Hilversum () is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

and

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 ...

in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

North Holland North Holland ( nl, Noord-Holland, ) is a province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevoland. In November 2019, it had a ...

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 ...

. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is the largest urban centre in that area. It is surrounded by

heathland A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or arti ...

s, lakes, and smaller towns. Hilversum is part of the Randstad, one of the largest

conurbation A conurbation is a region comprising a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most cas ...

s in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, and the Amsterdam metropolitan area; it is about 22 km from the centre of

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 ...

and about 15 km from the city of Utrecht. The city is home to the headquarters, studios, and broadcast stations of several major radio, television, and newspaper companies, such as the NOS. This means that Hilversum is known for being the ''mediastad'' (media city) of the Netherlands.

Town

Hilversum lies south-east of

and north of Utrecht. The town is known for its architecturally important Town Hall (Raadhuis Hilversum), designed by Willem Marinus Dudok and built in 1931. Hilversum has one public library, two swimming pools (Van Hellemond Sport and De Lieberg), a number of sporting halls, and several shopping centers (such as Hilvertshof, Winkelcentrum Kerkelanden, De Riebeeckgalerij, and Winkelcentrum Seinhorst). Locally, the town center is known as ''het dorp'', which means "the village".

Geography

Hilversum is located on the sandy, hilly parts of the Gooi, and has four hills: de closest to the centre of town in the Boomberg. then the Trompenberg (now a luxury residential area where a.o. the Brenninkmeijer family lives, of C&A-fame, and to the south the Hoorneboeg (25m) and two km easterly of that the Zwaluwenberg, where since 1950 the headquarters of the inspector-general of the armies is located. These hills date from the period of the Ice-age, when

gletscher A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

s pushed walls of earth before them. Hilversum was the farthest southern edge the gletschers reached. Surrounding towns are Nieuw-Loosdrecht, Bussum, Kortenhoef, Blaricum, Hollandsche Rading, Lage Vuursche, Maartensdijk, 's-Graveland, Laren, Nederhorst den Berg and Ankeveen. Hilversum consists of the following districts and neighborhoods: Center (Langgewenstbuurt, Sint Vitusbuurt, Havenstraatbuurt and Centrum), Northwest (Nimrodpark, Trompenberg North, Trompenberg South, Media Park, Raadhuiskwartier and Boomberg), Northeast (North, Johannes Geradtswegbuurt, Erfgooiersbuurt and AZC Crailo), East (Geuzenbuurt, Electrobuurt, Astronomiebuurt, Science neighborhood, Kamrad, Kleine Driftbuurt and Liebergen), Southeast (Bloemkwartier Noord, Bloemenkwartier Zuid, Painterskwartier, 't Hoogt van' t Kruis, Arenaparkkwartier and West Indiëkwartier), Zuid (Writerskwartier, Staatsliedenkwartier and Zeeheldenkwartier), Southwest ( Kerkelanden, Havenkwartier, Zeverijn and Het Rode Dorp) and Hilversumse Meent. In 1767 Hilversum was still divided into 4 districts (quarters): the Neuquartier, Groestquartier, Kerkquartier and the Sandtbergerquartier. The Oude Haven in the southwest is at the end of the Gooische Vaart. The construction of the canal between 's-Graveland and Hilversum was done in stages, so that it took 240 years. The canal was completed in 1876. Later, a modern harbor was dug, surrounded by an industrial estate. There is also a sports harbor.

International

Hilversum has a variety of international schools, such as the ''Violenschool'' and ''International School Hilversum "Alberdingk Thijm"''. Also, Nike's,

Hunkemöller Hunkemöller is a global, omnichannel retailer specialising in lingerie and related products. The company was founded in 1886 in Amsterdam as a speciality shop for corsets. Today, it is a brand with more than 7,400 employees in 19 countries. Hun ...

's and Converse's European headquarters are located in Hilversum.

