Torentje

Torentje

Since 1982, the Dutch Prime Ministers office has been situated in the octagonal turret known as 'het Torentje' overlooking the waters of the Hofvijver in The Hague.

The earliest written reference to the Torentje dates from 1354; the building itself probably goes back to the early thirteen hundreds.

It was built as a summer house for the Counts of Holland, beside their Binnenhof residence. A drawbridge (raised at night) connected it to the gardens. Around 1640 the garden made way for the Mauritshuis, once the home of Count Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen and now an art gallery.

Over the years, the Torentje has served many different purposes. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, besides functioning as a summer house and later as a fortification for the Counts and Stadholders of Holland, it was also used by the castellan, responsible for running the Binnenhof. Just like the castellan, the building was multifunctional, serving as hostelry, wine cellar, bottling room and porters lodge.

In the early seventeenth century, many of the Binnenhof buildings along the Hofvijver were taken over by the Council of State. The Torentje remained in use as a staff residence, being the home of the Councils steward.

In 1798 the office of the secretary-general of the Ministry of the Interior, at that time known as the interior police, was established on the first floor of the Torentje. The secretaries-general of that ministry continued to use the Torentje as an office until 1849.