Scheveningen Walking Tour (Self Guided), Hague

The Kurhaus of Scheveningen is a hotel located in the main seaside resort area, near the beach. It is a historical building and an icon in Scheveningen.

The Kurhaus was built between 1884 and 1885 by the German architects Johann Friedrich Henkenhaf and Friedrich Ebert. It consisted originally of a concert hall and a hotel with 120 rooms. Having suffered serious damage by fire, it was rebuilt between 1886 and 1887. The ceilings were painted by the Brussels artist Van Hoeck and his large workshop. Several kings and heads of state sojourned in the Kurhaus during its heyday.

The Rolling Stones performed at the Kurhaus on August 8, 1964, and had to flee the building due to the vast number of excited fans outside. Ike & Tina Turner performed at the Kurhaus on February 11, 1971. The show was aired on Dutch television and released on DVD in 2004 as The Legends Ike & Tina Turner Live in '71.

The Kurhaus went through a complete renovation and was reopened in 1979 in the presence of Princess Beatrix.

The Scheveningen Pier is for pleasure. It opened in 1959, replacing the ruins of the earlier pier which was destroyed in World War II. The first Sheveningen Pier, named Stroll Main Queen Wilhelmina opened in 1901. It was a wooden structure built on a steel foundation directly in front of the Kurhaus hotel.

In September 1959 the current pier opened. It construction was unusual. It was in two levels, an upper and lower deck. The upper deck was exposed to the weather and the lower level was closed to the elements. There were four terminals called "islands".

In 2014 the Kondor Wessels Group bought the pier and they had plans. In 2015 the upper deck was reopened and provided with a restaurant and a Bungee jumping station. The pier has a tall tower rising over the waters of Scheveningen. One may climb to the top, but be advised it is a climb. Three hundred steps up and the same three hundred down.

If the tower is not thrilling enough, may we recommend the Ferris Wheel? Yes, the first Dutch Giant Ferris Wheel, offering spectacular views of the sea and the Hague skyline. The wheel has 36 closed cars with air conditioning and one car with a glass floor for those daring souls who like to look down. Not risky enough? Try the Casino.

Beelden aan Zee ("Images/sculptures by the sea") museum in the Scheveningen district of The Hague, founded in 1994 by the sculpture collectors Theo and Lida Scholten, is the only Dutch museum which specializes in exhibiting sculpture.

The museum shows contemporary international and national sculpture. The curators organize new exhibitions three or more times per year in its large circular main space. Exhibitions are created on themes such as the 2010 exhibitions, "Unwanted Land" exhibition by 6 contemporary artists or the "Fathers and Sons" show, or exhibitions around a particular artist. The museum features works by Karel Appel, Wim Quist, Man Ray, and Fritz Koenig. The mission of the museum is to use a mix of forms and materials in the works express "the human experience."

Since 2004, the museum building also houses the Sculptuur Instituut ("Sculpture Institute"), a research institute on contemporary sculpture. The institute library is accessible during museum opening hours.

The museum building was designed by architect Wim Quist, underneath the historic "Pavilion of Wied" King William I built in 1826 for his wife, Princess Wilhelmine of Prussia. Before construction started, the municipality of The Hague required that the museum not be visible from the dunes. The museum has accordingly been built entirely underground, with terraces on the dune, which are also not visible from a distance. The museum is also not visible from the boulevard. From the roof of the museum one can see the sea, but not the boulevard nor the Scheveningen beach.

As a result, the museum can be hard to find although it is signposted from the end of the street. The concrete and glass museum has an unusual slot-system in the concrete walls designed by the architect, so that sculpture or paintings can be hung from a bolt set into one of the many blocks in the walls. The whole museum is built on various levels with light coming in from above in many spaces. It includes a number of outdoor areas and museum supplies raincoats for visitors. There is also a cafe and a bookshop, as well as facilities for the disabled.

Scheveningen, a long time ago a small fishing village, today is one of the most famous and popular beaches in the Netherlands. The beach is about 14.6 miles long and near 350 yards wide. It is on the North Sea. It reaches from the West Dune Park in the southwest to the East Dune Park in the northeast. On sunny summer days it can get very crowded.

The beaches have won several awards for cleanliness of the beach and quality of water. In 2021 It was awarded the international "Blue Flag" for the 11th time. There are four informal sections to the beach. Zwarte Pad (Black Path), Noorderstrand (North Beach), Zuiderstrand (South Beach), and Kijkduin.

The Promenade at Scheveningen stretches 2.5 miles. Beside the pleasant sandy beach one may encounter innumerable diversions. There are the colorful Esplanade, the Scheveningen Pier and lighthouse, a Sea Life aquarium, Path cinema, Kurhaus Music Theater, the Scheveningen Museum and a casino. Cubs, restaurants, and surf schools line the boulevard.

Adjacent to the boulevard of Scheveningen, a fishermen's monument was again unveiled in 1982. It is a statue, depicting a fisherwoman from Scheveningen in traditional costume. It is located at the so-called head of the Keizerstraat, the later so-called Kalhuisplaats. The woman's gaze is symbolic because it is inexorably directed to the sea from which she could one day expect one or more of her lovers - her suitor, her husband, her son or her father.

The statue was made by the sculptor and goldsmith Gerard Bakker and it was unveiled on November 10, 1982 by the then Queen Beatrix. For a number of years there has been an annual commemoration that starts in the local Old Church and which is then moved to the statue. On the spot, Inge Lievaart's poem on the pedestal is recited, followed by a wreath laying and a flower greeting. The poem reads:

The Sea, Which Always Take Again
Will Return Once
All Who Stayed
To Him Who Escape First
The Lord Of Wind And Water
To Christ Triumphator

The Memorial in Scheveningen is a monument that commemorates the departure of Prince William V in 1795 and the arrival in Scheveningen of William I Frederik on November 30, 1813.

The initiative to erect a monument was taken in 1863 by King Willem III . His uncle Prince Frederik became chairman of a committee set up by the king to devise a national memorial dedicated to the restoration of Dutch independence.

The commemorative needle was unveiled on 24 August 1865, the birthday of King Willem I. Prince Frederik gave a speech and alderman mr H. Baron Collot d'Escury , acting mayor, subsequently received the monument on behalf of the municipality. The ceremony was also attended by Queen Sophia , Crown Prince William , Prince Alexander and Prince Hendrik.

The monument is a national monument . It was designed by architect Arend Roodenburg and made by stonemasons PJ Devillers & Co. In 2003 the monument was restored.

In 1863 , in commemoration of the above landing , William III laid the foundation stone for the foundation of the Plein 1813. It was unveiled by Prince Frederik six years later.

De Scheveningen Lighthouse is a lighthouse in Scheveningen designed by Quirinus Harder and finished in 1875. In the 16th century Scheveningen had a lighthouse already, and the church collected money from the ships using it. It was elevated in 1850, and equipped with a copper cupola and a new light. In the 1870s, Dutch lighthouse designer Quirinus Harder got the assignment for a new lighthouse.

The lighthouse is made of cast iron and consists of nine segments. At the foot of the tower is one house for the supervisor and four more for the lighthouse keeper. The original light rotated in a mercury bath, which was replaced in the 1960s by an electrical system.