Soest () is a

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

and town in the central

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, in the province of

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

. It is about west of

Amersfoort Amersfoort () is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht, Netherlands. As of 31 January 2023, the municipality had ...

Population centres

The town of Soest

The oldest documents mentioning Soest (then written as ''Zoys'') date from 1029. Its oldest church (the ''Oude Kerk'', meaning ''Old Church''), which is still in use today, dates from the fifteenth century. Traces of earlier habitation are found though. The area of "Hees", now at the outskirts of Soest may date in to the Early

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, and

prehistoric Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...

burial mound Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

s in the Soesterduinen point to early habitation in this area. Gem-Soest-OpenTopo

Agricultural activity is still visible as there is much

farmland Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with bot ...

within Soest. The biggest area is in the center of the town, on a hill, and are called 'de Engh'. A small street is ''het Kerkpad'' (literally, the Church Path). The Soesterduinen (sand dunes), is a popular area for recreation. Numerous churches depict the Calvinist/Catholic tradition of Soest and the region. Wilhelmina Kerk Soest, Gereformeerde Kerk Vrijgemaakt, Emmakerk and the Evangelie Gemeente Soest (meets in church building Julianakerk) are the main churches. Soestduinen, meaning Soest Dunes, a small town between Soest and Soesterberg contains acres upon acres of sand dunes named the Lange Duinen (meaning the long dunes). Currently some 50,000 inhabitants live in Soest, consisting mainly of commuters.

Transport

Soest has three railway stations: *

Soestdijk Soestdijk () is a neighbourhood of Soest, Netherlands, Soest and a hamlet in the municipality of Baarn. Both are part of the province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht, Netherlands. The village gives its name to Soestdijk Palace, Paleis Soestdijk, wh ...

* Soest * Soest Zuid The biggest of the three is Soest Zuid. Soest can be reached by train from

(every half-hour, xx:06 and xx:36) and

Baarn Baarn () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, near Hilversum in the province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The municipality of Baarn The municipality of Baarn consists of the following towns: Baarn, Eembrugge, Lage Vuursche. T ...

(xx:22 and xx:52); all trains stop at the three stations. The station of Soestduinen, situated between Utrecht Centraal and Amersfoort Centraal, was closed in 1998, after being in use for 135 years. It is now a restaurant. The stations that can be reached directly from Soest are: *

Den Dolder Den Dolder is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of Zeist, and lies about 4 km northeast of Bilthoven. Den Dolder has a railway station on the route between Amersfoort and Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ...

Bilthoven Bilthoven is a village in the Netherlands, Dutch province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of De Bilt. It has a railway station with connections to Utrecht (city), Utrecht, Amersfoort and Baarn. It is home to the Ne ...

* Utrecht Overvecht * Utrecht Centraal Soest has a number of bus stops and three bus lines, all of which leave from the bus station at Soest Zuid exactly at the half-hour. Line 70 however, travel both directions to

and

Hilversum Hilversum () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is ...

. Line 74 travels within the town of Soest. And multiple others travel through Soest. (272 Bunschoten-Spakenburg to Uithof, Utrecht vv. More info found at 9292ov.nl for all the public transport connections

Notable people

Gerard Soest Gerard Soest ( – 11 February 1681), also known as Gerald Soest, was a portrait painter who was active in England during the late 17th century. He is most famous for his portraits of William Shakespeare and Samuel Butler (poet), Samuel Butler, but ...

( – 1681) portrait painter who was active in England *

Prince Alexander of the Netherlands Prince Alexander of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange-Nassau (William ''Alexander'' Frederick Constantine Nicholas Michael, ; 2 August 1818 – 20 February 1848) was born at Soestdijk Palace, the second son to William II of the Netherlands, ...

(1818–1848) second son to King William II and Queen Anna Paulovna * Dirk Jan de Geer (1870–1960) politician,

Prime Minister of the Netherlands The prime minister of the Netherlands () or, before 1945, the chairman of the Council of Ministers () is the ''de facto'' head of government of the Netherlands.''Grondwet voor het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden'' onstitution of the Kingdom of the N ...

1926-1929 and 1939-1940 * Frida Vogels (born 1930) writer, lives in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

* Ed van den Heuvel (born 1940) astronomer *

Marlous Fluitsma Maria Louise Clara Albertine Fluitsma (born 12 December 1946), known as Marlous Fluitsma, is a Dutch actress, known for her roles in Dutch films and on television in various Dutch language series. She was well-known to Europeans outside the Neth ...

(born 1946) actress * Peter Kooy (born 1954) bass singer specializing in baroque music *

Jack Wouterse Jack Wouterse (born 17 June 1957 in Soest) is a Dutch actor. His career as a movie actor took off with his role in the 1992 film ''The Northerners'', directed by Alex van Warmerdam. Wouterse made his international debut in an episode of the TV ...

(born 1957) actor * Thomas von der Dunk (born 1961) cultural historian, writer and columnist * Janine Jansen (born 1978) a violinist and violist * Mirik Milan (born 1981), former Amsterdam Night Mayor *

Els van Doesburg Elisabeth "Els" van Doesburg (born 24 May 1989) is a Dutch- Belgian politician of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) party who has served as the acting mayor of Antwerp since 2025 and as a member of the Flemish Parliament since 2024 for the Antwerp ...

(born 1989), Mayor of Antwerp

Sport

* Robert Roest (born 1969) footballer * Jolanda Elshof (born 1975) retired female volleyball player * Bianca van den Hoek (born 1976) professional racing cyclist * Richard van Zijtveld (born 1979) former darts player * Daniël Stellwagen (born 1987) chess grandmaster * Daan Huizing (born 1990) professional golfer

Business

* Henryck Spierenburg (born 2000), Associate Consultant at OC&C Strategy Consultants

Sport

There are four football clubs in Soest: SEC, VV Hees, SO Soest and VVZ '49. Soesterberg has its own football club, VV 't Vliegdorp.

Twin towns – sister cities

Soest is twinned with: * Soest, Germany, since 2004

Gallery

File:Museum Ald Soest 19.JPG, Museum Old Soest File:Soest Wilhelminalinde 8.JPG, Soest Wilhelminalinde File:Soest, Netherlands - autumn landscape 2015 (22743688092).jpg, Soest, Netherlands: autumn landscape File:Soest - Waterpomp op de kruising van de Kerkstraat en de Eemstraat.jpg, Soest: Waterpomp op de kruising van de Kerkstraat en de Eemstraat File:Hie zien we een gedeelte van Hees vanaf het kruispunt van de buurtschappen Wieksloot en Hees.jpg, Hie zien we een gedeelte van Hees vanaf het kruispunt van de buurtschappen Wieksloot en Hees

References

External links

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

Population centres

The town of Soest

Transport

Notable people

Sport

Business

Sport

Twin towns – sister cities

Gallery

See also

References

External links