Baarle-Hertog
Encyclopedia
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
belonging to the Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
province of Antwerp
Antwerp (province)
Antwerp is the northernmost province both of the Flemish Region, also called Flanders, and of Belgium. It borders on the Netherlands and the Belgian provinces of Limburg, Flemish Brabant and East Flanders. Its capital is Antwerp which comprises the Port of Antwerp...
, but for the biggest part located in the Netherlands province of North Brabant
North Brabant
North Brabant , sometimes called Brabant, is a province of the Netherlands, located in the south of the country, bordered by Belgium in the south, the Meuse River in the north, Limburg in the east and Zeeland in the west.- History :...
. The municipality only comprises the town of Baarle-Hertog proper. On January 1, 2006 Baarle-Hertog had a total population of 2,306. The total area is 7.48 km² (2.89 sq mi) which gives a population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
of 308 inhabitants per km² (798 inhabitants/sq mi).
The border with Baarle-Nassau
Baarle-Hertog is noted for its complicated borders with Baarle-NassauBaarle-Nassau
Baarle-Nassau is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands, located in North Brabant province. As of 2007 its population was of 6,668.-The border with Baarle-Hertog:...
in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. In total it consists of 24 separate parcels of land. Apart from the main division (called Zondereigen from the main hamlet) located north of the Belgian town of Merksplas
Merksplas
Merksplas is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises only the town of Merksplas proper. On January 1, 2006 Merksplas had a total population of 8,173. The total area is 44.56 km² which gives a population density of 183 inhabitants per km².-External...
, there are twenty Belgian exclaves in the Netherlands and three other sections on the Dutch-Belgian border. There are also seven Dutch exclaves within the Belgian exclaves. Six of them are located in the largest one and a seventh in the second-largest one. An eighth Dutch exclave lies nearby Ginhoven.
The border is so complicated that there are some houses that are divided between the two countries. There was a time when according to Dutch laws restaurants had to close earlier. For some restaurants on the border it meant that the clients simply had to change their tables to the Belgian side.
The border's complexity results from a number of equally complex medieval treaties, agreements, land-swaps and sales between the Lords of Breda
Breda
Breda is a municipality and a city in the southern part of the Netherlands. The name Breda derived from brede Aa and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. As a fortified city, the city was of strategic military and political significance...
and the Dukes of Brabant
Duchy of Brabant
The Duchy of Brabant was a historical region in the Low Countries. Its territory consisted essentially of the three modern-day Belgian provinces of Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant and Antwerp, the Brussels-Capital Region and most of the present-day Dutch province of North Brabant.The Flag of...
. Generally speaking, predominantly agricultural or built environments became constituents of Brabant and other parts devolved to Breda. These distributions were ratified and clarified as a part of the borderline settlements arrived at during the Treaty of Maastricht
Treaty of Maastricht (1843)
The Treaty of Maastricht, signed in 1843 by Belgium and the Netherlands, established the border between the two countries. It resulted in a very complicated frontier in parts that passes through houses and has tiny enclaves depending on where Catholic Belgians and Dutch Protestants were living at...
in 1843.
Localities
Two villages which form part of the municipality, Zondereigen and Ginhoven, are located in the main territory of Belgium.Popular culture
The BBC reported from BaarleBaarle
Baarle is a small town on the border between the Netherlands and Belgium. It is divided between the municipalities of*Baarle-Hertog *Baarle-Nassau A second Baarle is a parish in Drongen, Ghent, East Flanders, Flanders, Belgium....
as part of their coverage of the 2009 European elections. The reporter was filmed as if he was with his twin in a cafe, each on the one side of the border. The "twin" on a chair on the Belgian side explained what he was entitled to in Belgium. He mentioned compulsory voting, but maintained he was allowed to build a house 300 metres (328 yards) away from a pig farm, which is illegal in the Netherlands.
See also
- The divided towns of Le PerthusLe PerthusLe Perthus is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Inhabitants are called Perthusiens and, as of 2006, inhabitants were 582.-Geography:...
(FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
) and Els LímitsEls LímitsEls Límits is a Spanish village, a civil parish of the municipality of La Jonquera, situated in the province of Girona, Catalonia, in Spain. As of 2005 its population was of 115 .-Geography:...
(SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
) - Indo-Bangladesh enclavesIndo-Bangladesh enclavesThe Indo-Bangladesh enclaves, also known as the chitmahals are the enclaves along the Bangladesh–India border, in Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal....
- The towns of Derby LineDerby Line, VermontDerby Line is an incorporated village in the town of Derby in Orleans County, Vermont, United States, slightly north of the 45th parallel, the normal U.S.-Canadian boundary...
(United States) and StansteadStanstead, QuebecStanstead is a town of about 3,000 people, part of the Memphrémagog Regional County Municipality in the Estrie region of Québec. Stanstead is located on the Canada-United States border across from Derby Line, Vermont....
(Canada).
External links
- Official Web site Baarle-Hertog
- Official Web site Baarle-Nassau
- The Baarle Enclaves outlined with Maps
- Barry Smith's Baarle Site (with maps)
- English Website about the Baarle Enclaves / with maps
- Baarle-Nassau / Baarle-Hertog (with maps)
- Photos from Baarle-Nassau/Hertog
- Jan S. Krogh's Geosite about the Baarles
- Photograph of H-22, the smallest enclave of B.-Hertog
- New York Times, Frugal Traveler Blog, August 2008 (Matt Gross) – see video of Baarle-Hartog in middle of page
