de tourist baarle nassau

• Baarle-Hertog, Flanders /

De Toerist snackbar

After enjoying Kaarsenmuseum , it may be a good idea to visit this restaurant. The feature of De Toerist snackbar is serving good frikandel . Most guests indicate that the staff is nice. Service at this place is something one can name professional. The cozy atmosphere makes a positive impression on people. Google gives it 4 so you can choose this spot to spend a good time here.

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• Baarle-Hertog-Nassau

Cafetaria in het centrum van Baarle-Hertog-Nassau. Lees verder

Cafetaria in het centrum van Baarle-Hertog-Nassau.

Chaamseweg 1b , 2387 Baarle-Hertog

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Baarle Hertog Nassau Travel Guide

This is a Baarle Hertog / Baarle Nassau Travel Guide from taste2travel.

Date Visited: February 2021

Introduction

Imagine a scenario whereby you wake up in the morning in your bedroom, which is in Belgium; you walk across the hallway to the bathroom, which is in the Netherlands, to take a shower; you then proceed downstairs to the kitchen, which is Belgium, and prepare breakfast; after which you adjourn to the living room, which is in the Netherlands, to finally relax.

Baarle Nassau (NL) and Baarle Hertog (B) is home to almost half the world’s enclaves.

Sound bizarre?

This is the daily reality faced by some of the residents of Baarle-Hertog / Baarle-Nassau , a small town near the Dutch/ Belgium border which is home to almost half the enclaves on planet Earth.

Souvenir magnets at the Baarle tourist office feature common sights seen in Baarle, from border markers to house numbers.

If, like me, you have an interest in geographical anomalies, a visit to ‘ Baarle ‘ should be high on your travel bucket list. It really is fascinating!

The former Baarle town hall which was shared between the Dutch and Belgium governments.

Tucked away in a quiet corner of the Netherlands, just across the border from Belgium, lies the unassuming town of Baarle-Nassau/ Baarle Hertog , a typical hamlet which you could easily pass through without noticing anything odd.

The new Belgium Town Hall which sits on the border.

However, there is something peculiar about Baarle, something which draws throngs of camera-toting tourists.

Baarle is a twin town which lies within both the Netherlands (Baarle Nassau) and Belgium (Baarle Hertog).

A line on the road in downtown Baarle indicates the meandering border line.

This quiet border town, which covers an area of just 7.48 square kilometres (2.89 square miles), is the site of possibly the most complicated frontier in the world, a place where a map of the border looks more like a complex mosaic!

The Baarle Cultural Centre, on Pastoor de Katerstraat, is divided between two countries.

Contained within Baarle are no fewer than 22 Belgium enclaves . To confuse matters even further, there are seven Dutch exclaves within Baarle-Hertog (i.e. parcels of Dutch land separated from the Netherlands by Belgium territory).

A map of the enclaves and exclaves of Baarle. Source: Wikipedia

This rather confusing map of Baarle shows the parcels of land which belong to Belgium (dark yellow) and the parcels of Dutch land (light yellow).

The Belgium territories (all prefixed with an ‘H’ for Hertog) are enclaves as they are completely surrounded by the Dutch province of Brabant, while the small parcels of Dutch territories (all prefixed with an ‘N’ for Nassau), completely enclosed by Belgium territory, are exclaves .

As can be observed on the map, there are seven Dutch exclaves contained inside of H1 and H8 (these are numbered N1-7).

Enclaves and Exclaves Explained!

Enclave/ Exclave Diagram.

An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state. In this case, Baarle-Hertog (Belgium) is enclaved by the Netherlands as it’s surrounded entirely by the Dutch province of Brabant. In the diagram above, ‘C’ is an enclave of ‘A’.

An example of two enclave nations are San Marino and the Vatican City , both of which are completely surrounded by Italy.

An exclave (also known as a counter-enclave ) is a portion of a state geographically separated from the main part by surrounding alien territory. In the diagram above, ‘C’ is an exclave of ‘B’.

There are seven Dutch exclaves in Baarle.

Baarle – The enclave champion!

Home to almost half of the world’s enclaves, Baarle is the ‘Enclave Champion’.

There are 64 enclaves in the world, with Baarle being home to almost half of them. This makes Baarle the Enclave champion !

