Soesterberg is a town in the Dutch 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 ...

. It is a part of the municipality of Soest, and lies about 5 km northeast of

Zeist Zeist () is the Capital city, capital and largest town of the Zeist (municipality), municipality of Zeist. The town is located in the Utrecht (province), Utrecht province of the Netherlands, east of the city of Utrecht. History The town of " ...

, on the road between

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 ...

and

. It was the location of Soesterberg Air Base

History

The town was first mentioned in 1840 as Berg, meaning hill belonging to Soest. In 1840, it was home to 253 people. The military airbase and the tram line

–

caused a rapid growth of the village in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1939, a monastery was established by the Society of the Divine Word. In 1940, an officer's casino was built for the German

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

. It is one of the few remaining buildings in Nazi architectural style in the Netherlands, and has thick walls. It was captured intact by the Canadians in 1945, and was used by the KLM and Ministry of Defence. It has been converted into an apartment building. In 1837, a Catholic church was built which was replaced between 1952 and 1953 by the Carolus Borromeus Church.

Soesterberg Air Base

In 1910, the heathland north of the village was used as an airfield. The Dutch Airforce (then called LuchtVaartafdeling or LVa, literally airdriving department) was established here in 1913. From 1954 to 1994, Soesterberg Air Base became a

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

base for the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

32nd FS (originally 512th FDS later it became 32nd FD, 32nd FIS, and 32nd TFS), and the village of Soesterberg housed a number of American families. The 32nd is the only US military unit that has been under direct operational control of a foreign nation (operational control fell to the Dutch military). It was the home of the Dutch army helicopter force until the base's closure in 2010 due to the reduction of the Dutch military establishment. It is now the location of the Nationaal Militair Museum, which opened in 2014. Nearby is the site of the Lockerbie trial of Libyan agents who blew up Pan Am Flight 103 over the Scottish town of

Lockerbie Lockerbie (, ) is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, located in south-western Scotland. The 2001 Census recorded its population as 4,009. The town had an estimated population of in . The town came to international attention in December 1988 when ...

in 1988. Today the Dutch Ministry of Defence still operate a few facilities around the airbase.

Gallery

File:Soesterberg Oude Postkantoor Koppenlaan 17-17a.JPG, Former post office File:Overzicht - Soesterberg - 20536011 - RCE.jpg, Colony house De Stompert File:Overzicht van het wooncenter Soesterberg gelegen aan het kruispunt Amersfoortsestraat en de Richelleweg - Soesterberg - 20535965 - RCE.jpg, Shopping centre File:Parochie Carolus Borromeus Soesterberg.jpg, Carolus Borromeus Church

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Utrecht (province) Soest, Netherlands

History

Soesterberg Air Base

Gallery

See also

References