented by the United States. Behind the stone sculpture is a floor-to-ceiling window inlaid with stained glass. Gifts from various countries are placed in the corridor, including cloisonné vases presented by China. There is a conference room here named "Japanese Room" because all the objects in it are from Japan. The Queen of the Netherlands and the royal family live a pampered life here every day.

If it were just a royal palace, there would be nothing surprising about the Peace Palace. Its most special feature is that it is recognized by the world as the capital of international law. The International Court of Justice, the Permanent International Tribunal of Arbitration and The Hague Academy of International Law are all located there. Here it is. Why does the Peace Palace have such a high title? The reason is that World War I broke out in the second year after the Peace Palace was built. The League of Nations established after the war established the Permanent Court of International Justice here. After World War II, it was renamed the International Court of Justice together with the International Court of Arbitration. The two courts are located on either side of the first floor of the Peace Palace. There is also a public international law library and international law school in the Peace Palace. After 1950, students studying international law from various countries can come here to take exams every year, and after passing, they can be awarded a degree. What makes the Peace Palace outstanding is that it is a gathering place for world-renowned international law experts, and many important international conventions were adopted here. In order to express people's love and yearning for peace, the monument outside the Peace Palace is surrounded by a World Peace Road composed of 197 stones representing countries around the world, including an emerald jade stone donated by China.

How I wish I could go in and have a look at the "famous face", but the damn Netherlands is under lockdown and the door of the Peace Palace is closed. I can only look through the door and look at what is so close but seems so far away. It's at the end of the world. I left the Peace Palace with great regret and drove to the North Sea coast, where there is a Kurhaus Hotel. In this royal city of the Netherlands, there is also a hotel named after Mr. Li Hongzhang. I am full of curiosity. This palace-style five-star hotel is located in Sea Life Scheveningen (Sea Life Scheveningen) on the North Sea of ??The Hague. Li Hongzhang was sent by the Empress Dowager Cixi to attend the coronation of the Czar in Russia as the first-class envoy. He later visited seven European countries and passed through the Netherlands. When I stayed here, it was called "Li Hongzhang Hotel" by the local Chinese.

The appearance of this hotel is extremely beautiful. When I drove in and took a look at it from a distance, I was immediately attracted by it. However, I was not allowed to park here. I had no choice but to look for a parking space along the street.

I finally found one in a high-end residential area on the shore. When I got out of the car, I saw that it was in Dutch again and I didn't know how to pay. There happened to be a car coming out of the residential area and I asked a gentleman to help me solve the problem. Feeling relaxed, I started walking along the north coast and enjoying the beautiful scenery of Scheveningen.

Scheveningen is the most famous seaside resort in the Netherlands and the most popular seaside town in the Benelux countries. It has been the first choice for locals for vacation and leisure for hundreds of years. Now there are Ten million tourists visit. In mid-June, the Herring Festival takes place on the beach. At that time, people dressed in traditional costumes celebrate the first net of fresh herring amid flags waving in the wind. And every weekend night in August, the International Fireworks Festival and open-air concerts will be held here. At that time, gorgeous fireworks and dynamic melodies will make this place a sea of ??joy. But it's winter now, and neither the Herring Festival nor the International Fireworks Festival or open-air concerts are available to me. Winter is really not a good season to visit the Netherlands.

While strolling along the clean and tidy North Coast, I walked towards the Li Hongzhang Hotel. At the front desk, I told the two older receptionists about Li Hongzhang's past and hoped to visit this high-end hotel. After listening to my story, they said they had never heard of it and found it very interesting. One of them also took me to visit the lobby of the hotel and introduced me to the history of the hotel.

This palace-style hotel built by the sea has been a social place for the upper class since the day it was built by a German architect at the end of the 19th century. Originally a concert hall and a hotel, it was rebuilt after suffering a fire and the ceilings were painted by artists from Brussels. The newly built hotel has hosted many kings and heads of state, including Li Hongzhang. Before the mid-1960s, the concert hall here was a public attraction, and many top artists performed here, including the British rock band The Rolling Stones and the American rhythm dance kings Ike & Tina Turner. Bit. In this top hotel, you can also admire the stunning paintings of Vermeer, the master of the Dutch Golden Age. Of course, for a person like me who lacks the ability to paint, I cannot appreciate paintings no matter how shocking they are. I only feel that these paintings are famous all over the world because someone wants them to be famous.

After leaving this beautiful palace-style hotel, I walked into the high-end residential area facing the sea. I wanted to find out whether the housing prices here were comparable to those on the Hudson River in New York. It’s expensive, but there’s not even a soul in the residential area. Although my curiosity was not satisfied, standing on the heights of the residential area and looking at the ever-changing Beihai gave me mixed feelings. The Vikings, the Hanseatic League, the Spanish Empire and the Dutch Republic were all making waves in this sea, pushing the wheel of history forward. I "heard that you were in the distance, so I set off and traveled thousands of miles. Chasing the scenery along the way, I also took your breath with me. I blew the wind you blew, which is not considered an embrace. I walked the road you walked, this is considered It’s not an encounter.”