The Hague (/heɪɡ/ HAYG; Dutch: Den Haag [dɛn ˈɦaːx] ⓘ or 's-Gravenhage [ˌsxraːvə(n)ˈɦaːɣə] ⓘ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands.

[11] In the 15th century, the name des Graven hage came into use, literally meaning "the Count's Grove", with connotations such as "hedge", "private enclosure" or "hunting grounds".

He died in 1256 before this palace was completed but parts of it were finished during the reign of his son Floris V, of which the Ridderzaal ("Knights' Hall"), still intact, is the most prominent.

Although their seat was in The Hague, the city became subordinate to more important centres of government such as Brussels and Mechelen, from where the sovereigns ruled over the increasingly centralised Burgundian Netherlands.

[11] At the beginning of the Eighty Years' War, the absence of city walls proved disastrous, as it allowed Spanish troops to easily occupy the town.

In 1575, the States of Holland, temporarily based in Delft, even considered demolishing the city but this proposal was abandoned, after mediation by William the Silent.

In 1806, when the Kingdom of Holland was a puppet state of the First French Empire, the settlement was granted city rights by Louis Bonaparte.

Many streets were specifically built for the large number of civil servants employed in the country's government and for the Dutchmen who were retiring from the administration of the Netherlands East Indies.

The target was an installation of V-2 rockets in the nearby Haagse Bos park, but because of navigational errors, the bombs fell on a heavily populated and historic part of the city.

In 1962, David Jokinen saw an opportunity to put an end to the situation where two main stations each served only part of the rail traffic.

This large conurbation centred on The Hague and Rotterdam is, in turn, part of the Randstad—specifically a band of municipalities called the South Wing (Zuidvleugel).

The wealthier areas such as Statenkwartier, Belgisch Park, Marlot, Benoordenhout and Archipelbuurt are generally in the northwestern part of the city, closer to the sea, whereas the southeastern neighbourhoods such as Transvaal, Moerwijk, and the Schilderswijk are significantly poorer, except the Vinex-locations of Leidschenveen-Ypenburg and Wateringse Veld.

Many streets are named after places in the Netherlands East Indies (as well as other former Dutch colonies such as Suriname) and there is a sizable "Indo" (i.e. mixed Dutch-Indonesian) community.

The tallest buildings of The Hague are both 146-meter-tall ministries of Justice and Security and the Interior and Kingdom Relations of the Netherlands, designed by Hans Kollhoff.

A direct result of these meetings was the establishment of the world's first organisation for the settlement of international disputes, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA).

Shortly thereafter, the Scottish-American millionaire Andrew Carnegie made the necessary funds available to build the Peace Palace to house the PCA.

The city is also host to the regional headquarters of Siemens, T-Mobile, AT&T, Huawei, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, McDermott International, Saudi Aramco, TotalEnergies and Worley.

The Buitenhof (literally "Outer Court", located just outside the Binnenhof) contains a six-screen Pathé cinema and a handful of bars and restaurants in the immediate vicinity.

These buildings, designed by Rem Koolhaas in 1988, have been demolished to make space for a new theatre, Amare, which would house both institutes as well as the Royal Conservatory.

At the heart of the city centre across the palace gardens is the home of Summerschool Den Haag, an international school for dance with guest teachers such as Valentina Scaglia, Igone de Jongh, and Maia Makhateli.

Scheveningen forms a second cultural centre of The Hague, having its own Pathé cinema as well as the musical theatre Circustheater although, especially in the summer, most night life concentrates around the sea-front boulevard with its bars, restaurants and gambling halls.

Several other attractions can be found in Scheveningen, such as the miniature park Madurodam, the Beelden aan Zee museum, and a Sea Life Centre.

The Hague has its share of museums, most notably the Mauritshuis, located next to the Binnenhof, which exhibits many paintings by Dutch masters, such as Johannes Vermeer, Rembrandt van Rijn and Paulus Potter.

[51] Several films have been (partially) shot in The Hague, including Mindhunters (2004), Hum Tum (2004), Ocean's Twelve (2004), Black Book (2006) and Sonny Boy (2011).

[52] Notable actors and filmmakers from The Hague include Martin Koolhoven, Georgina Verbaan, Carel Struycken, Frederique van der Wal, Marwan Kenzari, Anna Drijver, Renée Soutendijk and Paul Verhoeven, who grew up in the city from an early age.

[53] On 13 May 2021, football club ADO Den Haag was relegated from the Eredivisie as they lost their final game of the season against Willem II.

[57] Vlaggetjesdag (nl), literally Flag Day, is the annual celebration of the arrival of the year's first herring (Hollandse Nieuwe) in Scheveningen.

Den Haag Sculptuur is an open-air exhibition of sculptures; the tenth such event, in 2007, celebrated the 400 years of the relationship between the Netherlands and Australia.

However, with several direct trains per hour from the railway stations Hollands Spoor and Centraal, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is more frequently used by people travelling to and from The Hague by air.

Public transport in The Hague consists of a tramway network and a sizeable number of bus routes, operated by HTM Personenvervoer.