{"id":6699,"date":"2020-07-21T12:32:02","date_gmt":"2020-07-21T12:32:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/?p=6699"},"modified":"2020-07-21T12:32:02","modified_gmt":"2020-07-21T12:32:02","slug":"binnenhof-eerste-kamer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/binnenhof-eerste-kamer\/","title":{"rendered":"Binnenhof: Eerste Kamer"},"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. Today, let’s check out the Eerste Kamer<\/em>!<\/p>\n

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

What is the Eerste Kamer<\/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

The Eerste Kamer <\/em>(“First Chamber”, the Dutch Senate)<\/a> is on the top-right corner of the Binnenhof<\/em>. When facing the\u00a0Ridderzaal,<\/em><\/a> it is immediately on your left. The meeting room faces the Hofvijver\u00a0<\/em>(Court Pond). The room that we are looking at today is located at the first floor at the address of the\u00a0Eerste Kamer<\/em>, Binnenhof 22.<\/p>\n

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Binnenhof 22, the address of the Eerste Kamer (Image by Tom Parnell at Flickr.com under license CC BY SA 2.0)<\/p><\/div>\n

Like the\u00a0Tr\u00eaveszaal<\/em><\/a>, the\u00a0vergaderzaal <\/em>(meeting room) of the Eerste Kamer<\/em>\u00a0was built to impress nationally and internationally. It was commissioned by the provinces of Holland and West-Friesland in 1650, just two years after the conclusion of the\u00a0Tachtigjarige Oorlog <\/em>(Eighty Years’ War)<\/a>. It’s a beautifully decorated hall that holds 75\u00a0senatoren\u00a0<\/em>(senators). There is also space for\u00a0publiek\u00a0<\/em>(audience), so that\u00a0burgers\u00a0<\/em>(citizens) can follow the procedures. These were added in the 19th century.<\/p>\n

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Image by Corne Bastiaansen, Rijksvastgoedbedrijf at Commons.wikimedia.org under license CC0<\/p><\/div>\n

Why does the Eerste Kamer <\/em><\/strong>matter?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Image by Minister-president Rutte at Flickr.com under license CC BY 2.0<\/p><\/div>\n

Since the\u00a0grondwetsherziening <\/em>(constitutional revision) of 1848, the\u00a0Eerste Kamer\u00a0<\/em>is the last stop before a\u00a0wet\u00a0<\/em>(law) officially comes into existence. Before that, the monarch had legislative powers. The last\u00a0koning\u00a0<\/em>(king) with real legislative powers, Willem II, made sure that the\u00a0Eerste Kamer\u00a0<\/em>would not forget him, and commissioned a huge painting of himself that was hung right above the chairman’s desk. In the picture above, you can see it on the right.<\/p>\n

What do you think of the\u00a0Eerste Kamer<\/em>? Let me know in the comments below!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

The Binnenhof\u00a0(Inner Court) is the center of the Dutch overheid\u00a0(government). Located in the heart of Den Haag (The Hague), it oozes Dutch geschiedenis (history) and verhalen (stories). In this series, we’ll go building by building and explore what each is all about. Today, let’s check out the Eerste Kamer! For more posts in the\u00a0Binnenhof\u00a0series, click…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":6702,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[60713,3590,27711],"tags":[516218,358738,540789],"class_list":["post-6699","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture-2","category-dutch-language","category-dutch-vocabulary-2","tag-binnenhof","tag-dutch-politics","tag-eerste-kamer"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t