Baarn () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, near

Hilversum Hilversum () is a city and municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is the largest urban centre in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller towns. Hilver ...

in the province of

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...

The municipality of Baarn

The municipality of Baarn consists of the following towns: Baarn, Eembrugge, Lage Vuursche.

The town of Baarn

Baarn, the main town of the municipality, received

city rights Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...

in 1391. The town lies about 8 km east of

. In 2001, the town of Baarn had a population of 22,871. The urban area of the town was , and consisted of 10,076 residences.Statistics Netherlands (CBS), ''Bevolkingskernen in Nederland 2001'' . Statistics are for the continuous built-up area. The royal family owns several houses around Baarn. The Soestdijk Palace in Baarn was the home of Queen Emma, Queen Juliana and Juliana's husband prince

Bernard Bernard ('' Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "bra ...

. Crown prince

Willem Alexander Willem-Alexander (; Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand; born ) is King of the Netherlands, having acceded to the throne following his mother's abdication in 2013. Willem-Alexander was born in Utrecht as the oldest child of Princess Beatr ...

and his brothers attended school ('' Nieuwe Baarnse School'' and '' Het Baarnsch Lyceum'') in Baarn when Queen Beatrix (then princess) and her family lived at Castle Drakesteijn in the village of Lage Vuursche, before they moved to

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

in 1980. A piece of forest, the Baarnse Bos, is adjacent to the palace and historically belonged to it. Baarn's shopping facilities are mainly located in the Laanstraat. Other visitor destinations include 'het Cantonspark' (a

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

) and Groeneveld Castle. In the north and east there are

polder A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a lake or the seabed # Flood plains ...

s, and the river Eem. Recreation resources include the woodlands south-west of Baarn, connecting Baarn to Soestdijk, and called 'Het Baarnsche Bos'. The Scout Centre Buitenzorg ( Scouting Nederland) is located in Baarn. To the south lay the connecting road towards the city of

Amersfoort Amersfoort () is a city and municipality in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands, about 20 km from the city of Utrecht and 40 km south east of Amsterdam. As of 1 December 2021, the municipality had a population of 158,531, making it the second- ...

, called 'Breemeentje'. This, approx. 10 km long straight of polder road, connects the town of Baarn to various roads in Soest and the industrial area of Amersfoort. Due to good communications with Amsterdam, the town is home to a number of boutique international firms such as

SEI Investments Company SEI Investments Company, formerly Simulated Environments Inc, is a financial services company headquartered in Oaks, Pennsylvania, United States. The company describes itself as "a global provider of investment processing, investment management, ...

, Bain & Co and Cerberus Capital Management. Unilever's Conimex and software company Seyoda Games are located in Baarn.

Transport

Baarn has a railway station - Baarn railway station, with trains going every half-hour to

(

Utrecht Centraal Utrecht Centraal, officially Station Utrecht Centraal (), is the transit hub that integrates three bicycle parkings, two bus stations, two tram stops and the central railway station for the city of Utrecht in the province of Utrecht, Nether ...

, 35 minutes),

( Amersfoort Centraal, 10 minutes) and

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

(

Amsterdam Centraal Amsterdam Centraal Station ( nl, italic=no, Station Amsterdam Centraal ; abbreviation: Asd) is the largest railway station in Amsterdam, North Holland, the Netherlands. A major international railway hub, it is used by 192,000 passengers a da ...

, about 40 minutes). The

A1 motorway A1, A-1, A01 or A.1. may refer to: Education * A1, the Basic Language Certificate of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages * Language A1, the former name for "Language A: literature", one of the IB Group 1 subjects * A1, a ...

runs just north of Baarn.

Vessels

Freighter of the KNSM, assigned to the allied invasion fleet for Sicily and sailing in convoy KWS 16, loaded from Alexandria with tanks, trucks, ammunition and petrol (in cans) and 4 LCMs, under captain LH Mager, 11 July 1943, anchored off the coast of Sicily, on the roadstead of Avola, attacked by 12 German bombers. The 'Baarn' is hit and catches fire. All those on board manage to save themselves and are on the landing beach within an hour. The 'Baarn' will later be sunk as a wreck by British warships.

Notable residents

Royalty

* Prince Ernest Casimir of the Netherlands (1822 in Baarn – 1822) the fourth son of the Prince of Orange, later King William II of the Netherlands *

Beatrix of the Netherlands Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 1980 until her abdication in 2013. Beatrix is the eldest daughter of Queen Juliana and her husban ...

(born 1938 in Baarn) Queen of the Netherlands 1980-2013 * Princess Irene of the Netherlands (born 1939 in Baarn) the second child of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands * Princess Christina of the Netherlands (born 1947 in Baarn – 2019) the youngest of four daughters of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands

Public Intellectual & Public Service

* Michiel Horn FRSC (born 1939 in Baarn) a Canadian professor and historian *

Bauke Roolvink Bauke Roolvink (31 January 1912 – 25 November 1979) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP) now merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party and trade union leader Roolvink worked as a foundry-man at a ...

