# Baarle-Nassau

Baarle-Nassau (Dutch pronunciation: ) is a municipality and town in the southern Netherlands, located in the province of North Brabant. It had a population of 6,899 in 2019. The town is the site of a complicated borderline between Belgium and the Netherlands: it encloses 22 small exclaves of the Belgian town Baarle-Hertog, of which the two largest contain seven counter-enclaves of Baarle-Nassau, and the main body of Belgium contains another.

## Geography
### The border with Baarle-Hertog, Belgium

Baarle-Nassau is closely linked, with complicated borders, to the Belgian exclaves of Baarle-Hertog. Baarle-Hertog consists of 26 separate parcels of land. Apart from the main parcel, known as Zondereigen and located north of the Belgian town of Merksplas, there are 22 Belgian exclaves in the Netherlands and three other parcels on the Dutch-Belgian border. There are also six Dutch exclaves located within the largest Belgian exclave, one within the second-largest, and an eighth within Zondereigen. The smallest Belgian parcel, H7, locally named De Loversche Akkers, measures 2,469 square metres (26,580 sq ft).
The border's complexity results from numerous medieval treaties, agreements, land-swaps and sales between the Lords of Breda and the Dukes of Brabant. Generally speaking, predominantly agricultural or built environments became constituents of Brabant, while other parts devolved to Breda. These distributions were ratified and clarified as a part of the borderline settlements arrived at during the Treaty of Maastricht in 1843.
For clarification and the interest of tourists, the border is made visible on all streets with iron pins. This way it is always clear whether one is in Belgium (Baarle-Hertog) or in the Netherlands (Baarle-Nassau). This is also visible on the house numbers: the style of house numbers is different in both countries, and often the Dutch or Belgian flag next to the house number indicates which country it belongs to.

### Localities

* Baarle-Nassau (population: 5,330)
* Ulicoten (1,110)
* Castelré (140)

### List of enclaves
#### Dutch enclaves

These are all part of Baarle-Nassau municipality.
| Serial no. and local name | Area (ha) | area acre | Notes |
| N1, De Loversche Akkers – De Tommelsche Akkers | 5.3667 | 13.2617 | Counter-enclave surrounded by Belgian exclave H1, in Baarle-Hertog; contains a mix of dwellings and farmland; boundary of N1 and H1 runs through one building. |
| N2, De Tommelsche Akkers | 1.3751 | 3.3981 | Counter-enclave surrounded by Belgian exclave H1, in Baarle-Hertog; contains 8 dwellings. |
| N3, De Tommelsche Akkers | 0.2863 | 0.7075 | Counter-enclave surrounded by Belgian exclave H1, in Baarle-Hertog; boundary of N3 and H1 bisects the loading dock of a liquor store. |
| N4, De Rethsche Akkers | 1.2324 | 3.0454 | Counter-enclave surrounded by Belgian exclave H1, in Baarle-Hertog; boundary of N4 and H1 runs through a warehouse, with vacant Dutch land to the rear of the warehouse. |
| N5, De Rethsche Akkers | 1.9212 | 4.7475 | Counter-enclave surrounded by Belgian exclave H1, in Baarle-Hertog; boundary of N5 and H1 runs through a furniture showroom, a shed and a barn. |
| N6, Gierle Straat | 1.4527 | 3.5898 | Counter-enclave surrounded by Belgian exclave H1, in Baarle-Hertog; consists of farmland with two buildings. |
| N7, De Kastelein | 0.5812 | 1.4363 | Counter-enclave surrounded by Belgian Oordeel exclave H8, in Baarle-Hertog; occupies part of a field. |
| N8, Vossenberg | 2.8528 | 7.0496 | Farmland enclave situated within Zondereigen, Belgium, less than 50 meters south of the Dutch border. |