On display at the tourist information centre, a satellite image of Baarle indicates the different enclaves and exclaves.

How was this confusion created?

The history of this bizarre geographical phenomenon goes back to the Middle Ages, when properties were divided up between aristocratic families – well before neat, modern borders were created!

The genesis for today’s enclave’s dates back to 1198 when Duke Hendrik I of Brabant (ancestral lands now in the Netherlands) leased land in Baarle to his neighbour, Godfried II of Schoten , the Lord of Breda (ancestral lands now in Belgium).

At the time, overlords generated income from taxes levied on productive land (i.e. farmed land). The Duke of Brabant kept the income-generating farmland for himself and leased the remaining land to the Lord of Breda. These lands were in and around Baarle and therefore the basis for the enclaves.

Life in Baarle continued without any issue until 1830, the year Belgium gained independence.

A few years later, in 1843, a formal border was determined between Belgium and the Netherlands. Surveyors worked their way, step by step, from the coast of the North Sea to the border of the German states.

At the time, the complex border mosaic in Baarle was placed in the ‘ too-hard-basket ‘ and left for another time.

As the border was marked out, markers were placed along the way. Marker number 214 was the last marker before Baarle. A gap of 52 km was left, to be determined once the mosaic of borders could be clearly understood, with marker number 215 marking the continuation of the border.

Border marker #214 and 215, commemorates the completion of the border in Baarle.

So difficult was the task of determining the border in Baarle that it wasn’t until 1974 that a map of the border was created and the border between the two countries was finalised. This event is commemorated by a marker in downtown Baarle.

A plaque on the main square, and on the border, commemorates the finalisation of the frontier in Baarle.

Enclave Benefits

This geographical oddity has created some interesting situations throughout history.

During the First World War , although the German Imperial Army occupied Belgium, it could not occupy Baarle-Hertog since it would have to cross Dutch territory, which the Dutch government wouldn’t allow. Thus, Baarle-Hertog became a place where refugees could safely stay.

More recently, during the Covid-19 pandemic , the Belgium government enacted much tougher restrictions than the Netherlands government. While businesses in Belgium endured long periods of lockdown, and remained shut, Dutch businesses could operate freely. For those in Baarle, it simply meant crossing the street to access an open restaurant or bar.

Building Regulation

The owner of this apartment building skirted a Dutch building restriction by installing a second front door on the Belgian side of the border.

While most houses in Baarle lie within one country, a few truly odd properties lie in two countries!

Such properties are indicated by two completely different house numbers, as can be seen on the property featured above which is located on Desirée Geeraertstraat at #7 (Netherlands) and #2 (Belgium).

The determination for deciding in which country a property is located is based on the location of the front door. In some cases, an extra front door has been added, most often on the Belgium side of the border, for good reason!

Located at Chaamseweg 10, this apartment building is known as the ‘Front door swap’ house.

Building permits and regulations are much more relaxed in Belgium than in the Netherlands. Landlords, who own a property located on a border line, find it much easier to renovate or change their property by dealing with the Belgium authorities!

By installing a front door on the Belgium side of their property, they can circumvent the stricter Dutch controls.

An example of this can be seen at Chaamseweg #10 , where the landlord installed an extra door on the Belgium side of the border, allowing him to make changes to his property which wouldn’t have been approved by the Dutch authorities.

Financial Loopholes

The Hoogbraak Business Centre was once home to ‘Femisbank’.

Having an international border pass through a single building has also allowed some creative types to take advantage of financial loopholes.

A view of the border passing through the branch of the former Femisbank.

One such case was with Femisbank whose Baarle branch was located inside the Hoogbraak Business Centre , which straddles the border.

Whenever tax authorities from one country would arrive to view a clients’ financial records, those records would already have been moved across the room into the other country, allowing staff to state that the requested tax records weren’t available.

Needless to say, Femisbank lost its license to operate!

Cheaper Fuel

Other benefits of enclave living extend to cheaper fuel . Interestingly, there are no petrol stations in the Dutch parts of Baarle, but many in the Belgium areas.

As of February 2022, 1L of unleaded fuel in Belgium cost €1.70 while in the Netherlands, the same litre cost €2.10 .

The many Belgium petrol stations in Baarle do a brisk trade with Dutch cars lined up along the roadside waiting for their turn at the pump.

