(; french: Baerle-Duc, ) is a

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, much of which consists of a number of small Belgian enclaves fully surrounded by the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. Parts of are surrounded by the Dutch province of

North Brabant North Brabant ( nl, Noord-Brabant ; Brabantian: ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to the w ...

, but it is part of the Belgian province of Antwerp. , it has a population of 2,935. The total area is .

Geography

Border with

is noted for its complicated borders with ,

. The border's complexity results from a number of medieval treaties, agreements, land-swaps and sales between the Lords of and the

Dukes of Brabant The Duke of Brabant (, ) was the ruler of the Duchy of Brabant since 1183/1184. The title was created by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I of the House of Reginar, son of Godfrey III of Leuven (who was duke of Low ...

. Generally speaking, predominantly agricultural or built environments became constituents of Brabant and other parts devolved to . These distributions were ratified and clarified as a part of the border settlements agreed under the

Treaty of Maastricht The Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, is the foundation treaty of the European Union (EU). Concluded in 1992 between the then-twelve member states of the European Communities, it announced "a new stage in the pr ...

in 1843. The tight integration of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

and in particular the

Schengen Agreement The Schengen Agreement ( , ) is a treaty which led to the creation of Europe's Schengen Area, in which internal border checks have largely been abolished. It was signed on 14 June 1985, near the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, by five of the t ...

have made many of the practicalities of the situation substantially simpler since the 1990s. In total, it consists of 24 separate parcels of land. The largest single section of the municipality of , namely Zondereigen (named after its main hamlet) is located within mainland Belgium right on the contiguous border (north of the town of ). In addition to this, there are twenty Belgian exclaves fully within the Netherlands and three other sections straddling the contiguous Dutch-Belgian border. There are also seven Dutch enclaves within the Belgian exclaves (i.e., counter-exclaves) that are part of the territory of the Netherlands. Six of these Dutch enclaves are located within the largest Belgian exclave, and a seventh in the second-largest Belgian exclave. An eighth Dutch exclave is located near . During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, this situation meant that the Imperial German Army could not occupy these parts of Belgium without crossing the Netherlands, which the Dutch government did not allow. Thus, these pieces of Belgium became a place where refugees could safely stay. A clandestine radio transmitter was smuggled in and from there worked with the Belgian resistance. The Dutch government fenced off these areas and controlled access in or out of them, building a church and school for the Belgian people who were effectively stranded within the enclaves. This situation did not exist in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, as both countries were occupied by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. Some houses in the town of / are divided between the two countries. At one time, according to Dutch laws, restaurants had to close earlier. For some restaurants on the border, this simply meant that the customers had to move to a table on the Belgian side. In 2020, restrictions due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

differed between the two countries; for instance, preventing a Belgian citizen living metres away from an open Dutch bar from patronising it. Many

firework Fireworks are a class of low explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large number of devices in ...

s shops are found in , as Belgian laws controlling the sale of fireworks are more lenient than those of the Netherlands. Many Dutch tourists come to to buy fireworks to celebrate the New Year. Two villages in the municipality, Zondereigen and Ginhoven, are located in the main territory of Belgium. File:Baarle-Nassau frontière café.jpg, Café in , showing border between Belgium and the Netherlands File:P1020708Sint-Remigiuskerk.JPG, Church of

Saint Remigius Remigius (french: Remi or ; – January 13, 533), was the Bishop of Reims and "Apostle of the Franks". On 25 December 496, he baptised Clovis I, King of the Franks. The baptism, leading to about 3000 additional converts, was an important event ...

List of enclaves

Netherlands enclaves

These are all part of municipality.

Belgian enclaves

These are all part of municipality, and are surrounded by municipality (Netherlands).

Climate

Education

has two elementary schools: De Vlinder and De Horizon. It has a joint library with with Belgian and Dutch staff.bibliotheek
" Baarle-Hertog. Retrieved on January 6, 2017.

Notable inhabitants

Petrus Christus Petrus Christus (; 1410/1420 – 1475/1476) was an Early Netherlandish painter active in Bruges from 1444, where, along with Hans Memling, he became the leading painter after the death of Jan van Eyck. He was influenced by van Eyck and Rogier v ...

, 15th century painter

References

External links

Official Web site Baarle-Hertog

Official Web site Baarle-Nassau

* ttp://ontology.buffalo.edu/smith/baarle.htm Barry Smith's Baarle Site(with maps)
Photos from Baarle-Nassau/HertogPhotograph of H-22, the smallest enclave of B.-Hertog at 51°26'54"N 4°50'10"ENew York Times, Frugal Traveler Blog, August 2008 (Matt Gross)
– see video of Baarle-Hartog in middle of page
'En Territoire Belge et a quarante centimetres de la frontiere' - English-language PhD thesis on the historical geography of Baarle's enclaves, including photos and detailed maps
{{Authority control Belgium–Netherlands border crossings Enclaves and exclaves Municipalities of Antwerp Province Twin cities