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

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 ...

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 ...

The municipality of Baarn

The municipality of Baarn consists of the following towns: Baarn,

Eembrugge Eembrugge is a hamlet and former city on the river Eem, east of Baarn, in the Netherlands. It received city rights between 1336 en 1340, but was destroyed in 1527. Eembrugge is partially in the municipality of Eemnes, partially in Baarn. Histor ...

Lage Vuursche Lage Vuursche () is a village in the municipality of Baarn in the Netherlands. It lies about west of Soest (Netherlands), Soest, surrounded by woods, in the province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. In 2001 the village of Lage Vuursche had 139 in ...

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 tradition ...

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 Soestdijk Palace ( ) is a palace formerly belonging to the Dutch royal family. It consists of a central block and two wings. Although named after the village of Soestdijk, which is largely in the municipality of Soest, Soestdijk Palace is just ...

in Baarn was the home of Queen Emma,

Queen Juliana Juliana (; Juliana Louise Emma Marie Wilhelmina; 30 April 1909 – 20 March 2004) was List of monarchs of the Netherlands, Queen of the Netherlands from 1948 until her abdication in 1980. Juliana was the only child of Queen Wilhelmina and Duke ...

and Juliana's husband prince

Bernard Bernard ('' Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It has West Germanic origin and is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''be ...

. Crown prince Willem Alexander and his brothers attended school ('' Nieuwe Baarnse School'' and ''

Het Baarnsch Lyceum Het or HET may refer to: Science and technology * Hall-effect thruster, a type of ion thruster used for spacecraft propulsion * Heavy Equipment Transporter, a vehicle in the US Army's Heavy Equipment Transport System * Hobby–Eberly Telescope, a ...

'') in Baarn when

Queen Beatrix Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 30 April 1980 until her abdication in 2013. Beatrix was born during the reign of her maternal gr ...

(then princess) and her family lived at Castle

Drakesteijn Drakensteyn Castle (Dutch: ''Drakensteyn'', sometimes ''Drakesteijn'' or ''Drakestein'') is a small castle at 8 Slotlaan in the hamlet of Lage Vuursche, in the municipality of Baarn, Netherlands. It is the private residence of Princess Beatrix o ...

in the village of Lage Vuursche, before they moved to

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

in 1980. A piece of forest, the

Baarnse Bos The Baarnse Bos is a park/forest in the southern part of the municipality of Baarn, the province of Utrecht (province), the Netherlands. The area of the forest if approximately and is adjacent to the Soestdijk Palace. The forest is limited by Am ...

, 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. is ...

) and

Groeneveld Castle Groeneveld ("green field" in the Dutch language) may refer to: * Groeneveld, South Holland, a former municipality * Groeneveld (elm hybrid) * Groeneveld (estate), a former Dutch colonial estate in Jakarta. * Groeneveld (surname) * 1674 Groeneveld, ...

. In the north and east there are

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

s, and the river

Eem The Eem (; formerly the Amer) is a river in the central Netherlands with a length of approximately . The river is fed by the Vallei Canal and a number of Veluwe creeks, the most important of which are the Heiligenberger Beek, the Barneveldse Be ...

. Recreation resources include the woodlands south-west of Baarn, connecting Baarn to Soestdijk, and called 'Het Baarnsche Bos'. The Scout Centre Buitenzorg (

Scouting Nederland Scouting Nederland is the national Scouting, Scout organisation of the Netherlands with approximately 110,000 members (53,324 male and 54,663 female, 87,000 youth members, as of 2010. The official patron of Scouting Nederland is Queen Máxima of ...

) is located in Baarn. To the south lay the connecting road towards the city 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 ...

, 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,

Bain & Co Bain & Company is an American management consulting company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The firm provides advice to public, private, and nonprofit organizations. One of the Big Three management consultancies, Bain & Company was found ...

and

Cerberus Capital Management Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. is an American global alternative investment firm with assets across credit, private equity, and real estate strategies.Leaders Magazine"Providing Economic Opportunity: An Interview with The Honorable Dan Qua ...

. Unilever's Conimex and software company Seyoda Games are located in Baarn.

Transport

Baarn has a railway station -

Baarn railway station Baarn is a railway station on the Amsterdam–Zutphen railway and the Den Dolder–Baarn railway located in Baarn, Netherlands. The station is operated by the Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS). The station was opened on 10 June 1874. Baarn station i ...

, 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 Utrecht, Netherlands. It is the biggest train station in ...

, 35 minutes),

( Amersfoort Centraal, 10 minutes) and

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

(

Amsterdam Centraal Amsterdam Centraal station ( ; 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 day, making it the second busiest railway stati ...

, about 40 minutes). The A1 motorway 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 Prince William Alexander Frederick ''Ernest Casimir'' of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange-Nassau (Dutch: ''Willem Alexander Frederik Ernst Casimir, Prins der Nederlanden, Prins van Oranje-Nassau''; Soestdijk Palace, 21 May 1822 – Brussels, 2 ...

