Dutch royal family honors Prince Claus in Hitzacker

Hitzacker welcomed the Dutch royal family on Sunday for the 100th birthday of Prince Claus, who was born in the nearby village of Dötzingen on Sept. 6, 1926.

King Willem-Alexander, his mother Princess Beatrix and Prince Constantijn, the king’s brother, visited the Lower Saxony town to honor Beatrix’s husband. The royal guests signed the city’s Golden Book.

“We cheered when they accepted,” Mayor Holger Mertins of the Free Democratic Party said. “It is a special day for Hitzacker.” The market square filled with visitors in sunny weather, many waving orange flags. The delegation received information about the Oranjeroute, a roughly 2,300-kilometer hiking and cycling route linking German towns and municipalities with connections to the Dutch royal house.

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We cheered when they accepted.

Willem-Alexander then watered a royal linden tree that had been moved to a new location. Hitzacker originally planted the tree in 2013 to mark his accession. The delegation later visited a monument to Prince Claus. Princess Beatrix unveiled his bust in Hitzacker in 2005, and the town opened the Prince Claus Promenade in 2014.

Prince Claus remained highly popular in the Netherlands. He died in Amsterdam on Oct. 6, 2002, at the age of 76.

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It is a special day for Hitzacker.