One of many firework shops in Baarle-Hertog.

Known as Loots in Dutch, the sale and carriage of fireworks is illegal in the Netherlands, except at New Years. Such restrictions don’t apply in Belgium!

Baarle is famous for its fireworks shops, where local Belgium entrepreneurs sell fireworks all year long to Dutch consumers who normally cannot buy them.

5111 Baarle-Nassau, Netherlands

Located in a very busy corner of Europe, Baarle is easily reached from either Belgium or the Netherlands.

Reaching Baarle is easily done from either Belgium or the Netherlands.

I based myself in Antwerp, from which Baarle is an easy (50 km) daytrip.

If using public transport from Antwerp, you can reach Baarle by taking one of the frequent fast trains to Turnhout then bus #460 which leaves from outside Turnhout train station.

Buses run once per hour to Baarle with a journey time of 20 minutes. Payment can be made onboard by tapping your credit card on the ticket reader.

Sightseeing

Throughout Baarle, there are different markers on the ground which are used to indicate the meandering border.

In Baarle, white crosses are used to indicate borderlines on footpaths along with a ‘B’ or ‘NL’.

White crosses are used to indicate borderlines on footpaths, along with a ‘B’ (Belgium) or ‘NL’ (Netherlands).

While white crosses indicate borders on footpaths, round, silver discs indicate borderlines on roadways.

While silver discs are used to indicate borderlines on roadways.

Baarle is a town where a Dutch resident could exit their house, walk across the street and be in Belgium, walk a hundred metres further to find themselves back in the Netherlands and then down to the end of the street to be back in Belgium again.

The tourist office in downtown Baarle flies the flags of Belgium and the Netherlands.

The best place to start your exploration is at the Baarle Tourist Information centre which is located at Singel #1 in the heart of town.

Walking tour map supplied by the Baarle Tourist Information centre.

The tourist office produces a ‘ Welcome in Baarle ‘ brochure which includes a useful walking tour map. The walk, which is a flat, 5km stroll, covers most of the sights of interest.

Markers on the ground indicate the route of the walking tour in Baarle.

It’s impossible to get lost as silver markers indicate the walking route!

While walking around Baarle, helpful markers on each light pole indicate which country you are in.

As you follow the walking trail, indicators on each light pole advise in which country you are presently located. This can change just by crossing the street.

House numbers in Baarle-Hertog feature Belgium flags.

Another clue as to which country you are in is provided by the house numbers, all of which feature the national colours of their country.

House numbers in Baarle-Nassau feature the Dutch colours.

For those on bicycles, signs indicate the ‘ Enclaveroute ‘ which takes you beyond town, into the surrounding countryside, where more enclaves await.

The ‘Enclaveroute’ allows you to visit all of the sights of Baarle by bicycle.

One of the highlights of Baarle is the house which is located at Loveren #19 . This quaint brick home is the poster-child for Baarle tourism, with the border running up to the front door, dividing the house in two.

Divided between two countries, this house at Loveren #19 is the most photographed site in Baarle.

The house is located inside enclave H7 , the smallest enclave in the world!

How big is H7? It’s large enough to contain one and a half houses and part of their backyards!

The divided house at Loveren #19 has two house numbers – Dutch (#19) and Belgium (#2).

A border marker on the main square, outside ‘Den Engel’ brasserie.

There are a cluster of restaurants and cafes on the main square around the tourist office, with the popular Den Engel located on the Dutch side of the border. Bus #460 from Turnhout stops on the square.

That’s the end of my travel guide for Baarle Hertog-Nassau.

I look forward to hearing your feedback regarding this guide. 

Safe Travels!

Follow me on Instagram: 

taste2travel

Further Reading: 

• Aland Islands Travel Guide
• Andorra Travel Guide

Baarle Hertog Nassau Travel Guide Baarle Hertog Nassau Travel Guide Baarle Hertog Nassau Travel Guide Baarle Hertog Nassau Travel Guide

Author: Darren McLean

Darren McLean is an Australian, full-time, digital nomad who has spent 37 years on a slow meander around the globe, visiting all seven continents, 189/ 193 UN countries and 240/ 251 UN+ countries and territories.

He founded taste2travel to pique one’s curiosity and inspire wanderlust.