History

Earthenware found in Hilversum gives its name to the Hilversum culture, which is an early- to mid-Bronze Age, or 1800–1200 BC material culture. Artifacts from this prehistoric civilization bear similarities to the Wessex Culture of southern Britain and may indicate that the first Hilversum residents emigrated from that area. The first brick settlements formed around 900, but it was not until 1305 that the first official mention of Hilversum ("Hilfersheem" from "Hilvertshem" meaning "houses between the hills") is found. At that point it was a part of

Naarden Naarden () is a city and former municipality in the Gooi region in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It has been part of the new municipality of Gooise Meren since 2016. History Naarden was granted its city rights in 1300 (the only to ...

, the oldest town in the Gooi area. Johannes Bosboom - Interieur van een boerendeel bij Hilversum

Farming, raising sheep and some wool manufacturing were the means of life for the Gooi in the Middle Ages. In 1424 Hilversum received its first official independent status. This made possible further growth in the village because permission from Naarden was no longer needed for new industrial development. The town grew further in the 17th century when the Dutch economy as a whole entered its age of prosperity, and several canals were built connecting it indirectly to Amsterdam. In 1725 and 1766 large fires destroyed most of the town, leveling parts of the old townhouse and the church next to it. The town overcame these setbacks and the textile industry continued to develop, among other ways by devising a way to weave cows' hair. In the 19th century a substantial textile and tapestry industry emerged, aided by a railway link to Amsterdam in 1874. From that time the town grew quickly with rich commuters from Amsterdam moving in, building themselves large villas in the wooded surroundings, and gradually starting to live in Hilversum permanently. Despite this growth, Hilversum was never granted

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 ...

so it is still referred to by many locals as "het dorp," or "the village." For the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated fro ...

in neighboring

, it hosted all of the non-jumping

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...

and the running part of the modern pentathlon event. The ''Nederlandse Seintoestellen Fabriek'' (NSF) company established a professional transmitter and radio factory in Hilversum in the early 1920s, growing into the largest of its kind in the Netherlands. Following the defeat of Allied forces in the Netherlands in 1940, and its occupation 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 ...

, Hilversum became the headquarters of the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

(''Heer'') in the Netherlands. On February 25 and 26, 1941, most of Hilversum's factories went on strike against the start of the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

in the so-called

February strike The February strike ( nl, Februaristaking) was a general strike in the German-occupied Netherlands in 1941, during World War II, organised by the then-outlawed Communist Party of the Netherlands in defence of persecuted Dutch Jews and agains ...

( Amsterdam Docker's Strike). Some 10,000 people took part. There is a yearly remembrance service since 2015. The Holocaust was the reason for 2,000 Hilversum Jews to lose their lives. The community has never recovered fully. Some 50 Hilversummers were awarded the title of Righteous among the nations from Yad Vashem. Viktor Kugeler, one of Anne Frank's helper, was one of them. In 1948, NSF was taken over by

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters is ...

. However, Dutch radio broadcasting organizations (followed by television broadcasters during the 1950s) centralised their operations in Hilversum, providing a source of continuing economic growth. The concentration of broadcasters in Hilversum has given it its enduring status as the media city for the Netherlands. In 1964, the population reached a record high – over 103,000 people called Hilversum home. However, the textile industry had started its decline; only one factory, Veneta, managed to continue into the 1960s, when it also had to close its doors. Another major industry, the chemical factory IFF, also closed by the end of the 1960s. After the 1960s, the population gradually declined, until stabilising at around 85,000. Several factors other than the slump in manufacturing have featured in this decline: one is the fact that the average family nowadays consists of fewer people, so fewer people live in each house; second, the town is virtually unable to expand because all the surrounding lands were sold by city architect W.M. Dudok to the Goois Natuurreservaat ('' nl''). The third reason for this decline of the population was because the property values were increasing rapidly in that moment of time, and many people were forced to move to less expensive areas in the Netherlands. Some sources blame connections in the television world for attracting crime to Hilversum; the town has had to cope with mounting drug-related issues in a community with higher than average unemployment and ongoing housing shortage. Hilversum was one of the first towns to have a local party of the populist movement called ''Leefbaar'' ("liveable"). Founded by former social-democrat party strongman Jan Nagel, it was initially held at bay for alderman positions. In 2001, Nagel from Leefbaar Hilversum teamed up with Leefbaar Utrecht leaders to found a national Leefbaar Nederland party. By strange coincidence, in 2002 the most vocal Leefbaar Rotterdam politician Pim Fortuyn was shot and killed by an animal rights activist at Hilversum Media Park just after finishing a radio interview. This happened, however, after a break between Fortuyn and Nagel during a Leefbaar Nederland board meeting in Hilversum on Fortuyn's anti-Islamic viewpoints. The town of Hilversum has put a great deal of effort into improvements, including a recent renovation to its central train station, thorough renovation of the main shopping centre (Hilvertshof), and development of new dining and retail districts downtown including the "vintage" district in the Leeuwenstraat. Several notable architectural accomplishments include the Institute for Sound and Vision, and Zanderij Crailoo ('' nl''), the largest man-made wildlife crossing in the world. The nearby Media Park was the scene of the 2002 assassination of politician Pim Fortuyn; in 2015, a gunman carrying a false pistol stormed into