#### Belgian enclaves

These are all part of Baarle-Hertog municipality, and are surrounded by Baarle-Nassau municipality (Netherlands).
| Serial no. and local name | Area (ha) | area acre | Notes |
| H1, Aen het Klooster Straetje - Hoofdbraek - Loveren - De Boschcovensche Akkers - De Loversche Akkers - De Tommelsche Akkers - De Tommel - De Gierle Straat - De Reth - De Rethsche Akkers - Het Dorp - De Kapel Akkers - De Kastelein | 153.6448 | 379.6717 | Forms a quadripoint with enclave H2; largest Belgian exclave; encompasses six Dutch enclaves; consists of dwellings for the most part, with outlying farmland and an industrial area; boundary runs through numerous buildings; contains a portion of the former Turnhout-Tilburg rail line, now a cycle path. |
| H2, De Rethsche Akkers | 2.4116 | 5.9594 | Consists of farmland with a single point of connection (quadripoint) between enclaves H1 and H2 in the middle of a corn field. |
| H3, De Rethsche Akkers | 0.3428 | 0.8471 | Occupies part of a field; boundary runs through a shed in one instance. |
| H4, De Rethsche Akkers | 1.476 | 3.6474 | Consists of farmland; boundary runs through a house and three sheds. |
| H5, De Kapel Akkers | 0.9245 | 2.2846 | Consists of farmland with a dwelling. |
| H6, Hoofdbraek | 1.7461 | 4.3148 | Mixed land usage; boundary runs through a warehouse/factory. |
| H7, De Loversche Akkers | 0.2469 | 0.6102 | Boundary runs through two dwellings, including the middle of one front door (giving it two house numbers: Loveren 2, Baarle-Hertog / Loveren 19, Baarle-Nassau). |
| H8, Boschcoven - De Kastelein - De Oordelsche Straat | 41.8781 | 103.485 | Second-largest Belgian exclave, contains a mix of dwellings and farmland; boundary runs through a barn, a dwelling and two businesses. |
| H9, De Kapel Akkers | 0.4005 | 0.9897 | Boundary runs through a printing factory/warehouse in an industrial area. |
| H10, De Oordelsche Straat | 0.65 | 1.6063 | Consists of farmland. |
| H11, De Oordelsche Straat | 0.93 | 2.2982 | Consists of farmland. |
| H12, Boschcoven | 0.2822 | 0.6974 | Consists of farmland. |
| H13, Boschcoven | 1.5346 | 3.7922 | Boundary runs through about 20 dwellings. |
| H14, Boschcoven | 0.7193 | 1.7774 | Boundary runs through about 13 dwellings. |
| H15, Boschcoven | 1.7211 | 4.2531 | Boundary runs through about 16 dwellings. |
| H16, Keizershoek - Oordelsche Straat | 4.4252 | 10.9352 | Boundary runs through a house and three sheds, with the linear boundary changing direction three times inside just one shed. |
| H17, Moleriet Heide | 14.9248 | 36.8807 | Rural area containing a portion of the former Turnhout-Tilburg rail line, now a cycle path. |
| H18, De Manke Gooren | 2.9247 | 7.2273 | Consists of farmland. |
| H19, De Peruiters | 0.6851 | 1.693 | Consists of several ponds and a field. |
| H20, Wurstenbosch - Vossenberg | 1.1681 | 2.8865 | Consists of farmland. |
| H21, Baelbrugsche Beemden | 1.1845 | 2.9271 | Consists of farmland. |
| H22, De Wit Hagen | 0.2632 | 0.6504 | South of the village of Ulicoten; occupies part of a field; nationality was contested from the 1830s until 1995 (remained unallocated to either country in boundary treaty of 26 April 1974) |

## Education

Baarle-Nassau has two primary schools: Basisschool De Uilenpoortand and Bernardusschool, the latter in the Ulicoten section. There is a single secondary school in Baarle-Nassau, De La Salle, which has Voorbereidend middelbaar beroepsonderwijs, lower Hoger algemeen voortgezet onderwijs, and Voorbereidend wetenschappelijk onderwijs levels.
It shares, with Baarle-Hertog, a joint library with Belgian and Dutch staff.

## Notable people

* Petrus Christus (c. 1410/1420 in Baarle – 1475/1476) an Early Netherlandish painter; was a leading painter after the death of Jan van Eyck
* Jan Hendrikx (born 1944) a former Dutch politician, mayor of Baarle-Nassau 1990–2012

## Gallery

* Baarle-Nassau, church
* Baarle-Nassau, town hall
* Grensovergang Poppel-Baarle
* Baarle-Nassau, bij Singel, water pump