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
Baarn, the main town of the municipality, received city rights in 1391. The town lies about 8 km east of Hilversum.
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.
The royal family owns several houses around Baarn. The Soestdijk Palace in Baarn was the home of Queen Emma, Queen Juliana and Juliana's husband prince Bernard. Crown prince Willem Alexander and his brothers attended school (Nieuwe Baarnse School and Het Baarnsch Lyceum) in Baarn when Queen Beatrix (then princess) and her family lived at Castle Drakesteijn in the village of Lage Vuursche, before they moved to The Hague in 1980. A piece of forest, the Baarnse Bos, 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) and Groeneveld Castle. In the north and east there are polders, and the river Eem. Recreation resources include the woodlands south-west of Baarn, connecting Baarn to Soestdijk, and called 'Het Baarnsche Bos'.
The Scout Centre Buitenzorg (Scouting Nederland) is located in Baarn.
To the south lay the connecting road towards the city of Amersfoort, 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 and Cerberus Capital Management. Unilever's Conimex and software company Seyoda Games are located in Baarn.
Transport
Baarn has a railway station - Baarn railway station, with trains going every half-hour to Utrecht (Utrecht Centraal, 35 minutes), Amersfoort (Amersfoort Centraal, 10 minutes) and Amsterdam (Amsterdam Centraal, 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 (1822 in Baarn – 1822) the fourth son of the Prince of Orange, later King William II of the Netherlands
Beatrix of the Netherlands (born 1938 in Baarn) Queen of the Netherlands 1980-2013
Princess Irene of the Netherlands (born 1939 in Baarn) the second child of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands
Princess Christina of the Netherlands (born 1947 in Baarn – 2019) the youngest of four daughters of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands
Intellectual and public service
Michiel Horn FRSC (born 1939 in Baarn) a Canadian professor and historian
Bauke Roolvink (1912 – 1979 in Baarn) a Dutch politician and a trade union leader
Edith Schippers (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, lived in Baarn
The arts
Betty Callish (1886 in Baarn – after 1941) a Dutch actress, singer and violinist
M. C. Escher (1898–1972) a Dutch graphic artist, lived and worked in Baarn 1941/1970
Piet Esser (1914 in Baarn – 2004) a Dutch sculptor
Lia Dorana (1918 – 2010 in Lage Vuursche) a Dutch comedian and actress
Albert Muis (born 1941 in Baarn) a Dutch artist
Tineke de Nooij (born 1941 in Baarn) a Dutch radio and TV presenter
Joop van den Ende (born 1942) a Dutch theatrical producer and media tycoon, lives in Baarn
Yorick van Wageningen (born 1964 in Baarn) a Dutch actor
Martin Majoor (born 1960 in Baarn) a Dutch type designer and graphic designer
Marleen van den Broek (born 1971 in Baarn) stage name Marlayne, a Dutch singer at 1999 Eurovision Song Contest
Sport
Fanny Blankers-Koen (1918 in Lage Vuursche – 2004) a Dutch track and field athlete, won four gold medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics
Jan van Gooswilligen (born 1935 in Baarn - 2008) a former Dutch field hockey player, participated in two Olympic Games 1960 Summer Olympics 1964 Summer Olympics
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 (born 1973 in Baarn) field hockey player, team gold medallist at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Dustley Mulder (born 1985 in Baarn) a Curaçaoan footballer with over 300 club caps
Ilse van der Meijden (born 1988 in Baarn) a water polo player, team gold medallist at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Sharon van Rouwendaal (born 1993 in Baarn) a Dutch distance swimmer and a gold medalist at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Twin city
Baarn is twinned with:
Gallery
References
External links
Municipalities of Utrecht (province)
Populated places in Utrecht (province)