Nederlandse Omroep Stichting The Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (; NOS ; English: Dutch Broadcasting Foundation) is one of the broadcasting organisations making up the Netherlands Public Broadcasting system. It has a special statutory obligation to make news and sports progra ...

's headquarters, demanding airtime on the evening news. The population declined from 103,000 in 1964 to 84,000 in 2006, but rose again to 90.000 in 2018. The decline is mostly due to the fact that families are smaller these days.

Culture

The large Catholic neo-gothic St. Vitus church ( P.J.H. Cuypers, 1892, bell tower 96 metres; 315'). The city played host to many landscape artists during the 19th century, including Barend Cornelis Koekkoek. In the 1950s and 1960s the city played host to a major European Tennis tournament. The

1958 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 1958 was the third edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster (NTS), the contest, originally known as the (English: Grand Prix of the Euro ...

took place in Hilversum. In 2020 the international television event '' Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light'' was broadcast from Studio 21 in Hilversum's Media Park. This event was held in place of the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 which was cancelled 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 ...

Broadcasting

Hilversum is often called "media city", since it is the principal centre for radio and television broadcasting in the Netherlands, and is home to an extensive complex of radio and television studios and to the administrative headquarters of the multiple broadcasting organizations which make up the Netherlands Public Broadcasting system. Hilversum is also home to many newer commercial TV production companies. Radio Netherlands, which had been broadcasting worldwide via

shortwave radio Shortwave radio is radio transmission using shortwave (SW) radio frequencies. There is no official definition of the band, but the range always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (100 to 10 m ...

since the 1920s, was also based in Hilversum until it was dissolved in 2013. The following is a list of organizations that have, or are continuing to, broadcast from studios in Hilversum: One result of the town's history as an important radio transmission centre is that many older radio sets throughout Europe featured ''Hilversum'' as a pre-marked dial position on their tuning scales. Dutch national voting in the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

is normally co-ordinated from Hilversum.

Transport

Airport

Hilversum Airport is located in the southwest of the municipality. Next to it is the former Marine Training Camp (MOK), now Corporal Van Oudheusden Barracks for the medical troops. In wartime the airfield was developed by the nazi's. They also set up an assembly line the for training aircraft, produced by

Fokker Fokker was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker. The company operated under several different names. It was founded in 1912 in Berlin, Germany, and became famous for its fighter aircraft in World War I. In 1919 ...

in Weesp. The history of this airfield in the period 1940-1945 is described in the book 'Airfields in Wartime', written by members of the Air War Study Group 1939-1945 and published in November 2009 by the Netherlands Institute for Military History.

Railway

Hilversum is well connected to the Dutch railway network, and has three stations.

Public buses

Most local and regional buses are operated by

Connexxion Connexxion is a large public transport company in the Netherlands, operating in the west, middle, east and southwest parts of the country. It is owned by Transdev and Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten. It is a subsidiary of Transdev Netherlands. Hi ...

, but two of the bus routes are operated by Syntus Utrecht and two others by U-OV and Pouw Vervoer. Regional bus route 320 is operated by both Connexxion and Pouw Vervoer. In 2018, major road works started to make room for a new BRT bus lane from Hilversum to Huizen, set to open in early 2021.

