The Hague

The Hague

The Hague (/ˈheɪɡ/ HAYG; Dutch: Den Haag [dɛn ˈɦaːx] ⓘ or 's‑Gravenhage [ˌsxraːvə(n)ˈɦaːɣə] ⓘ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of the Netherlands is Amsterdam, The Hague has been described as the country's de facto capital since the time of the Dutch Republic.[7] The Hague is the core municipality of the Greater The Hague urban area containing over 800,000 residents, and is also part of the Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area, which, with a population of approximately 2.6 million, is the largest metropolitan area of the Netherlands. The city is also part of the Randstad region, one of the largest conurbations in Europe.