The Hague

It is said that The Hague is the most segregated city in the Netherlands. In other words, the city with the most clearly visible distinction between the social classes. It could hardly be otherwise. This city has long been home to the government and top civil servants at the Binnenhof and a whole collection of ministries. Add to this the royal family, the associated nobility, the military elite and lo and behold: everything from the top layer has been clinging and clumping together in this glorified village for hundreds of years. Because, remember, The Hague still does not have city rights.

This city began as a village, not even by the sea. The seaside village is Scheveningen, only much later swallowed up by the growing city. Once a simple place, 'Die Haghe' grew out of its strength as government and royalty settled there. Powers obviously need staff and subordinates, all those people who keep the apparatus of state and monarchy running.
What is special about this situation is that social distinctions were strictly demarcated between 'sand' and 'peat'. The 'upper classes' traditionally built their houses on sandy soil, roughly along the coast. Further inland, where the subsoil in earlier times consisted of peat, we find the 'lower classes'. Another designation is that between 'the wigs' and 'the caps'.

We can laugh about it, but actually that situation has not changed. The modern 'wigs' are still around and they still live in their own neighbourhoods. Nowadays, their ranks are joined by 'expats', expensive knowledge workers from often Western countries. You won't find them in the working-class neighbourhoods, where not only the modern 'hats' live, but also migrants from an infinite number of backgrounds. That difference is still huge. You won't easily come across a 'kakker' from Duttendel in working-class Moerwijk and certainly not vice versa.

We see the same principle at the parks we visit on this route. Clingendael and Ockenburgh are estates that lie on sandy soil and were owned by nobility. Westbroek Park, too, is found on 'distinguished ground'. Zuiderpark is a pure people's park, sandwiched between residential areas for 'ordinary people'. The only 'middle-class' park is the Haagse Bos. Not a real park, more like a cultivated forest. It is right next to the city centre, which now has no class distinctions.

Once the municipality's slogan was 'The Hague sparkles'. It is. No, this is no Amsterdam. Nightlife is at a lower ebb; don't expect to spend a night out here after your bike ride. The split character of The Hague does provide an interesting contrast between the different population groups. Everything bubbles and ferments together, like in a big vat. Except when it comes to the residential areas. There are firm boundaries in between, which indeed are not so clearly evident in any other large Dutch city. By bike, those boundaries are easy to cross, especially since 'sand' and 'peat' are never really far apart.



This premium cycle route was created by: Matthijs Termeer