(; , ) is a Flemish

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' ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, much of which consists of a number of small Belgian

enclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is so ...

s fully surrounded by the

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 ...

. Parts of are surrounded by the Dutch province of North Brabant, but it is part of the Belgian province of

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

. , it had a population of 2,935. The total area is .

Geography

Border with Baarle-Nassau

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. 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 in 1843. The tight integration of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

and in particular the Schengen Agreement have made many of the practicalities of the situation substantially simpler since the 1990s. In total, the municipality of Baarle-Hertog consists of 26 separate parcels of land. Four are linked to other Belgian municipalities, from west to east: the Baalbrugse Bemden, a strip of land along the Merkske, Zondereigen-Ginhoven and an area near Weelde-Station. The largest single section, Zondereigen (named after its main hamlet), is located within mainland Belgium on the contiguous Dutch-Belgian border (north of the town of ). In addition to this, there are 22 Belgian

exclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...

s fully within the Netherlands. 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 or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, this situation meant that the

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership of Kingdom o ...

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, as both countries were occupied by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. Some houses in the town of / are divided between the two countries. At one time, differences between laws meant restaurants in the Netherlands had to close earlier than those in Belgium. For some restaurants directly on the border, this simply meant that 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 and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

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

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 shares, with Baarle-Nassau, a joint library with Belgian and Dutch staff.bibliotheek
" Baarle-Hertog. Retrieved on January 6, 2017.

Notable inhabitants

* Petrus Christus, 15th-century painter

References

External links

Official website Baarle-Hertog

Official website 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