Cities in the Netherlands
North Sea Region
The Story of Kijkduin
Once independent, it now is part of the municipality of The Hague. It is that city's second seaside resort (after Scheveningen), with its inland neighbor of Loosduinen, both rather ‘new’ villages. Heavily damaged during World War II, it saw German transport planes - Junkers-52s - land on its beach on May 10, 1940 when Dutch defenders had managed to prevent the planes from landing at military airfield Ypenburg near Rijswijk. Including in the many German troops thus diverted during the invasion of the Netherlands was the paratroopers’ division commander Graf von Sponeck.
Loosduinen until 1922 was an independent municipality. In the 12th century, it was the site of a fortified farmstead of the Counts of Holland and in 1224, Count Floris IV established a convent nearby. The chapel of that convent was later expanded and its belltower was restored in 1942.