Port city of Scheveningen
The name Scheveningen first appears in the count’s register around 1284. The coastal town was then called Terram de Sceveninghe, or Land van Scheveningen and probably disappeared again in the 12th or 13th century, buried under the many sand drifts that took place at the time. Fortunately, this did not mean the end of the resort. The counts of Holland were very fond of fish and thus benefited from a fishing village. Fishermen brought their fish to Noordeinde via the Westerpad, where the Scheveningseweg was constructed and the village of Scheveningen was created.
In 1840, 5,903 people lived on Scheveningen and there were 489 houses. So on average 12 people lived in a house, which was a lot even before that time. Today there are about 25,000 houses on Scheveningen with 56,000 inhabitants. The seaside resort of Scheveningen was created when a bath house was built, where the Kurhaus can now be found. Other countries already had spas by the sea and Jacob Pronk, who believed in the healing properties of seawater, felt that the Netherlands could not stay behind. The fishing industry, on which Scheveningen depended, also deteriorated. Pronk had found a new source of income and soon more and more wealthy tourists came to Scheveningen.
In the Second World War, the Atlantic Wall, a defense line, was built by the German occupiers. Much of the village of Scheveningen was forbidden territory and many of the buildings were demolished, so that now little is left of the old village. The most characteristic old part can be found behind the old church, where you can also hear the Scheveningen dialect and occasionally see someone in traditional costume. In recent years, the boulevard has been embellished and a kilometer-long dike has been constructed under the boulevard to strengthen the coastline. The beach has also been widened.
