The Hague : City of Justice

The idea of Justice is a concept that humankind has grappled with since time immemorial. Justice defines societies, sets the ground rules for those in the society, moderates human behavior. In a society filled with inequalities it holds forth a beacon of equality for all. Among the throngs of cities in this world only one can claim to be the City of Justice and that is the Dutch city of The Hague. It is to this city i go to next on my Eurotrip.

July 3, 2011, Sunday

The second world war was an earth shattering event when the 'dogs of war' were let loose on the world. Among other things it made the world realize the extent of injustice present in the world and how not punishing them can lead to catastrophic wars. This lead to the setting up of the International court of Justice, a judicial arm of the UN that would arbitrate disputes among states, punish the perpetrators of injustice and in essence see to it that justice is served in the world. This court was setup in the Dutch city of , The Hague.

The Hague is located about an hour from Amsterdam and is also the political capital of Netherlands. It is also the royal city of Netherlands and houses the Dutch royalty. I was up in the morning and took the train from Amsterdam and after an hour's journey through the Dutch countryside i was at The Hague. On first look the city did not look as big or as beautiful as Amsterdam instead it looked like a smaller city with a curious mixture of the old and new. From the railway station i took a tram and made my way to one of the most 'touristic' attractions of the city - the Madurodam.

The Madurodam is a garden housing the miniature versions of many of the famous sights and attractions of the Netherlands. Its a big draw with visitors especially families who bring their children to this park. As i enter the garden i behold an incredible sight. The vast expanse of the garden is filled with scores of miniature buildings and artifacts even as people wander through them appearing like giants. Once i get amidst the miniatures i realize how precise they indeed are as every detail of the buildings they attempt to replicate are executed with perfection. It was a joy to see some of the buildings i had seen the day before in Amsterdam being reproduced there in excruciating details. Even the Schipol airport that i had got down from yesterday along with its legion of airplanes was 'miniatured'! The bright sunshine also added to the setting as i roamed inside for a good couple of hours.

After the fun filled loitering through the miniature garden it was time to get serious and head into the center of the old city. It was interesting to observe the architecture of the city. It was a mix of old world buildings as well as modern skyscrapers. As big as Amsterdam was it was dominated by old style buildings and the modern buildings here were something different. The road finally ended in the biggest square of the city called the Plein.

The Plein like all European squares was really beautiful. It was open to a street on one side while the other side was filled with Cafes and opposite to it was a classical old building housing the Department of Justice of the Dutch government. In the middle however stood a magnificent statue of William of Orange. In many ways William of Orange could be seen as the founder of the modern Dutch nation. He was originally from the Principality of Orange in the south of France and served under the Spanish Hapsburgs during the time of Dutch domination by the Spain. However he soon began to resent this Spanish domination and started the revolt that eventually resulted in the Dutch independence from Spain and the constituting of the Dutch republic. Hence he is rightly termed as the Father of the Dutch nation.

However William of Orange also had one more rather queer contribution. William belonged to the family of Orange whose royal flag carried the bright orange color. Over the years this color came to represent the Dutch nation and was widely used to exhibit Dutch pride. This color in fact can now be seen around the sporting world wherever Dutch teams compete as they are all dressed in Orange. I always used to wonder why the Dutch footballers wore bright orange jerseys even though their flag just had red, blue and while colors. Now i know the answer!

A short distance from the Plein is one of most charming art museums in Europe - the Mauritshus museum. The museum is housed inside an exquisite 17th century palace built by count Johan Maurits. The museum is in fact named after the count who was a great lover of the arts and accumulated most of the collection inside. The building itself is built in a Dutch Classicist style and is simply amazing to gaze at. The view got even better as i entered the museum. The interiors of the museum was beautifully crafted with spectacular doorways , staircases and archways.

As with the Rijsmuseum in Amsterdam this museum holds some of the greatest works of Dutch art in the world. Some of the best works of Rembrandt and Vermeer can be found here along with works of other great Dutch masters. The rooms were an absolute joy to behold as each of them was filled with great works of Dutch art. In each of these artworks the Dutch essence came through in terms of themes, attention to detail and then the exquisite finesse of execution. Particularly impressive was the room that housed Rembrandt's works including his self portraits. Looking at those paintings one could sense what a great artist Rembrandt was and why he is famous even after 300 years!