(1822 in Baarn – 1822) the fourth son of the Prince of Orange, later

King William II of the Netherlands William II (; English: William Frederick George Louis; 6 December 1792 – 17 March 1849), known as Koning Willem de Tweede or Koning Willem II in the Netherlands, was King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Duke of Limburg. Wil ...

Beatrix of the Netherlands Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as List of monarchs of the Netherlands, Queen of the Netherlands from 30 April 1980 until her abdication in 2013. Beatrix was born ...

(born 1938 in Baarn) Queen of the Netherlands 1980-2013 *

Princess Irene of the Netherlands Princess Irene of the Netherlands (Irene Emma Elisabeth; born 5 August 1939) is the second child of Juliana of the Netherlands, Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld, Prince Bernhard. In 1964, she converted to ...

(born 1939 in Baarn) the second child of

Queen Juliana of the Netherlands Juliana (; Juliana Louise Emma Marie Wilhelmina; 30 April 1909 – 20 March 2004) was List of monarchs of the Netherlands, Queen of the Netherlands from 1948 until her abdication in 1980. Juliana was the only child of Queen Wilhelmina and Duke ...

Princess Christina of the Netherlands Princess Christina of the Netherlands (Maria Christina; 18 February 1947 – 16 August 2019) was the youngest of four daughters of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. She taught singing in New York and was ...

(born 1947 in Baarn – 2019) the youngest of four daughters of

Intellectual and public service

Michiel Horn Michiel Steven Daniel Horn (born 1939) is a Canadian historian who serves as a professor emeritus at Glendon College, York University. Life and career Horn was born on September 3, 1939, in Baarn, Netherlands. orn, Michiel, Becoming Canadian: ...

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 Biography Roolvink worked as a found ...

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

Edith Schippers Edith Ingeborg Schippers (born 25 August 1964) is a Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and businesswoman who served as President of DSM Netherlands between 2019 and 2023. Schippers, a political consultant by ...

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

Arts

* Betty Callish (1886 – after 1941), actress, singer and violinist *

M. C. Escher Maurits Cornelis Escher (; ; 17 June 1898 – 27 March 1972) was a Dutch graphic artist who made woodcuts, lithography, lithographs, and mezzotints, many of which were Mathematics and art, inspired by mathematics. Despite wide popular int ...

(1898–1972), graphic artist, lived and worked in Baarn 1941/1970 *

Piet Esser Vincent Pieter Semeyn Esser known as Piet Esser (9 March 1914, BaarnJ. F. Staal, ''Grote Winkler Prins: Encyclopedie in twintig delen, Volume 17'', 7th ed, Elsevier, 1966, , p. 274 (in Dutch). – 19 November 2004) was a Dutch sculpture, sculpto ...

(1914–2004), sculptor *

Lia Dorana Lia Dorana (18 July 1918 – 4 December 2010) was a Dutch comedian and actress. Dorana was born Beppy van Werven in The Hague on 18 July 1918. She was discovered by Dutch singer and cabaret singer Wim Sonneveld, with whom she launched her early c ...

(1918 2010 in Lage Vuursche), comedian and actress *

Albert Muis Albert Muis (22 October 1914 – 24 September 1988) is a Dutch artist, wall painter, watercolourist, manufacturer of gouaches, painter, and draftsman from the Netherlands known for his contributions to drawing and painting in the 20th century. H ...

(born 1941), artist *

Tineke de Nooij Christina Hendrika (Tineke) de Nooij (born 27 April 1941 in Baarn) is a Dutch radio and television presenter. She worked for Radio Veronica, later Veronica Omroep Organisatie since the early 1960s. She hosted the ''TinekeShow'' on TV in her heyda ...

(born 1941), 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 comp ...

(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 ...

(born 1964), actor *

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 th ...

(born 1960), type designer and graphic designer *

Marlayne Marleen Sahupala (née van den Broek; born 1 July 1971), known professionally as Marlayne or Marlayne Sahupala, is a Dutch singer, television presenter and newsreader. She is known for representing the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest ...

(born 1971), singer

Sport

Fanny Blankers-Koen Francina Elsje "Fanny" Blankers-Koen (; 26 April 191825 January 2004) was a Dutch track and field athlete, best known for winning four gold medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. She competed there as a 30-year-old mother of two, earning ...

(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 officially branded as London 1948, were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus cau ...

* 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 (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 1960 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awar ...

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 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 honor was subseq ...

* 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 (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

player, team gold medallist at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

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. Clu ...

(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) 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 officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

Sharon van Rouwendaal Sharon van Rouwendaal (born 9 September 1993) is a Dutch swimmer and the Olympic gold medalist in the 10 km open water marathon at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and the 2024 Olympics in Paris. She grew up in Soest, and later moved t ...

(born 1993 in Baarn) a Dutch distance swimmer and a gold medalist at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

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)