Local bus lines

Regional bus lines

Local government

The

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

of Hilversum consists of 37 seats, which are divided as follows since the last local election of 2018: * Hart voor Hilversum - 8 seats * D66 – 7 seats * VVD – 6 seats * GroenLinks – 5 seats * CDA – 4 seats * SP – 2 seats * PvdA – 2 seats *

ChristenUnie The Christian Union ( nl, ChristenUnie, CU) is a Christian-democratic political party in the Netherlands. The CU is a centrist party, maintaining more progressive stances on economic, immigration and environmental issues while holding more socially ...

– 2 seats *

Leefbaar Livable Netherlands ( nl, Leefbaar Nederland, LN) was a Dutch political party. Pim Fortuyn began his political career in the party. History Historically there have always been parties in States Provincial (provincial legislatures) and munici ...

Hilversum – 1 seat Government After the 2018 elections, the municipal government was made up of aldermen from the political parties Hart voor Hilversum, D66 and VVD. The mayor of Hilversum is Pieter Broertjes, former lead editor of the Volkskrant, a nationwide distributed newspaper. It was the first city with a "

" party (which was intended as just a local party). Today, Leefbaar Hilversum has been reduced to only 1 seat, but some other parties have their origins in Leefbaar Hilversum: * Hart voor Hilversum. Originated from a Leefbaar Hilversum separation party called DLPH, which won 1 seat in the 2006 elections. Leadership was taken over in 2006 by Leonie Sazias, a TV celebrity. Leonie Sazias later changed the party name to Hart voor Hilversum. She won 3 seats in the 2010 elections and increased her influence to 6 seats in 2014. They won the 2018 elections and have 8 seats now. * Hilversum 1. Was founded by Hans Roos, originally a council member for Hart voor Hilversum, but due to disagreements with the party on the list of candidates for the elections in 2014, decided to split and start his own party in 2013.

Notable residents

Notable people born in Hilversum:

Public service & public thinking

H. A. Sinclair de Rochemont Hugues Alexandre Sinclair de Rochemont (Hilversum, 6 January 1901 – 13 March 1942) was a Dutch fascist and later a collaborator with the Nazis. Whilst studying Indology at Leiden University, he became associated with the rightist professor Ger ...

(1901–1942) a Dutch fascist and later a Nazi collaborator * Jan van den Brink (1915–2006) a Dutch politician and businessman * Joop den Uyl (1919–1987) Prime Minister of the Netherlands 1973 to 1977 * Wilhelmus Luijpen (1922–1980) a Dutch philosopher, Catholic priest of the

Order of St. Augustine The Order of Saint Augustine, ( la, Ordo Fratrum Sancti Augustini) abbreviated OSA, is a religious mendicant order of the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1244 by bringing together several eremitical groups in the Tuscany region who were fo ...

and an existential phenomenologist *

Ineke van Wetering Wilhelmina (''Ineke'') van Wetering (17 October 1934, Hilversum - 18 October 2011, Huijbergen) was a Dutch anthropologist and Surinamist. She was born on 17 October 1934 in the Dutch city of Hilversum. When she was 10 years old, her father (iro ...

(1934-2011) a Dutch anthropologist who studied witchcraft in

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the nor ...

* Hubert van Es (1941-2009), war journalist in Vietnam *

John Gerretsen John Philip Gerretsen (born June 9, 1942) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2014 who represented the eastern Ontario riding of Kingston and the Islands. He serv ...

(born 1942), politician in Ontario, Canada * Ernst Bakker (1946–2014) a Dutch politician, Mayor of Hilversum 1998 to 2011 *

Olga Fischer Olga Fischer (; born 5 April 1951, Hilversum) is a Dutch linguist and an expert on the English language. She is Professor Emerita of Germanic Linguistics at the University of Amsterdam and former president of the International Society for th ...

(born 1951) a Dutch linguist and academic * Bartha Knoppers (born 1951), a Canadian lawyer *

André Rouvoet André Rouvoet (; born 4 January 1962) is a retired Dutch politician of the Reformatory Political Federation (RPF) party and later the Christian Union (CU) party and jurist. He is the chairman of the executive board of the Healthcare Insuranc ...

