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 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 Nethe ...

. It is about west of

Amersfoort Amersfoort () is a city and municipality in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands, about 20 km from the city of Utrecht and 40 km south east of Amsterdam. As of 1 December 2021, the municipality had a population of 158,531, making it the secon ...

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 Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 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. 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. 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 (meaning the long dunes). Currently some 50,000 inhabitants live in Soest, consisting mainly of commuters.

Transport

Soest has three railway stations: * Soestdijk * 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. The municipality of Baarn The municipality of Baarn consists of the following towns: Baarn, Eembrugge, Lage Vuursche. The town of Baarn ...

(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 *

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 Health a ...

* 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 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. Hil ...

. 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 Johannes Andreas Schmitz (1621, Soest, Nordrhein-Westfalen – 2 October 1652, Harderwijk) was a German physician and the third rector of the University of Harderwijk. Life Schmitz studied medicine in Groningen (1639), Leiden (1643), and Angers. H ...

(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 Dirk Jan de Geer (14 December 1870 – 28 November 1960) was a Dutch politician of the defunct Christian Historical Union (CHU) now merged into the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA). He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 8 March 1 ...

(1870–1960) politician,

Prime Minister of the Netherlands The prime minister of the Netherlands ( nl, Minister-president van Nederland) is the head of the executive branch of the Government of the Netherlands. Although the monarch is the ''de jure'' head of government, the prime minister ''de facto'' ...

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

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, 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 1 ...

* 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 Peter Kooij (or, internationally Kooy, born 1954, in Soest) is a Dutch bass singer who specializes in baroque music. Biography Kooij started his musical career at 6 years as a choir boy. However he started his musical studies as a violin studen ...

(born 1954) bass singer specializing in baroque music * Jack Wouterse (born 1957) actor * Thomas von der Dunk (born 1961) cultural historian, writer and columnist * Janine Jansen (born 1978) a violinist and violist *

Mirik Milan Mirik Milan (born 1981) is the former Amsterdam Night Mayor responsible for launching the independent night mayor role which liaises directly with the municipality of Amsterdam. Elected in 2012, Milan worked directly with the nightlife economy i ...

(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 Fortuna Sittard (; li, Fortuna Zitterd ) is a football club in Sittard, Netherlands. The club currently plays ...

(born 1969) footballer * Jolanda Elshof (born 1975) retired female volleyball player *

Bianca van den Hoek Bianca van den Hoek (born 28 July 1976) is a Dutch racing cyclist. See also * 2014 Parkhotel Valkenburg Continental Team season The 2014 women's road cycling season was the first for the Parkhotel Valkenburg Continental Team as an UCI women ...

(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 i ...

(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 Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

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)