Why is there a definite article before "Hague"?

Question

Teaching definite and indefinite articles to Slavic students is very challenging because they don't have articles in their native languages. For instance, I have quite a few students who use "the" liberally, i.e., before names of cities ("I live in the Prague.").I often tell my students that names of cities usually aren't preceded by the definite article. In fact, I can only think of two exceptions: The Hague and the Vatican (though the latter is probably short for the Vatican State).Which leads me to my question: Why do we say "THE Hague"? Thanks a lot!

Answer 1

The Hague derives from an old fashioned name that meant "the count's hedge" and they never dropped the article. There are cities that have had articles, but the locals stopped using them, like the town of Bath in England. Other cities have that same distinction, sometimes because the name means something, like Le Havre, which literally means "the harbor".

I hope that this helps!