Soest () is a

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 ...

and a town in the central

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 ...

, 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 ...

. It is about west of Amersfoort.

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 late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, and prehistoric burial mounds in the Soesterduinen point to early habitation in this area. 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 bo ...

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. Christengemeente Soest, Wilhelmina Kerk Soest, Gereformeerde Kerk Vrijgemaakt, Emmakerk and the Evangelische Kerk Soest are the main churches. Soest Duinen, meaning Soest Dunes, a small town between Soest and Soesterberg contains acres upon acres of sand dunes named the

Lange Duinen Lange may refer to: People * Lange (surname), a German surname *Lange (musician) (born 1974), British DJ * Lange (Brazilian footballer) (born 1966), Brazilian footballer Companies * Lange (ski boots), a producer of ski boots used in alpine (dow ...

(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 and a hamlet in the municipality of Baarn. Both are part of the province of Utrecht, Netherlands. The village gives its name to Paleis Soestdijk, which from 1937 to 2004 was the residence of Princess and ...

* 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 (xx:22 and xx:52); all trains stop at the three stations. The station of Soestduinen, situated between

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 ...

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: * Baarn * Den Dolder *

Bilthoven Bilthoven is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of De Bilt. It has a railway station with connections to Utrecht, Amersfoort and Baarn. It is home to the Netherlands National Institute for Public Heal ...

* Utrecht Overvecht *

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 Amersfoort and

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 ...

. 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 (ca. 1600 – 1681) portrait painter who was active in England * Johannes Andreas Schmitz (1621–1652) a Dutch physician * Prince Alexander 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 1926-1929 and 1939-1940 * Frida Vogels (born 1930) writer, lives in

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different na ...

Ed van den Heuvel Edward Peter Jacobus (Ed) van den Heuvel (born 2 November 1940) is a Dutch astronomer and emeritus professor at the Astronomical Institute Anton Pannekoek of the University of Amsterdam. Van den Heuvel is well known for his work on the forma ...

(born 1940) astronomer * Marlous Fluitsma (born 1946) actress * Peter Kooy (born 1954) bass singer specializing in baroque music *

Jack Wouterse thumbnail 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 ...

(born 1957) actor *

Thomas von der Dunk Thomas von der Dunk (born 2 July 1961, in Soestdijk) is a Dutch cultural historian, writer, and columnist who has written for '' de Volkskrant'' and ''HP/De Tijd''. Von der Dunk was raised in Bilthoven, and from 1979 to 1988 studied art history ...

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

Sport

Robert Roest Robert Roest (born 30 October 1969) is a Dutch footballer who played as a defender for FC Utrecht, KSK Beveren, Fortuna Sittard and AGOVV Apeldoorn AGOVV () is a Dutch association football club based in Apeldoorn. It was established on 25 Fe ...

(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 Daan Huizing (born 22 October 1990) is a Dutch professional golfer. Huizing entered the European Tour qualifying school at the end of 2012. Because of his high ranking as an amateur, he was exempt from the first stage of qualifying. He made it ...

(born 1990) professional golfer

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 Ald 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

Sport

Twin towns – sister cities

Gallery

See also

References

External links