Scheveningen (ˈsxeːvənɪŋə(n)) is one of the eight districts of
The HagueThe Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
, as well as a subdistrict (wijk) of that city. Scheveningen is a modern
seaside resortA seaside resort is a resort, or resort town, located on the coast. Where a beach is the primary focus for tourists, it may be called a beach resort.- Overview :...
with a long sandy
beachA beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
, an
esplanadeAn esplanade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The original meaning of esplanade was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide clear fields of fire for the fortress' guns...
, a
pierA pier is a raised structure, including bridge and building supports and walkways, over water, typically supported by widely spread piles or pillars...
, and a
lighthouseA lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
. The beach is popular for water sports such as
windsurfingWindsurfing or sailboarding is a surface water sport that combines elements of surfing and sailing. It consists of a board usually two to four metres long, powered by the orthogonal effect of the wind on a sail. The rig is connected to the board by a free-rotating universal joint and comprises a...
and
kiteboardingKitesurfing or Kiteboarding is an adventure surface water sport that has been described as combining wakeboarding, windsurfing, surfing, paragliding, and gymnastics into one extreme sport. Kitesurfing harnesses the power of the wind to propel a rider across the water on a small surfboard or a...
.
A nudist section is 1 km to the north.
The
harborA harbor or harbour , or haven, is a place where ships, boats, and barges can seek shelter from stormy weather, or else are stored for future use. Harbors can be natural or artificial...
is used for both fishing and tourism.
Subdistricts
The subdistricts of district Scheveningen are:
- Scheveningen
- Duinoord
- Statenkwartier
- Belgisch Park
Belgisch Park is a subdistrict of district Scheveningen in The Hague, the Netherlands. The area has around 7,900 residents and contains many trees and the adjoining “Nieuwe Scheveningse Bosjes” and “Oostduinen”. The buildings date from the period 1870–1940...
- Oostduinen
- Duindorp
- Archipelbuurt
- Van Stolkpark
- Westbroekpark
History
The earliest reference to the name 'Sceveninghe' goes back to around 1280.
There is anecdotal evidence of the name
Scheveningen being used as a
shibbolethA shibboleth is a custom, principle, or belief distinguishing a particular class or group of people, especially a long-standing one regarded as outmoded or no longer important...
during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
to identify German spies: They would pronounce the initial "Sch" differently from Dutch native speakers.
The first inhabitants may have been
Anglo SaxonAnglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
. Other
historianA historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
s favor a
ScandinavianNorsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who spoke what is now called the Old Norse language belonging to the North Germanic branch of Indo-European languages, especially Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, Swedish and Danish in their earlier forms.The meaning of Norseman was "people...
origin.
FishingFishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
was the main source of
foodFood is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...
and
incomeIncome is the consumption and savings opportunity gained by an entity within a specified time frame, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. However, for households and individuals, "income is the sum of all the wages, salaries, profits, interests payments, rents and other forms of earnings...
.
The
Battle of ScheveningenThe Battle of Scheveningen was the final naval battle of the First Anglo-Dutch War...
was fought between English and Dutch fleets off the coast of the village on 10 August 1653. Thousands of people gathered on the shore to watch.
A road to neighbouring Den Haag was constructed in 1663 (current name: Scheveningseweg).
In 1470, a heavy storm destroyed the church and half the houses. The village was again hit by storms in 1570, 1775, 1825, 1860, 1881 and 1894. After this last storm, the villagers decided to build a harbour. Until then, the fishing boats had had a flat bottom (
bomschuiten), and were pulled up the beach. Around 1870 over 150 of these boats were in use. Once the harbour had been constructed in 1904, more modern ships replaced the
bomschuiten.
In 1818, Jacob Pronk constructed a wooden building on a dune near the sea, from where people could bathe from four separate rooms. It marked the start of Scheveningen as a bathing resort. Since then, Scheveningen has attracted numerous tourists from all over Europe, notably from
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
The hotel and restaurant
KurhausThe Kurhaus is a prominent building located in Scheveningen, The Hague in The Netherlands .- History :It was built between 1884 and 1885 by the German architects Johann Friedrich Henkenhaf and Friedrich Ebert . It consisted originally of a concert hall and a hotel with 120 rooms. Having suffered...
was opened in 1886.
The picturesque village attracted many Dutch artists over the centuries, to paint the
bomschuiten drawn up on the beach, or fishermen at work in the
North SeaIn the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
. Notable painters who recorded the village include Adriaen van de Velde,
Simon de VliegerSimon de Vlieger was a Dutch designer, draughtsman, and painter, most famous for his marine paintings.-Life:...
and
Hendrik Willem MesdagHendrik Willem Mesdag was a Dutch marine painter.He was born in Groningen, the son of the banker Klaas Mesdag and his wife Johanna Wilhelmina van Giffen. Mesdag was encouraged by his father, an amateur painter, to study art...
, whose enormous
panoramaA panorama is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film/video, or a three-dimensional model....
, 14 m high and 120 m wide, preserves the view of Scheveningen in 1881.
The
International Skating UnionThe International Skating Union is the international governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded in Scheveningen, Netherlands in 1892, making it one of the oldest international...
was founded in Scheveningen in 1892.
Contrary to popular belief, Scheveningen never was an independent municipality; even in the middle ages it was part of the same administrative region as The Hague; the region had a special status within the county of Holland because of the presence of the Count of Holland.
Nevertheless, Scheveningen always had a strong identity of its own. For instance, it had its own soccer club, playing in the highest Dutch division ("Scheveningen Holland Sport" was its name). In the course of the second half of the former century this club was forced to merge with ADO Den Haag.
