Hofvijver

The Hofvijver is a rectangular pond in the center of The Hague, bordered by a steep stone quay on one side and the grass of the Binnenhof on the other. It has defined the city layout since the thirteenth century, when Count Floris the Fourth bought the land to build a hunting lodge. During the seventeenth century, the painter Jan van Goyen often sat here to sketch the pond, capturing the exact silhouette of the towers that still reflect in the water today.