Hague, hayg, The, the capital of the Netherlands, is situated in the province of South Holland, 33 mi. s. w. of Amsterdam and within 3 mi. of the North Sea. The city is beautifully laid out and is characterized by broad, regular streets, which are frequently intersected by canals and bordered with rows of trees. The finest buildings are in the northern section of the city. Among them are the government buildings, the town hall, the Groote Kerk, or Saint James Church, the palace of justice and the Binnenhof. Among the celebrated institutions of the city, the royal art gallery, containing a rich collection of Dutch art, including a number of masterpieces by Rembrandt, ranks first. The royal library contains 500,000 volumes and a large collection of coins and medals, and the municipal museum contains a large collection of paintings. The leading educational institutions include a gymnasium, the royal school of music, a drawing school and an educational institute conducted by the Free Masons. The Hague is also the home of many learned societies. The prosperity of the city depends almost entirely upon its being the capital of the country. Its industries and trade are comparatively small, the leading manufactures including the manufacture of iron, ordnance, gold and silver ware, hats and furniture. The city was originally the hunting center of the counts of Holland. In 1250 it became a princely residence and in the sixteenth century was the seat of the States-General. From this it became the capital of Holland. The Hague has held an important position among European capitals, since it has been a sort of diplomatic center, and many important treaties have been negotiated there, including the Triple Alliance of England, France and Holland, and in 1899 it was the seat of the International Peace Conference, which established there a permanent court of arbitration (See PEACE CONFERENCE, INTERNATIONAL). Population in 1902, 218,029.