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Den Haag (The Hague) the Royal Capital of the Netherlands where PE2KW is located   
 History from Den Haag - The Hague - La Haye:
The history of The Hague starts in the 13th century when the ‘village van der Haghe ‘ (hedge) was chosen as the site for a hunting lodge by the counts of Holland ('s Graven hage means “the count's hedge”). Near this settlement, noblemen built grand houses and a village for traders and craftsmen developed. In 1248, William II, Count of Holland, began the construction of a castle on the Binnenhof, around which a town grew in the 14th and 15th centuries. William's son, Floris V, added the massive Knights' Hall (Ridderzaal), expanding a complex that today is the heart of the country's administrative government. In 1586, the States-General of the United Provinces of the Netherlands convened in The Hague, which later (17th century) became the residence of the Statholders and the capital of the Dutch republic. In the 17th century, The Hague rose to be one of the chief diplomatic and intellectual centers of Europe. William III (William of Orange), Statholder of Holland and other Dutch provinces as well as king of England (1689–1702), was born in The Hague.
|  | | In the early 19th century, after Amsterdam had become the constitutional capital of the Netherlands, The Hague received its own civic charter from Louis Bonaparte, who was named King of Holland. At the end of the Napoleonic era, the city developed into an important diplomatic center and at the turn of the century was chosen as a venue for peace conferences. The twenty year long French rule in the country around 1800 had lasting effects: From 1795 to 1808 The Hague was the capital of the Republic of Holland. It finally achieved the status of a city. The coronation of William I. in 1815 ended the 200 year long republican rule in The Netherlands, and since 1813 the country has been a constitutional monarchy with the king living in The Hague. | | |  | | From the 19th century on there were numerous peace conferences held in The Hague and the city became a permanent meeting place. The construction of the famous Peace Palace was finished in 1913. During the 20. century the shape of the city changed a lot, due to destruction in the second world war and construction during the last few decades. But fortunately the oldest part of the city, the Binnenhof and its surroundings, retained much of their glamour |
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