Plein or het Plein (Dutch pronunciation: [ət ˈplɛin]; lit.'(the) Square') is a town square in the old city centre of The Hague in the Netherlands.

Plein
Plein in the city centre of The Hague, with the statue of William the Silent in the middle
Plein, The Hague is located in South Holland
Plein, The Hague
Location in the province of South Holland
TypeTown square
LocationThe Hague, Netherlands
Coordinates52°04′48″N 4°18′57″E / 52.0800533°N 4.3157279°E / 52.0800533; 4.3157279
The Central Royal Military Band of the Netherlands Army on Plein

It is located adjacent to the Binnenhof, the meeting place of the States General of the Netherlands; the entrance to the House of Representatives can be found on Plein 2.[1] The Mauritshuis art museum is located on Plein 29.[2]

Plein was originally a garden, forming a part of the Binnenhof castle, residence of the Counts of Holland. It was used to grow vegetables for the court. The garden was surrounded by a ring of canals and intersected by ditches.[3] As a town square, Plein was constructed in 1632 and was inspired by the Place des Vosges in Paris.

A statue of William the Silent, made by Dutch sculptor Lodewyk Royer, was installed in the centre of the square in 1848.

References

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  1. ^ "Adres en route" (in Dutch). House of Representatives. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  2. ^ "Address and directions". Mauritshuis. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  3. ^ "Plein: van kooltuin tot stadsplein". Geschiedenis van Den Haag (in Dutch). Retrieved 21 July 2014.
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