Baarle-Hertog (bär'lə-hĕr'tōkh), Fr. Baerle-Duc, town (1991 pop. 2,126), Antwerp prov., N Belgium. A Belgian possession since 1479, it is an enclave (3 sq mi/7.8 sq km) and market town in S Netherlands. The sovereignty of its outlying districts was disputed by the Dutch, but was settled (1959) in favor of Belgium by the International Court of Justice.
Baarle-Hertog
| Wikipedia: Baarle-Hertog |
Baerle-Duc redirects here, for the French town, see Bar-le-Duc.
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Baarle-Hertog is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. 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 which gives a population density of 308 inhabitants per km².
Baarle-Hertog is noted for its complicated borders with Baarle-Nassau in the Netherlands. In total it consists of 24 separate pieces of land. Apart from the main piece (called Zondereigen) located north of the Belgian town of Merksplas, there are twenty Belgian exclaves in the Netherlands and three other pieces 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 in Zondereigen.
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 and the Dukes of Brabant. 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 in 1843.
Famous inhabitants
- Petrus Christus, 15th century painter
In popular culture
The BBC reported from Baarle 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 away from a pig farm, which is illegal in the Netherlands.
External links
- Barry Smith's Baarle Site (with maps)
- Official Site (Dutch)
- Photos from Baarle-Nassau/Hertog
- Jan S. Krogh's Geosite about the Baarles
- New York Times, Frugal Traveler Blog, August 2008 (Matt Gross) – see video of Baarle-Hartog in middle of page
Media related to Baarle-Hertog at Wikimedia Commons
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