Text

In 1923, the Buitenhof, until then a quiet square, was no more. An urban plan by the architect Hendrik Berlage from 1922 provided for, among other things, the construction of a wide traffic road along the Hofvijver. For this, the pond had to be narrowed and houses had to be demolished. In memory of this urban development intervention and in honour of Queen Wilhelmina's silver jubilee (1898-1923), a memorial was erected: a column with text, crowned with a gold-coloured ball.

The memorial from 1924 stands at the edge of the Hofvijver, almost in the middle on the short side (Buitenhof side). The design with the bricks, the tile panel and the natural stone corners is characteristic of architect Berlage, who worked closely with sculptor Bon Ingen Housz for its realisation. The coat of arms above the text features a stork, the symbol of the city of The Hague.

The construction of this road was started in 1923, the year in which the 25th anniversary of the reign of Queen Wilhelmina was happily commemorated.

Berlage is considered an important innovator of urban planning and architecture in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 20th century. He built 'honestly'; he made the construction visible and rejected concealing ornamentation. Brick was his preferred material. He only applied natural stone to accentuate the structure and function of a building. Berlage also strove for cooperation between the various artistic disciplines. This resulted in 'Gesamtkunstwerken', in which architecture, painting and sculpture complemented each other. Architecture, however, remained the dominant factor. An example is the Nieuwe Koopmansbeurs (1903) on the Damrak in Amsterdam, known as the Beurs van Berlage. Berlage left many buildings to his home town of The Hague, such as the Gemeentemuseum.