The City of The Hague (Den Haag or 's-Gravenhage in Dutch) is situated on a coastal plain near the North Sea and covers about 7,000 hectares. <br> The Hague is the seat of the Crown (Queen Beatrix) and the seat of the Dutch Government. A city where one can recover one's breath. Internationally recognized as the world's capital of international Justice. After New York and Geneva, The Hague is the third UN city in the world. The Hague is also the meeting point of the international haute volée. There are 85 foreign embassies in The Hague and the Royal Shell has it's heaquarters in this city. <br> The International Court of Justice, with it's seat in the monumental Peace Palace and the Yugoslav Tribunal are the most famous institutions. Then there are the Iran/USA Claims tribunal, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, The Hague Conference on Private International Law, the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the European Patent office and Europol all located in The Hague. In the near future the city will also welcome the International Criminal Court as well as the Organization for Prohibition of Biological Weapons. <br> The arms of The Hague, approved in 1816, depict a stork and eel, The shield is held by a pair of gold lions and bears a count's coronet.<br> The Hague, founded in 1248 AD, is situated at the North Sea between Amsterdam and Rotterdam.