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• Baarle-Hertog-Nassau
• Welkom in Baarle

Welcome in Baarle

Baarle, the most remarkable village in the world. 30 pieces of Belgium and the Netherlands that are intertwined. On the map it is called Baarle-Nassau and Baarle-Hertog. A village, unique in its duality: two municipal authorities with two mayors and two schools. But with one population, which goes hand in hand with its two nationalities. Without realizing it, you cross the border dozens of times. Tired but satisfied, after a long day, you sit down to taste cross-border delicacies in a cozy restaurant or pub. Visit and experience Baarle and secretly cross the border…..

Baarle, the most remarkable village in the world.

The name Baarle is mentioned for the first time in a deed of 992.

Visit Baarle provides tourist information about the unique enclave situation in the Dutch municipality of Baarle-Nassau and the Belgian municipality of Baarle-Hertog.

The enclave gift voucher is available with a value of 5, 10 or 20 euros.

North Brabant

Visit baarle-nassau a unique enclave town.

Introduction:

Baarle-Nassau is a unique and charming town located in the Netherlands. Known for its intricate border arrangements with Belgium, Baarle-Nassau is made up of a complex network of enclaves and exclaves that make it a one-of-a-kind destination. Visitors can explore the town’s rich history and culture, including the beautiful medieval townhall and the charming town square. Baarle-Nassau is also home to a variety of shops, restaurants, and cafes that offer a wide range of local and international products and cuisine. Whether you’re interested in history, culture, or just looking for a unique and picturesque place to visit, Baarle-Nassau has something to offer. So come and discover the unique charm of Baarle-Nassau, a town where the Netherlands and Belgium meet in a one-of-a-kind way.

Baarle-Nassau enclaves:

The enclave system of the town of Baarle covers the Dutch part Baarle Nassau and the Belgian part Baarle Hertog. It is a collection of enclaves and exclaves that are interspersed throughout the town. An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by another territory, while an exclave is a territory that is separated from the main territory by another territory.

In the case of Baarle Nassau, the town is made up of a number of Belgian and Dutch enclaves and exclaves. The Belgian enclaves are situated within the Dutch territory, while the Dutch enclaves are situated within the Belgian territory. This means that there are areas within the town where Belgian laws apply, and other areas where Dutch laws apply.

The enclave system in Baarle Nassau is a result of a complex history involving disputes over territory and borders between the Netherlands and Belgium. The town was originally a single entity, but over time it was divided and reorganized as a result of various treaties and agreements.

This enclave system creates some unique challenges for residents and businesses in Baarle Nassau. For example, it can be difficult to navigate the different laws and regulations that apply in different areas of the town. Additionally, there are sometimes confusion when it comes to things like postal addresses and emergency services.

Despite these challenges, the enclave system of Baarle Nassau is also a source of local pride and a unique feature of the town that attracts tourists. Visitors can find a number of border markers throughout the town that indicate the different enclaves and exclaves.

Places to visit in Baarle-Nassau:

There are a number of places to visit in Baarle Nassau that showcase the town’s unique enclave system and its history. Some of the most notable places to visit include:

• The Border Markers: Throughout the town, you can find border markers that indicate the different enclaves and exclaves. These markers are a great way to explore the town and understand the enclave system.
• The “Dodendraad” was a 332 kilometer long wire barrier that was built during the First World War by the German occupiers of Belgium along the border between occupied Belgium and the neutral Netherlands. Remains of the “Dodendraad”. In Zondereigen, near the Belgian-Dutch border, the peace monument “De Dodendraad” was erected in 2008. It is a faithful reconstruction on the original site of a piece of 2,000 volt electrical wire barrier from the First World War, which the Germans placed to separate occupied Belgium from the neutral Netherlands.
• The Town Hall: The Town Hall is located in the main square of the Dutch part of Baarle Nassau and is an interesting place to visit to learn about the history of the town.
• The former railway connection between Turnhout and Tilburg, popularly called ‘Bels Lijntje’, runs right through Baarle. Today, this connection is a busy cycle path. Along the cycle path you will find some old signalman’s houses. The former station of Baarle has also been preserved.

These are just a few of the many places to visit in Baarle Nassau, a unique and interesting town that offers something for everyone.

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