The HagueThe Hague ('heɪɡ ; Den Haag dɛn ˈɦaːx or 's‐Gravenhage ˌsxraːvə(n)ˈɦaːɣə) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of the Netherlands is Amsterdam, The Hague has been described as the country's de facto capital. The Hague is also the capital of the province of South Holland, and the city hosts both the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.
German invasion of the NetherlandsThe German invasion of the Netherlands (Duitse aanval op Nederland), otherwise known as the Battle of the Netherlands (Slag om Nederland), was a military campaign part of Case Yellow (Fall Gelb), the Nazi German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands) and France during World War II. The battle lasted from 10 May 1940 until the surrender of the main Dutch forces on 14 May. Dutch troops in the province of Zeeland continued to resist the Wehrmacht until 17 May, when Germany completed its occupation of the whole country.
UtrechtUtrecht (ˈjuːtrɛkt , ˈytrɛxt, Utrecht dialect: Utreg ˈytʁɛχ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Netherlands. It has a population of 361,699 as of . Utrecht's ancient city centre features many buildings and structures, several dating as far back as the High Middle Ages. It has been the religious centre of the Netherlands since the 8th century.
NijmegenNijmegen (ˈnɛiˌmeːɣə(n); Nijmeegs: Nimwèège ˈnɪmβ̞ɛːçə) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and the tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole. Located on the Waal River close to the German border, Nijmegen is the oldest city in the Netherlands and the first to be recognized as such in Roman times. In 2005, it celebrated 2,000 years of existence. Nijmegen became a free imperial city in 1230 and in 1402 a Hanseatic city. Since 1923 it has been a university city with the opening of a Catholic institution now known as the Radboud University Nijmegen.
ZwolleZwolle (ˈzʋɔlə) is a city and municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Overijssel and the province's second-largest municipality after Enschede with a population of 130,592 as of 1 December 2021. Zwolle borders on the province of Gelderland and is east of the river IJssel. Archaeological findings indicate that the area surrounding Zwolle has been inhabited for a long time. A woodhenge that was found in the Zwolle-Zuid suburb in 1993 was dated to the Bronze Age period.
MeuseThe Meuse (mjuːz , mɜːz, USalsomɜːrz,_mʌz , møz; Moûze muːs) or Maas (mɑːs , maːs; Maos mɔːs or Maas maːs) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . From 1301 the upper Meuse roughly marked the western border of the Holy Roman Empire with the Kingdom of France, after Count Henry III of Bar had to receive the western part of the County of Bar (Barrois mouvant) as a French fief from the hands of King Philip IV.
