When my kids were little, they would dash towards these sculptures to try and spot the one with the name “Hugo de Groot”. Just because their last name is “de Groot” too. đ “Are we related?”, they would ask. Since then, I have always wondered about the building behind this…
Tag: South Holland
Den Haag
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The Murder of the De Witt Brothers
As I walked aimlessly through the halls of Haags Historisch Museum / The Hague Historical Museum, a loud painting caught my eye. “The Murder of the De Witt Brothers”, by Pieter Frits, 1672. Scene one on the left, De Witt brothers dressed in black and white being dragged out of…
Den Haag
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King Willem of NL & LU
I have always noticed this bronze statue whenever I walk past the Binnenhof complex. Some noble guy sitting on a high horse on the Buitenhof, overlooking the Hofvijver lake, in the centre of The Hague. I never give it much thought. A week later when I was visiting Luxembourg, I…
Rotterdam
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Het Dam Paviljoen | Dan Hua Pavilion
On the occasion of Rotterdam’s 650th anniversary in 1990, the association of Chinese entrepreneurs in Rotterdam and its surrounding area took the initiative to build this Dan Hua Pavilion. A typical example of Chinese garden architecture! Dan symbolizes the city (coz Rotterdam = LĂš tè dÄn) and Hua (huĂĄ) means…
Rotterdam
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Views of Delfshaven
It was a lovely day exploring the historic Delfshaven. This former port of Delft (hence the name Delfshaven!) is unlike the rest of Rotterdam. I roamed the uneven cobbled streets admiring canal houses. Ships lined up the quaysides flanked by 17th-century warehouses. The townâs old church is known as the…
Rotterdam
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Norwegian Church
Imagine my surprise when I came across such an unexpected and lovely building, right next to the entrance of the city park Het Park in Rotterdam. It is a church! A Norwegian Seamen’s Church to be exact. This is the Norsk Sjømannskirke. Its initial role was to receive, help and…