Scheveningen

Scheveningen pier

Map of The Hague, where Scheveningen is marked with green

Scheveningen (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈsxeːvənɪŋə(n)]  ( listen)) is one of the eight districts of The Hague, as well as one of its subdistricts (wijken).

Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is popular for watersports like windsurfing and kiteboarding.^[1] A nudist section is 1 km to the north.

The harbor is used both for fishing and tourism.

Subdistricts

The subdistricts of district Scheveningen are:

• Scheveningen
• Duinoord
• Statenkwartier
• Belgisch Park
• Oostduinen
• Duindorp
• Archipelbuurt
• Van Stolkpark
• Westbroekpark

History

The beach at Scheveningen by Adriaen van de Velde, painted 1658

A photochrom of the beach in c. 1900

The earliest reference to the name 'Sceveninghe' goes back to around 1280. There is anecdotal evidence of the name Scheveningen being used as a shibboleth during World War II to identify German spies: They would pronounce the initial "Sch" differently from Dutch native speakers.^[2] The first inhabitants may have been Anglo Saxon. Other historians favor a Scandinavian origin. Fishing was the main source of food and income.

The Battle of Scheveningen was fought between English and Dutch fleets off the coast of the village on 10 August 1654. 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 harbor. 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 harbor 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 Germany.

The Kurhaus

The hotel and restaurant Kurhaus 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 Sea. Notable painters who recorded the village include Adriaen van de Velde, Simon de Vlieger and Hendrik Willem Mesdag, whose enormous panorama, 14 m high and 120 m wide, preserves the view of Scheveningen in 1881.

The International Skating Union was founded in Scheveningen in 1892.

Up until somewhere in the second half of the 20th century, Scheveningen was a separate municipality, which even had a soccerclub of its own, playing in the highest Dutch division ("Scheveningen Holland Sport" was its name). In the course of that second half of the former century this club ceased to exist, whereas the place itself became part of its neighbouring municipality to the east.

Events and attractions

Annual sand sculpture competition at Scheveningen

Annual events include:

• Winter swim on New Year's Day, locally known as Nieuwjaarsduik (New Year's dive)
• Flags Day in spring when the first new herring of the year is auctioned
• Fireworks in summer: once a week and several days during a festival week

A visit to Scheveningen can include:

• The Sea Museum
• The pier (nl); it has two floors, the upper one open air, the lower one closed in
• The miniature city Madurodam
• The sculpture museum Beelden aan Zee
• The Panorama Mesdag
• A visit to the beach.

Night life centers on Pathé Scheveningen movie theater, and the sea-front boulevard with its bars, restaurants, gambling halls and other entertainment.

Lighthouse

The lighthouse of Scheveningen

The light beam flashes at alternate intervals of 2.5 and 7.5 seconds. The location is 52°6.247′N 4°16.095′E / 52.104117°N 4.26825°E / 52.104117; 4.26825 [2].

See also: Lighthouses and lightvessels in the Netherlands

References

1. ^ The Hague Tourist Board page on Scheveningen[1]
2. ^ McNamara, Tim (2005). "21st century shibboleth: language tests, identity and intergroup conflict". Language Policy (Springer Netherlands) 2005 (4): 351–370. doi:10.1007/s10993-005-2886-0. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Scheveningen

• Tourist Information Scheveningen
• Two Beach Streaming Livecams
• Boulevard webcam
• Boulevard weather station