Amsterdam and the Hague: How did this come about?

Factual Questions
1

Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands. If you don’t believe me, ask the Dutch Constitution. It says so!

But the Dutch Parliament meets in the Hague. The Dutch Supreme Court meets in the Hague. Queen Beatrix lives in the Hague, all the government offices are there, all the foreign embassies… basically all the functions of both state and government are in the Hague. But it isn’t the capital.

How did this happen, and why? Were all these functions once in Amsterdam, and packed up and moved to the Hague?

2

It apparently has to do with the Netherlands’ history as separate countries under different loyalties before they established their current boundaries.

3

The Netherlands is not the only country with such an arrangement: List of countries with multiple capitals - Wikipedia.

4

because if they were in amsterdam they would be to happy to work?
:smiley:

5

Nitpick: the name of the town is ‘The Hague’, capital T. Not the Hague.

6

Den Haag

7

Hey, even old New York was once New Amsterdam,
why’d they change it, I can’t say, people just liked it better that way.

8

That’s a bunch of Istan bull (not Constantinople). :wink: