Scheveningen

, as well as one of its subdistricts ("wijken").

Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. A nudist section is 1 km to the north.

The harbor is used both for fishing and tourism.

The long sandy beach is also popular for watersports like windsurfing and kiteboarding [ The Hague Tourist Board page on Scheveningen [http://www2.holland.com/denhaag/gb/discover/coast/scheveningen/watersports/index.jsp] ] .

ubdistricts

The subdistricts of district Scheveningen are:
*Scheveningen
*Duinoord
*Statenkwartier
*Belgisch Park
*Oostduinen
*Duindorp
*Archipelbuurt
*Van Stolkpark
*Westbroekpark

History

The earliest reference to the name 'Sceveninghe' goes back to around 1280. The first inhabitants may have been Anglo Saxon. Other historians favor a Scandinavian origin. Fishing was the main source of food and income.

The Battle of Scheveningen was fought between English and Dutch fleets off the coast of the village on 10 August 1654. Thousands of people gathered on the shore to watch.

A road with neighbouring Den Haag was constructed in 1663 (current name: Scheveningseweg).

In 1470 a heavy storm destroyed the church and half of all houses. The village was again hit by storm on November 1 1570, in 1775, 1825, 1860, 1881 and in 1894. After this last storm the villagers decided to build a harbor. Until then, the fishing ships had a flat bottom ("bomschuiten"), and were pulled upon the beach. Around 1870 over 150 of these ships were in use. When the harbor had been constructed in 1904, more modern ships replaced the "bomschuiten".

In 1818 Jacob Pronk built a wooden building on a dune near the sea, from where people could bathe from four separate rooms. It marked the start of Scheveningen as a bathing place. Since then, Scheveningen has attracted numerous tourists from all over Europe, notably from Germany.

The hotel and restaurant Kurhaus was opened in 1886.

The picturesque village attracted many Dutch artists over the centuries, to paint the "bomschuiten" drawn up on the beach, or fishermen at work in the North Sea. Notable painters who recorded the village include Adriaen van de Velde, Simon de Vlieger and Hendrik Willem Mesdag, whose enormous panorama, 14 m high and 120 m wide, preserves the view of Scheveningen in 1881.

Events and attractions

Annual events include:
*Winter swim on New Year's Day (locally known as: Nieuwjaarsduik (transl: New Year's dive)
*Flags Day in spring when the first new herring of the year is auctioned
*Fireworks in summer: once a week and several days during a festival weekA visit to Scheveningen can include:
*The Sea Museum
*The pier (nl); it has two decks, the upper one open air, the lower one closed in.
*The miniature city Madurodam.
*The Sculpture museum [http://www.beeldenaanzee.nl Museum beelden aan zee]
*The Panorama Mesdag.
*Or, just a day at the beach.

Night life centers on Pathé Scheveningen movie theater, and around the sea-front boulevard with its bars, restaurants, gambling halls and other entertainment.

Lighthouse

The light beam flashes at alternate intervals of 2.5 and 7.5 seconds. The location is coord|52|6.247|N|4|16.095|E| [http://www.vuurtorens.net/inhoud.asp?inhoud=nl:object:specificaties:0:187] .

See also: Lighthouses and lightvessels in the Netherlands

Trivia

There is anecdotal evidence of the name "Scheveningen" being used as a shibboleth during World War II to identify German spies: They would pronounce the initial "Sch" differently from Dutch native speakers cite journal
last = McNamara
first = Tim
title = 21st century shibboleth: language tests, identity and intergroup conflict
journal = Language Policy
volume = 2005
issue = 4
pages = 351–370
publisher = Springer Netherlands
location =
date = 2005
doi = 10.1007/s10993-005-2886-0
accessdate = 2008-06-18] .

In chess, the Scheveningen is a variation of the chess opening known as the Sicilian Defence, first played in a tournament in Scheveningen.

The International Skating Union was founded in Scheveningen in 1892.

Vocal artist Sander Scheurwater, a.k.a. "De Mosselman", is from Scheveningen.

References

External links

* [http://www.scheveningen.info/en/ Tourist Information Scheveningen]

Webcams and weather stations:
* [http://www.scheveningenlive.nl/ Two Beach Streaming Livecams]
* [http://weerstation.hubertnet.nl:81/ Boulevard webcam]
* [http://scheveningen.hubertnet.nl/ Boulevard weather station]