{"id":6565,"date":"2020-03-30T11:00:19","date_gmt":"2020-03-30T11:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/?p=6565"},"modified":"2020-05-09T16:15:00","modified_gmt":"2020-05-09T16:15:00","slug":"binnenhof-het-torentje","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/binnenhof-het-torentje\/","title":{"rendered":"Binnenhof: Het Torentje"},"content":{"rendered":"

The B<\/em>innenhof\u00a0<\/em>(Inner Court) is the center of the Dutch overheid\u00a0<\/em>(government). Located in the heart of Den Haag <\/em>(The Hague), it oozes Dutch geschiedenis <\/em>(history) and verhalen <\/em>(stories). In this series, we’ll go building by building and explore what each is all about. Starting today with het Torentje<\/em>!<\/p>\n

For more posts in the\u00a0Binnenhof\u00a0<\/em>series, click here.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

What is\u00a0het Torentje?<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n
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The B<\/em>innenhof<\/em>. Click on the image to see a version with an annotation of what each of the buildings is (Image by Rijksvastgoedbedrijf at Commons.wikimedia.org under license CC0)<\/p><\/div>\n

Het Torentje\u00a0<\/em>(“the little tower”) is a small tower at the lower right corner of the B<\/em>innenhof\u00a0<\/em>complex. The\u00a0achthoekige <\/em>(octagonal) two-storey tower was mentioned for the first time in 1354, and was probably built around that time. It was likely used as a zomerprieel <\/em>(summer arbor), a summer garden by the graven\u00a0<\/em>(counts) of Holland, as there used to be a garden of the current location of the Mauritshuis<\/em>. In the 15th century, during the Tachtigjarige Oorlog <\/em>(Eighty Years’ War)<\/a>, the\u00a0Torentje <\/em>was transformed into a\u00a0vestingwerk\u00a0<\/em>(fortification) with schietspleten\u00a0<\/em>(arrowslits). The windows and\u00a0torenspits <\/em>(tower peak) were added in 1547. During this time, the Torentje <\/em>was used for many purposes, but most of them rather for the upkeep of the Binnenhof <\/em>than for anything political.<\/p>\n

Only in 1798, it became a political office. It became the\u00a0werkkamer\u00a0<\/em>(study, office) of the secretaris-generaal <\/em>(Secretary General) of the ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken <\/em>(ministry of internal affairs). Johan Thorbecke, one of the most important\u00a0staatsmannen\u00a0<\/em>(statesmen) of the Netherlands, made it his office in 1849, as minister of\u00a0Binnenlandse Zaken<\/em>. After that, now and then\u00a0premiers\u00a0<\/em>(prime-ministers) would use it as their\u00a0werkkamer<\/em>. Only since 1982, when Ruud Lubbers assumed the office of\u00a0minister-president <\/em>(prime-minister), the Torentje <\/em>became the permanent, default werkkamer <\/em>of the premier<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Why does\u00a0het Torentje\u00a0<\/em>matter?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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The Torentje<\/em> (circled) next to the white Mauritshuis<\/em> (Original image by Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken at Flickr.com under license CC BY SA 2.0)<\/p><\/div>\n

The\u00a0Torentje\u00a0<\/em>matters because it houses the\u00a0werkkamer\u00a0<\/em>of the\u00a0premier<\/em>. Currently, Mark Rutte holds it. The\u00a0Torentje<\/em> is not a residence, by the way. Officially, the residence of the\u00a0premier\u00a0<\/em>is the\u00a0Catshuis<\/em>, but it’s been a long time that a\u00a0premier\u00a0<\/em>lived there. They normally live in private residences, though they are allowed to live in the\u00a0Catshuis\u00a0<\/em>if they so preferred.<\/p>\n

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Mark Rutte in his werkkamer<\/em> in the Torentje<\/em>, discussing with adviseurs<\/em> (advisers) (Image by Minister-president Rutte at Flickr.com under license CC BY 2.0)<\/p><\/div>\n

But the\u00a0Torentje\u00a0<\/em>is a strict work-related building. This is where the\u00a0premier\u00a0<\/em>discusses policy-related business and does his daily work. However, the inside of the\u00a0Torentje\u00a0<\/em>is not seen a lot. Unlike the White House Oval Office, the premier\u00a0<\/em>addresses the country more often from the\u00a0Tweede Kamer\u00a0<\/em>(Dutch Congress, Second Parliamentary Chamber) or a\u00a0persconferentie\u00a0<\/em>(press conference). Though rarely, the\u00a0premier\u00a0<\/em>directly addresses the country from the\u00a0Torentje<\/em>, like this month concerning the coronavirus.<\/a> Though also in more expected moments, like when k<\/em>oningin\u00a0<\/em>(queen) Beatrix left her office in 2013, Rutte spoke to the country from the\u00a0Torentje<\/em>. However, not from his\u00a0bureau\u00a0<\/em>(desk), but in front of the windows:<\/p>\n