Baarle-Nassau () is a municipality and town in the southern Netherlands, located in the province of North Brabant. It had a population of in . The town is the site of a complicated borderline between Belgium and the Netherlands: it encloses 22 small exclaves of the Belgian town Baarle-Hertog, of which the two largest contain seven counter-enclaves of Baarle-Nassau, and the main body of Belgium contains another.

Geography

The border with Baarle-Hertog, Belgium Baarle-Nassau is closely linked, with complicated borders, to the Belgian exclaves of Baarle-Hertog. Baarle-Hertog consists of 26 separate parcels of land. Apart from the main parcel, known as Zondereigen and located north of the Belgian town of Merksplas, there are 22 Belgian exclaves in the Netherlands and three other parcels on the Dutch-Belgian border. There are also six Dutch exclaves located within the largest Belgian exclave, one within the second-largest, and an eighth within Zondereigen. The smallest Belgian parcel, H7, locally named , measures .

The border's complexity results from numerous medieval treaties, agreements, land-swaps and sales between the Lords of Breda and the Dukes of Brabant. Generally speaking, predominantly agricultural or built environments became constituents of Brabant, while 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 in 1843.

For clarification and the interest of tourists, the border is made visible on all streets with iron pins. This way it is always clear whether one is in Belgium (Baarle-Hertog) or in the Netherlands (Baarle-Nassau). This is also visible on the house numbers: the style of house numbers is different in both countries, and often the Dutch or Belgian flag next to the house number indicates which country it belongs to.

Localities Baarle-Nassau (population: 5,330) Ulicoten (1,110) Castelré (140)

List of enclaves Dutch enclaves These are all part of Baarle-Nassau municipality.

Serial no. and local name Area (ha)area acreNotes N1, 5.366713.2617Counter-enclave surrounded by Belgian exclave H1; contains a mix of dwellings and farmland; boundary runs through one building. N2, 1.37513.3981Counter-enclave surrounded by Belgian exclave H1; contains 8 dwellings. N3, 0.28630.7075Counter-enclave surrounded by Belgian exclave H1; boundary bisects the loading dock of a liquor store. N4, 1.23243.0454Counter-enclave surrounded by Belgian exclave H1; boundary runs through a warehouse, with vacant Dutch land to the rear of the warehouse. N5, 1.92124.7475Counter-enclave surrounded by Belgian exclave H1; boundary runs through a furniture showroom, a shed and a barn. N6, 1.45273.5898Counter-enclave surrounded by Belgian exclave H1; consists of farmland with two buildings. N7, 0.58121.4363Counter-enclave surrounded by Belgian Oordeel exclave H8; occupies part of a field. N8, 2.85287.0496Farmland enclave situated within Zondereigen, Belgium, less than 50 meters south of the Dutch border.

Belgian enclaves These are all part of Baarle-Hertog municipality, and are surrounded by Baarle-Nassau municipality (Netherlands).

Serial no. and local nameArea (ha)area acreNotes H1, 153.6448379.6717Forms a quadripoint with enclave H2; largest Belgian exclave; encompasses six Dutch enclaves; consists of dwellings for the most part, with outlying farmland and an industrial area; boundary runs through numerous buildings; contains a portion of the former Turnhout-Tilburg rail line, now a cycle path. H2, 2.41165.9594Consists of farmland with a single point of connection (quadripoint) between enclaves H1 and H2 in the middle of a corn field. H3, 0.34280.8471Occupies part of a field; boundary runs through a shed in one instance. H4, 1.4763.6474Consists of farmland; boundary runs through a house and three sheds. H5, 0.92452.2846Consists of farmland with a dwelling. H6, 1.74614.3148Mixed land usage; boundary runs through a warehouse/factory. H7, 0.24690.6102Boundary runs through two dwellings, including the middle of one front door (giving it two house numbers: Loveren 2, Baarle-Hertog / Loveren 19, Baarle-Nassau). H8, 41.8781103.485Second-largest Belgian exclave, contains a mix of dwellings and farmland; boundary runs through a barn, a dwelling and two businesses. H9, 0.40050.9897Boundary runs through a printing factory/warehouse in an industrial area. H10, 0.651.6063Consists of farmland. H11, 0.932.2982Consists of farmland. H12, 0.28220.6974Consists of farmland. H13, 1.53463.7922Boundary runs through about 20 dwellings. H14, 0.71931.7774Boundary runs through about 13 dwellings. H15, 1.72114.2531Boundary runs through about 16 dwellings. H16, 4.425210.9352Boundary runs through a house and three sheds, with the linear boundary changing direction three times inside just one shed. H17, 14.924836.8807Rural area containing a portion of the former Turnhout-Tilburg rail line, now a cycle path. H18, 2.92477.2273Consists of farmland. H19, 0.68511.693Consists of several ponds and a field. H20, 1.16812.8865Consists of farmland. H21, 1.18452.9271Consists of farmland. H22, 0.26320.6504South of the village of Ulicoten; occupies part of a field; nationality was contested from the 1830s until 1995 (remained unallocated to either country in boundary treaty of 26 April 1974)

Education Baarle-Nassau has two primary schools: Basisschool De Uilenpoort and Bernardusschool, the latter in the Ulicoten section. There is a single secondary school in Baarle-Nassau, De La Salle, which has , lower , and levels. - Under the tab "Onderwijs en kinderopvang"

It shares, with Baarle-Hertog, a joint library with Belgian and Dutch staff."bibliotheek." Baarle-Hertog. Retrieved on January 6, 2017.

Notable people

Petrus Christus ( in Baarle – 1475/1476) an Early Netherlandish painter; was a leading painter after the death of Jan van Eyck Jan Hendrikx (1944–2021) a former Dutch politician, mayor of Baarle-Nassau 1990–2012

Gallery

References

External links

Official website Baarle-Nassau Official website Baarle-Hertog The Baarle Enclaves outlined with Maps Photograph of H-22, the smallest enclave of B.-Hertog Baarle-Nassau / Baarle-Hertog (with maps) Photos from Baarle-Nassau/Hertog