(born 1962), a retired Dutch politician * Janneke Raaijmakers (born 1973) a Dutch historian of the Middle Ages, focus on the Fulda monastery

The arts

* Jan Teulings (1905–1989) a Dutch actor * Emmy Lopes Dias (1919–2005) a Dutch stage, radio, and TV actress and advocate for the right to die *

Pim Jacobs Willem Bernard "Pim" Jacobs (29 October 1934 – 3 July 1996) was a Dutch jazz pianist, composer and television presenter. Early life Jacobs was born on 29 October 1934 in Hilversum, the Netherlands. His parents were artistic. He started playing ...

(1934–1996) a Dutch jazz pianist, composer and TV presenter * Chris Hinze (born 1938) a Dutch former pianist, now jazz and New Age flautist * Harry van Hoof (born 1943) a Dutch conductor, composer and music arranger * Harmke Pijpers (born 1946) a Dutch journalist and radio and TV presenter * Dick Diamonde (born 1947) a retired Dutch Australian bass guitar player * Ton Scherpenzeel (born 1952), keyboardist and founder of the Dutch rock band Kayak *

Pim Koopman Wilhelmus Frederikus "Pim" Koopman (11 March 1953 – 23 November 2009) was a Dutch musician best known as the drummer and percussionist of rock band Kayak. Biography Born in Hilversum, Koopman co-founded Kayak in 1972, along with Ton Scherp ...

(1953–2009), drummer of the Dutch progressive rock band, Kayak *

Max Werner Max Werner (born 29 December 1953 in Hilversum) is a Dutch vocalist, musician, and drummer. He was the lead singer, drummer, and percussionist of the progressive art rock band Kayak. In 1972, Werner co-founded the band along with keyboardist ...

(born 1953), former lead singer and drummer of the rock band Kayak * Erland Van Lidth de Jeude (1953–1987), a Dutch-American actor, opera singer and amateur wrestler * Arjan Ederveen (born 1956) a Dutch actor, comedian, TV scriptwriter and TV director * Luc Leestemaker (1957–2012) an American abstract expressionist artist * Arjen Anthony Lucassen (born 1960), a Dutch singer, songwriter, musician and record producer * Bert Boeren (born 1962) a Dutch jazz trombonist and educator *

Ruud de Wild Ruud and Rud are surnames of Norwegian origin. Both are also Norwegian place names of numerous farmsteads named Rud or Ruud from Old Norse ''ruð'' meaning clearing. Ruud is also a Dutch masculine given name meaning "famous wolf" although it is al ...

(born 1969) a Dutch radio host * Dave Luza (born 1974), an improvisational comedian * Liza Ferschtman (born 1979) a Dutch classical violinist * Marieke Blaauw (born 1979) a Dutch animator * Nicolette Kluijver (born 1984) a Dutch TV presenter and former model IMDb Database
retrieved 4 December 2019 * Lucas & Arthur Jussen, Lucas (born 1993) and Arthur (born 1996) are brothers and form a piano duo. *

Sick Individuals Sick Individuals (stylized as SICK INDIVIDUALS) is a Dutch electronic dance music act consisting of Rinze "Ray" Hofstee () and Joep "Jim" Smeele (). The two met in Hilversum, Netherlands (2008) while studying Music Composition. Jim and Ray had ...

(founded 2010) a Dutch electronic dance music act * Christina Mahler , Canadian chellist

Science & business

* J. W. B. Gunning (1860–1913), Dutch physician and museum director in South Africa *

Joop van Oosterom Joop van Oosterom (12 December 1937 – 22 October 2016) was a Dutch billionaire, chess and billiards sponsor, and twice correspondence chess world champion. His fortune, made with the Volmac Software Group, was estimated by Dutch financial ma ...

(1937–2016), Dutch billionaire and chess and billiards sponsor *

Bessel Kok Bessel Kok (born 13 December 1941 in Hilversum, Netherlands) is a Dutch businessman and chess organiser living in Prague. He has served in top management positions in telecommunications companies in Belgium (Belgacom) and in the Czech Republic. He ...

