A 99-year-old time capsule discovered hidden under a statue of King William II during renovations has been opened to reveal historical documents and books about the Dutch battles against Napoleon, AFP reports.
Workers renovating the parliament building in The Hague's Bienenhof were surprised to discover a metal time capsule hidden between two walls that support the king's pedestal.
Mayor Jan van Zanen ceremoniously opened the capsule to a room full of journalists to reveal its contents - letters, documents and books.
"It was a very pleasant impression of those days. There was a poem about the King and a poem about the city and the country. It brought back the time of 99 years ago to 2024," Van Zanen said.
The discovery stunned historians who had no idea the time capsule existed, said urban art historian Sophie Olley.
"It was a very big surprise. It was embedded between two walls in a specially made chamber," she said.
The books are a three-volume French-language account of William II's battles against Napoleon, including the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, by F. de Bass, a noted military historian of the time.
The city is already making plans to continue the tradition by laying its own time capsule when the statue is replaced in 2028, the mayor said.
"The idea now is to ask the residents of The Hague to advise us what to put in the box for those who will open it in 100 years," he said.
He would defer to the will of the people, but said his own preference was to fill the box with "text and some images from today, text about the renovation and a coin, for example a euro." / BGNES
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