Netherlands: 99-year-old time capsule found under statue of King William II

Long-standing fighting broke out at a Dutch construction site. A 99-year-old time capsule hidden under a statue of King William II during the renovation of the Dutch parliament was opened on Monday. It contains historical documents and books about the battles of the Netherlands against Napoleon. Workers renovating the parliament building in The Hague were surprised to discover a metal box hidden between two walls supporting the royal plinth.

“It was a huge surprise,” said Sophie Ollie, an art historian for the city. Wearing white gloves, Mayor Jan van Zanen ceremoniously opened the capsule in a room packed with journalists to reveal its contents: letters, documents and books. “Very pleasant impression of that time. There was a poem for the king and a poem for the city and country. It will take us 99 years until 2024,” Van Zanen told AFP.

History of Waterloo

This discovery stunned historians, who had no idea about the existence of this time capsule. The books are a three-volume account in French of William II’s battles, including the Battle of Waterloo against Napoleon in 1815, written by F. de Bas, a renowned military historian of the period.

The city plans to continue the tradition by installing its own time capsule when the statue is replaced in 2028, the mayor said. “The idea now is to ask the people of The Hague to advise us what to put in the box for whoever opens it in a hundred years,” he said. He would respect the will of the people, but stated that he would prefer to fill the box with “text and some images of today, text about renovations and a coin (…) for example one euro.”