(born 1941), Dutch businessman and chess organiser * Wim van den Brink (born 1952), Professor of Psychiatry and Addiction at the University of Amsterdam * Henkjan Honing (born 1959), Professor of Music Cognition at the University of Amsterdam * John de Mol (born 1955), media tycoon and TV producer *

Pieter Geelen Pieter Geelen (born 1964) is a Dutch entrepreneur. Geelen was born in January 1964 in Hilversum as the oldest child of the illustrator Harrie Geelen and the children's author Imme Dros. In 1991, he dropped off his Ph.D. research in Computer Scien ...

(born 1964), Dutch entrepreneur, co-developed the Mapcode *

Olaf Swantee Olaf Swantee (born 31 January 1966) is a Dutch businessman, and the former Chief Executive of EE Limited (formerly Everything Everywhere), a British telecommunications company. Early life He is the second son of a legal professional. He went to ...

(born 1966), Dutch businessman, former CEO of EE Limited

Sport

* de Looper brothers, Henk (1912–2006) and Jan (1914–1987) Dutch field hockey players and bronze medallists at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-s ...

* Nel van Vliet (1926–2006) a breaststroke swimmer, gold medallist 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 ...

Roel Wiersma Roel Wiersma (, 15 April 1932 – 4 February 1995) was a Dutch footballer, who most notably played for PSV Eindhoven and the Netherlands national team. Wiersma was born in Hilversum and played for amateur side Donar until 1954, when he was signe ...

(1932–1995) a Dutch footballer, 316 club caps with

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; en, Philips Sports Association ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional football department, w ...

* Geertje Wielema (1934–2009) a freestyle and backstroke swimmer, silver medallist at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

* Hermsen brothers, Henk Hermsen, Henk (born 1937), André Hermsen, André (born 1942) and Wim Hermsen, Wim (born 1947), water polo players * Mary Kok (born 1940) a renowned Dutch swimmer * Adrie Lasterie (1943–1991) a Dutch swimmer, silver medallist at the 1964 Summer Olympics * Evert Kroon (born 1946), water polo goalkeeper, bronze medallist at the 1976 Summer Olympics * :nl:John van Altena (born 1947) 107 caps, Dutch National Rugby XV * Ton van Klooster (born 1954), freestyle swimmer and swimming coach, competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics * Nico Landeweerd (born 1954), water polo player, bronze medallist at the 1976 Summer Olympics * Andy Hoepelman (born 1955), water polo player, bronze medallist at the 1976 Summer Olympics * Albert Voorn (born 1956) a Dutch equestrian and silver medallist at the 2000 Summer Olympics * Alex Boegschoten (born 1956) a former water polo player, bronze medallist at the 1976 Summer Olympics * Hansje Bunschoten (born 1958–2017), swimmer and TV presenter, competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics * Ellen Bontje (born 1958), equestrian, team medallist at the 1992 Summer Olympics, 1992 and 2000 Summer Olympics * Reggie de Jong (born 1964), freestyle swimmer, bronze medallist at the 1980 Summer Olympics * Jelle Goes (born 1970) a Dutch football manager * Pieta van Dishoeck (born 1972) a retired rower, won two medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics * Davy Klaassen (born 1993) a Dutch professional footballer with 180 club caps

Gallery

File:Hilversum centrum A.jpg, Hilversum city centre File:Beeld-en-Geluid-Hay-Kranen-09.JPG, Sound and Vision (''Nederlands Instituut voor Beeld en Geluid'') File:Hilversum Noordse Bosje A.jpg, Shopping district Noordse Bosje File:DJI00501.jpg, Media Park, Hilversum File:City Hall, Media Park, Hilversum, North Holland.jpg, 2020-08-19 Drone Shot Raadhuis and Media Park, Hilversum

References

External links

*
Official website
{{Authority control Hilversum, Cities in the Netherlands Municipalities of North Holland Populated places in North Holland Venues of the 1928 Summer Olympics Olympic equestrian venues Olympic modern pentathlon venues Articles containing video clips