“If this is Tuesday, this must be Holland.”
“Sorry dear, I’m in Belgium.”
“But I’m quite certain that I am in the Netherlands.”
That couple–both of whom are correct in their beliefs–is seated at a table in the Cafe Het Hoekske, where a boundary between Belgium and the Netherlands runs across the middle of the floor, passing right under their table. They’re in a place with the strangest geography on earth: Baarle-Nassau-Hertog.
Baarle (as the place is known to locals and savvy world travelers) traces it’s unique geography back to, at least, the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia, which was when the lands comprising Baarle were divided: one part being awarded to the powers of the north (then called “Holland”); the remainder becoming property of the peoples to the south (Belgium).
But it remained until 1843, when the current border between the Netherlands and Belgium was finally and firmly established, for Baarle’s strange geographic composition to emerge. Somehow, in then drawing squiggly lines on a primitive map, the decision makers overlooked a handful of bits and pieces of Belgian territory, which were left, isolated in and surrounded by, the Netherlands. The Dutch municipality of Baarle-Nassau consists of eight enclaves (seven of which are inside of Belgian enclaves, and one in Belgium proper). The Belgian municipality of Baarle-Hertog consists of 21 Belgian enclaves, all of which are inside of the Netherlands. “Enclaves” are small districts of one nation state, which are surrounded by the territory of another nation. Foreign embassy compounds, for example, can be considered to be enclaves. There they remain to this day.
It is that crazy jigsaw puzzle of international boundaries that makes Baarle a most unusual tourist destination.
The Nassau part, with its 6,000 or so Dutch residents, is subject to their Calvinist laws: the Hertog part is home to about 2,100 Belgians, subjects of His Most Catholic Majesty, King Albert II. Baarle’s main square (except for a 10th Century church and an especially popular nearby bar) is Dutch. As you stroll or bicycle adjoining cobblestone streets, you’ll notice that house numbers are overprinted on small enameled squares, colored to represent the nation in which the homes are located (Dutch use blue numbers on a white background bordered with red and blue stripes; the Belgians use black numbers on a white background, with the black red and yellow stripes of the Belgian flag). Usually, all the houses on one side are Dutch, those on the opposite side Belgian.
Many, however, are located in both nations, which gives rise to curious situations, such as where the husband and wife may share one bed, but drift off to sleep in different nations. Literally, the laws of Belgium and Netherlands apply fully to their respective citizens of Baarle, but in this bizarre situation, even well-intentioned residents and visitors inevitably break one or more of such laws every day. Because enforcement of either nation’s laws seems impossible, there is little attempt made to do so. Indeed, there isn’t even a small jail here.
Flags of both nations are especially evident along the Nieuwstraat and Singel Street sections of what is generally thought of as Baarle’s main street. There, tree-shaded cafes lining one side are in Belgium; those on the other side are located in the Netherlands. Weather permitting, sidewalk tables are filled with visitors from many nations; most of whom are, when in season, enjoying fresh herring and onions, washed down with large tankards of justifiably famous Dutch beer, or small glasses of the delightfully different Dutch gin (jenever).
But it isn’t herring that brings most visitors here: it is most often the extraordinary bargains in famous, blue-toned, Delft pottery, delicate Belgian lace and popular imports, such as Swedish crystal. There are dozens of shops catering to the expected tourists. Unusually low prices are asked, reportedly because many of the shops pay little or no tax on items displayed for sale, and often neglect to collect VAT or sales taxes, since neither of the involved governments has quite figured out how to tax stores, homes and businesses built on and around this confusing matrix of boundaries.
Indeed, it seems that the tax collectors, along with other governmental agencies, have just about given up trying to enforce any of their various laws in Baarle, a fact that suits both locals and visitors just fine. For example, the Netherlands, in spite of being shockingly liberal in matters of drugs, sex, euthanasia and abortions, still shuts down its bars and stores on Sundays. But Nederlanders living in Baarle-Nassau, as well as their visitors, have continued easy access to nightclubs, sex shops and those popular, always open “tax free” stores.
Up early one Sunday morning, I walked from the conveniently located Den Engel hotel to the center of town, where I hoped to finish my photography when the light would be coming from a different direction. As I approached the historic Belgian church of St. Remigiukerk, the morning’s calm was rudely shattered by raucous laughter originating from behind the Gothic church. As I drew near, I could see a stream of tipsy revelers staggering from a bar located in one of the Belgian enclaves. Partying appears to be the second major attraction bringing visitors–especially the Dutch–to Baarle.
One day’s enough
If you’re not there to shop, or perhaps to party on Sunday, there’s little in Baarle to keep you for more than a day. Most tourists spend their time looking for, and photographing, sights such as Cafe Het Hoekske (where a line painted on the outside wall indicates that the international boundary runs clear through the place), and for the “House With Two Numbers” (Het Huis op Loveren 2 en 19), which sports a different nation’s number plate on either side of its front door, because a boundary divides that door.
After you’ve seen the major sights, crossed the borders several dozen times and completed your shopping, it’s time for a meal and drink at one of the sidewalk cafes lining Singel and Nieuwstraat. If fresh, or “green,” herring aren’t in season (usually about three weeks in May), try the Brabantse koffietafel (an elaborate sandwich lunch, featuring a wide variety of meats, cheeses, and breads).
IF YOU GO
GETTING THERE
The Netherlands is, to visitors from the States, a very small nation. The driving distance from Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport to Baarle-Nassau-Hertog is only some 80 miles (south on motorways A2 and A27 to Utrecht and Breda, then 10 miles, on provincial highways, to Baarle). Rental cars are available at the airport, but advance reservations are recommended.
LODGING
There are three hotels right in Baarle, and several others are nearby. The Hotel Den Engel, where the author stayed, can be reached at P.O. Box 101, 5110 AC Baarle-Nassau, The Netherlands; 011-31-013-5079330; fax 011-31-013-5078269. Room rates are $64 and up for a double.
One bed-and-breakfast is that of Mrs. J. Jansen-Sterkens, Zondereigen-Gel 14, 2387 Baarle-Hertog (Zondereigen), Belgium; 011-32-014-633380. Rates are about $40.
WHEN TO GO
Spring and autumn are the better times to enjoy Baarle. Winters are usually dreary and chilly; summer’s hot, crowded and overly busy.
INFORMATION
For further information, visit the Web site at wings.buffalo.edu/philosophy/faculty/smith/baarle.htm.
— J.G.N.