(1912 – 1979 in Baarn) a Dutch politician and a trade union leader *

Edith Schippers Edith Ingeborg Schippers (born 25 August 1964) is a retired Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and businesswoman serving as President of the DSM Company since 1 February 2019. Schippers, a political consulta ...

(born 1964) a former politician, was Minister of Healthcare, lives in Baarn *

John D. Stamford The ''Spartacus International Gay Guide'' is an international gay travel application and formerly an annually-published guide. It was founded by John D. Stamford in 1970 as a printed guide, before being bought by Bruno Gmünder in 1987 following ...

(1939-1994) paedophilia advocate and founder of

Spartacus International Gay Guide The ''Spartacus International Gay Guide'' is an international gay travel application and formerly an annually-published guide. It was founded by John D. Stamford in 1970 as a printed guide, before being bought by Bruno Gmünder in 1987 following ...

, lived in Baarn

The Arts

* Betty Callish (1886 in Baarn – after 1941) a Dutch actress, singer and violinist *

M. C. Escher Maurits Cornelis Escher (; 17 June 1898 – 27 March 1972) was a Dutch graphic artist who made mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithographs, and mezzotints. Despite wide popular interest, Escher was for most of his life neglected in t ...

(1898–1972) a Dutch graphic artist, lived and worked in Baarn 1941/1970 * Piet Esser (1914 in Baarn – 2004) a Dutch sculptor * Lia Dorana (1918 – 2010 in Lage Vuursche) a Dutch comedian and actress * Albert Muis (born 1941 in Baarn) a Dutch artist * Tineke de Nooij (born 1941 in Baarn) a Dutch radio and TV presenter *

Joop van den Ende Johannes "Joop" Adrianus van den Ende (born 23 February 1942) is a Dutch theatrical producer, co-founder of international television production company Endemol and founder/owner of Stage Entertainment, Europe's largest live entertainment company ...

(born 1942) a Dutch theatrical producer and media tycoon, lives in Baarn *

Yorick van Wageningen Yorick van Wageningen (born 16 April 1964) is a Dutch actor who has performed in Dutch and American films, including ''The Chronicles of Riddick'' and the 2011 remake of ''The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo''. Life and career Van Wageningen was b ...

(born 1964 in Baarn) a Dutch actor IMDb Database
retrieved 24 December 2019 *

Martin Majoor Martin Majoor (born 14 October 1960) is a Dutch type designer and graphic designer. As of 2006, he had worked since 1997 in both Arnhem, Netherlands, and Warsaw, Poland. Biography Early life Majoor was born in 1960 in the town of Baarn, in ...

(born 1960 in Baarn) a Dutch type designer and graphic designer * Marleen van den Broek (born 1971 in Baarn) stage name '' Marlayne'', a Dutch singer at 1999 Eurovision Song Contest

Sport

* Fanny Blankers-Koen (1918 in Lage Vuursche – 2004) a Dutch track and field athlete, won four gold medals at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ...

* Jan van Gooswilligen (born 1935 in Baarn - 2008) a former Dutch field hockey player, participated in two Olympic Games

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this h ...

* André Hoekstra (born 1962 in Baarn) a retired Dutch footballer with over 300 club caps * Maryse Abendanon (born 1966) a former Dutch field hockey player, lives in Baarn *

Diederik van Weel Diederik David van Weel (born 28 September 1973, in Baarn) is a former Dutch field hockey player, who played 61 international matches for the Netherlands, in which he didn't score a single goal. The defender made his debut for the Dutch on 17 Au ...

(born 1973 in Baarn)

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

player, team gold medallist at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

Dustley Mulder Dustley Roman Mulder (born 27 January 1985) is a former professional footballer who played as a right back. Born in the Netherlands, he represented the Curaçao national team at international level. He works as a youth coach with NAC Breda. Cl ...

(born 1985 in Baarn) a Curaçaoan footballer with over 300 club caps *

Ilse van der Meijden Ilse Suzanne van der Meijden (born 22 October 1988 in Baarn) is a water polo player of the Netherlands who represents the Dutch national team in international competitions.

(born 1988 in Baarn) a water polo player, team gold medallist at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

* Sharon van Rouwendaal (born 1993 in Baarn) a Dutch distance swimmer and a gold medalist at the

2016 Summer Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...

Twin city

Baarn is twinned with:

Gallery

Image:Baarn, de Pauluskerk RM8537 foto1 2012-05-28 11.21.JPG, Church: the Pauluskerk File:Cast iron bridge over the pond at Soestdijk Palace.jpg, Cast iron bridge over the pond at Soestdijk Palace File:Paaskerk Baarn.jpg, Paaskerk (Easter Church) in Baarn File:Baarn Telefoonhuisje 2013.JPG, Baarn Telefoonhuisje File:Baarn Watertoren 9170.JPG, Baarn Watertoren File:Baarn Pijnenburg westzijde 2013 49.JPG, Baarn Pijnenburg westzijde

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control Municipalities of Utrecht (province) Populated places in Utrecht (province)