However the museum is best known for two paintings belonging to Vermeer. These two paintings are widely regarded as the best painted by Vermeer and indeed arguably the best works of Dutch art in the world. As i enter the Vermeer room i am filled with excitement. A kind of excitement one feels just before beholding something unearthly. And the paintings did not disappoint. One painting was a landscape by Vermeer and was titled 'View of the Delft' depicting the view of the town of Delft over the horizon of its river. Delft was Vermeer's home town and his knowledge of the town was evident in his detailed depiction of it. Standing in front of it i could almost feel that i was on a hillock overlooking the town of Delft along with the artist who was showing his town to me.

Right opposite to this painting is what is widely considered as Vermeer's greatest work 'Girl with a Pearl Earring'. As the title suggests its a portrait of a young girl wearing a pair of pearl earrings looking over her shoulders turning ever so slightly almost as if she has turned because of you. She looks almost annoyed as if you have intruded her as she is going through her daily chores. It was an amazing painting as i feel almost absorbed within the painting. Here i am far away from India all alone in this room in the middle of these two great paintings steeped in 17th century Netherlands. Simply surreal!

After visiting the other collections of the museum it was time to leave. As i came out i was filled with a glow that can come only from witnessing something spectacular. That is the power of art. It lifts your spirits and takes you to an altogether surreal level where the world outside with all its imperfections seems at least for a few moments a little bit more perfect!

As i said earlier although Amsterdam is the capital of Netherlands, The Hague is the seat of power. Right next to the Mauritshus museum is the Dutch parliament complex called the Binnenhof . I entered the Binnenhof through the spectacular Maurice gate which with its colorful and intricate design was quite magnificent to look at. One inside the complex is filled with a slew of beautiful buildings that house the various government offices including the parliament. One of the most prominent buildings inside is the Knight's hall which is an elegant Gothic building standing in the middle of the courtyard. In the early days of the monarchy the hall served as a public meeting room and at the time was one of the biggest halls in Europe.

Also present inside the complex is a beautiful chapel built in the post-reformation style. However religion has long ceased to be a force in the Netherlands and chapel is but just a tourist attraction nowadays. This lack of respect for religion can be traced back to the fundamentals of Protestantism. As a concept Protestantism encouraged the questioning of everything including blind faith and superstition. However once you start questioning everything you eventually start questioning the concept of religion and god itself. Hence in this vein people started to question God's existence and finding a deep rift between what is portrayed in the religion and the contradicting realities of the outside world people slowly lost confidence with the concept of God. Hence now after half a millennium after the reformation, religion and god have finally fell out of favor not just in the Netherlands but in the entire protestant belt of Northern Europe. In an interesting way its a complement to the ideals of Protestantism, the ideals that started out to reform Christianity eventually led to the demise of the religion itself.

Also present inside the complex was a beautiful fountain which looked stunning in the sunlight. Right adjacent to the complex is a beautiful pond called the Hofvijver. The view of the parliament from the pond was a sight to behold.

A short distance from the Binnenhof is the Noordeinde Palace which is the official residence of the Dutch Queen. A little further from the palace is the Peace Palace which houses the International court of Justice. This is one of the most important arms of the UN where war criminals are tried and punished. Of late some of the leaders who perpetuated the infamous 'ethnic cleansing' in former Yugoslavia in the early 90s have been tried and are still being tried. Its a great tribute to the peace keeping mission of the UN. However a lot needs to be done to bring the many war criminal politicians around the world who still roam freely in their respective countries. I could easily think of a few in India like Modi who could be tried in this court for his role in the Gujarat riots or George W Bush for that matter for his war crimes in Iraq. However they are not only free but the former is still in power. I guess the wheels of Justice do move rather slowly. Anyway only time will tell if Justice can be served in this world and this International court of justice is a great step in that direction.

As the day came to an end my visit to the city of Hague came to an end and so too my visit to the Netherlands. It was one of my dreams to come to the Netherlands and experience its history and culture and i was fortunate that i was able to fulfill it with these amazing few days in the Lowlands!