From April 21, 1960 the pirate radio station
Radio VeronicaRadio Veronica was an offshore radio station that began broadcasting in 1960, and broadcast from offshore for over fourteen years. It was set up by independent radio, TV and household electrical retailers in the Netherlands to stimulate the sales of radio receivers by providing an alternative to...
broadcast its programmes from an anchorage in the
North SeaIn the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
about four miles off the Scheveningen coast. It was joined by
Radio Noordzee InternationaalRadio North Sea International also known as Radio Nordsee International in German and Radio Noordzee Internationaal in Dutch, was a European offshore radio station, run by the Swiss firm Mebo Telecommunications, jointly owned by Swiss engineer, Edwin Bollier, and his business partner, Erwin Meister...
(RNI) in 1970 and the relaunched
Radio CarolineRadio Caroline is an English radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly...
in late 1972. When the Netherlands ratified The Treaty of Strasbourg on September 1, 1974, Veronica applied for legal status and became the VOO, Caroline moved anchorage to the English coast, and RNI closed down completely. Memorable episodes during this period included the stranding of Radio Veronica's ship the Norderney which lost its anchor in a storm and ran aground on Scheveningen beach on April 2, 1973 and a firebomb attack on RNI's ship the Mebo Two on 15 May 1971.
Events and attractions
Annual events include:
- Winter swim on New Year's Day, locally known as Nieuwjaarsduik (New Year's dive)
- Flag
A flag is a piece of fabric with a distinctive design that is usually rectangular and used as a symbol, as a signaling device, or decoration. The term flag is also used to refer to the graphic design employed by a flag, or to its depiction in another medium.The first flags were used to assist...
s Day in spring when the first new herringHerring is an oily fish of the genus Clupea, found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans, including the Baltic Sea. Three species of Clupea are recognized. The main taxa, the Atlantic herring and the Pacific herring may each be divided into subspecies...
of the year is auctioned
- Fireworks
Fireworks are a class of explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display. A fireworks event is a display of the effects produced by firework devices...
in summer: once a week and several days during a festival week
A visit to Scheveningen can include:
- The Muzee Museum (official museum of Scheveningen)
- The pier
A pier is a raised structure, including bridge and building supports and walkways, over water, typically supported by widely spread piles or pillars...
(nl); it has two floors, the upper one open air, the lower one closed
- The miniature city
A miniature park is an open space that displays miniature buildings and models, and is usually open to the public. A miniature park may contain a model of a single city or town, often called a miniature city or model village, or it can contain a number of different sets of models...
MadurodamMadurodam is a miniature city located in Scheveningen, The Hague, in the Netherlands. It is a model of a Dutch town on a 1:25 scale, composed of typical Dutch buildings and landmarks, as are found at various locations in the country. This major Dutch tourist attraction was built in 1952 and has...
- The sculptures at sea museum Beelden aan Zee
Beelden aan Zee museum in the Scheveningen district of The Hague, founded in 1994 by the sculpture collectors Theo and Lida Scholten, is the only Dutch museum which specializes in exhibiting sculpture....
- The Panorama Mesdag
Panorama Mesdag is a panorama by Hendrik Willem Mesdag. Housed in a purpose-built museum in The Hague, the panorama is a cylindrical painting more than 14 metres high and about 40 metres in diameter...
- Visit the 4 different beaches of Scheveningen
- Our Lady of Lourdes (RC) Silent Center, in a designated national landmark complex, housing a replica of the Lourdes Grotto in Massabielle (France). The chapel, located at Berkenbosch Blokstraat 9a, is open daily from 9am to 6pm.
Night life centers on
Pathé Scheveningen movie theaterThere are ca. 132 movie theaters and 31 arthouse cinemas in the Netherlands in 2009, with ca. 675 screens , in addition to 79 small arthouse cinemas and a number of adult movie theaters....
, and the sea-front boulevard with its bars, restaurants, gambling halls and other entertainment.
Lighthouse
The
light beamA light beam or beam of light is a narrow projection of light energy radiating from a source into a beam. Sunlight is a natural example of a light beam when filtered through various mediums...
flashes at alternate intervals of 2.5 and 7.5 seconds. The location is 52°6.247′N 4°16.095′E
http://www.vuurtorens.net/inhoud.asp?inhoud=nl:object:specificaties:0:187.
Noted natives
- Machiel de Graaf
Machiel de Graaf is a Dutch politician and physical therapist. As a member of the Party for Freedom he has been a member of the Senate as well as Senate group leader since June 7, 2011...
(b. 1969), politician
- Dick Jol
Dick Jol is a football referee from the Netherlands, best known for supervising three matches during the 2000 UEFA European Football Championship held in Belgium and the Netherlands. He also was the referee of the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship final between Corinthians and Vasco da Gama...
(b. 1956), soccer referee
- Martin Jol
Maarten Cornelis "Martin" Jol is a Dutch football manager and former midfielder who currently manages Fulham in the Premier League. Jol played over 400 games during his career which included spells in the Netherlands, Germany, and England, as well as earning three caps with the Dutch national team...
(b. 1956), football manager and soccer player
- Wim Kan
Willem Cornelis "Wim" Kan was a Dutch cabaret artist. Together with Toon Hermans and Wim Sonneveld, he is considered to be one of the Great Three of Dutch cabaret....
(1911–1983), cabaret artist
- Bert Pronk (1950–2005), cyclist
- Jan Pronk
Johannes "Jan" Pieter Pronk is a Dutch politician and diplomat. Currently, he is a Professor of Theory and Practice of International Development at the International Institute of Social Studies in The Hague....
(b. 1940), politician and diplomat
External links