Features

Netherlands - Art (Nouveau) in The Hague

by Mike Levy

She is hard to avoid – that girl with a pearl earring. Her image is everywhere in Holland’s administrative capital which has an entirely unmerited reputation for dullness (spread I imagine by Amsterdamers).

In fact it is an exciting city of art and imposing buildings. Aside from the Mauritshuis with its famous Vermeer, it is a city brimming with Art Nouveau houses and public buildings with their characteristic meandering lines, plant and flower motifs and late 19th/early 20th century grandeur of scale.

You don’t have to go further than the city’s expansive main square, Het Plein, to catch a first glimpse of The Hague’s rich past. Take a look at No. 20 – a three-storey mansion adorned with flowery carvings built for a wealthy family of bankers in 1905. Just round the corner is Hofstad Apotheek, a chemist shop with a completely intact 1909 interior with its sea-green wall tiles, glass cases and fan lights. A few minutes away is the city’s first shopping arcade, the elegant De Passage (built in 1894) that sits under a huge glass dome (pictured). Nearby at 43 Venestraat, is a shop from 1902 – you can guess what it sold by the fancy parasol frieze by the door.

This is a small sample of the many eye-turning buildings in this fine city. I recommend combining a walking tour (buy the book from the Tourist Information Centre) combined with many stops for an excellent coffee, a refreshing glass of Heineken (or two) and a courtesy visit to that beautiful young woman with her fancy earring.

Tourist Office
Hofweg 1
The Hague
Telephone: (+31) (0)900 340 35 05
E-mail: info@vvvdenhaag.nl
www.denhaag.com

How to get there:
If you have time, drive to Harwich and take the Stena Line ferry to the Hook of Holland. The Hague is less than 20 miles away. You can also take a train from The Hook and be in the city centre in under an hour. Buy tickets on the ship.

You can fly into Rotterdam (a short hop away) with Transavia Airlines or take a flight to Amsterdam and take a fast train from the airport to The Hague.