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#Baarle herlog
atotaltaitaitale · 2 years
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And finally when you think that things cannot get more complicated… you’ve got to deal with a global pandemic and two countries enforcing drastically different lockdown rules.
For example shops on the Dutch side of the border could stay open, while just yards away in Belgium, some shops had to close, so only half of the shop Zeeman was accessible to customers.
Belgium shut down almost everything, while in the Netherlands, even cafes could keep operating so a Belgian citizen living metres away from an open Dutch bar couldn’t go. It was also mask wearing for the Belgians but not for the Dutch.
Everything is back to their usual weirdness and we are on our way to another border crossing.
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atotaltaitaitale · 2 years
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Be careful in which mailbox you put your letter in.
The mail is delivered by PostNL in the Dutch area and bpost in the Belgian area. So if you post something in Baarle-Hertog, in the Belgian mailbox and need to be deliver to the Dutch side, you mail would technically go to Turnhout then to Brussels, flown by plane to Amsterdam, then by truck via Tilburg, back to Baarle-Nassau. Maybe just post it on the Dutch side mailbox so it’s delivered quicker ;-).
But aside from the post being served by both countries, the location of a house decides if it has access to Dutch or Belgian utility companies. Electricity from Eandis in Baarle-Hertog or from TenneT in Baarle-Nassau. Cable TV and internet from Telenet in Hertog, but from a range or providers in Nassau. Telephone service from Belgacom in one, KPN in the other. Even refuse is collected separately for both villages. Some services are shared however, the Dutch companies Brabant and Enexis provide the water and gas supplies respectively in both villages.
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atotaltaitaitale · 2 years
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When the rules are not the same depending on which side of the street you live.
In the Netherlands, the sale and carriage of fireworks is illegal (except for around the New Year) but legal in Belgium.
Differences in the laws have long encouraged smuggling, but European integration, especially since 1993, has made it much less relevant but today many people still buy fireworks in Belgium and smuggle them into the Netherlands. Petrol and tobacco is much cheaper in Belgium, yet for groceries everyone goes to the Netherlands. You won’t even find a supermarkets on the the Belgium side.
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atotaltaitaitale · 2 years
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De Biergartens..The Beer shop in 2 countries.
Officially the shop has 2 addresses (Molenstraat 98, Baarle-Hertog / Molenstraat 26, Baarle-Nassau), two telephone numbers and two cash registers (when VAT was different)
As an FYI and to make things a bit more complicated, the drinking age in the Netherlands is 18 but Belgians can legally drink beer and wine at 16
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atotaltaitaitale · 2 years
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The Migrating House
Not many houses move across borders, this one did it twice.
When a 15-year project to measure the exact location of the borders took place between 1980 and 1995 this specific house "moved" from Belgium to the Netherlands. In order to "stay" in Belgium they swapped the door with the window, "moving" back the house to Belgium since as an old treaty dictated that the location of the front door dictated in which country a house was located.
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atotaltaitaitale · 2 years
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Baarle Herlog/Nassau - Part 2
The house with 2 numbers. This residence straddles a border between Belgium and the Netherlands.
In Baarle an old treaty dictated that the location of the front door dictated in which country a house was located. But with this house the front door is exactly on the border so it is simultaneously at Loveren 2 in Baarle-Hertog (Belgium) and Loveren 19 in Baarle-Nassau (the Netherlands).
Apparently the owners of the house were allowed to choose which municipality they belong to, and thus where they get their utilities from. Most inhabitants choose Belgium, given that most things are cheaper there. This was not always the case, as there is a famous story about this house from World War II. Allegedly the Dutch military commandeered the house, not knowing that it was on the border. The Belgian government insisted that they move their desks and beds, as Dutch soldiers were allowed to sleep in Belgium, but not work there.
But during the First World War these national divides could mark out the difference between life and death. While trench-ridden Belgium was occupied by German armies, the Netherlands was neutral territory. Rather than brightly painted crosses, electric fences separated the two countries, and Baarle-Hertog became a safe haven for lucky refugees who made it across the border as well as a breeding ground for the Belgian resistance.
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atotaltaitaitale · 2 years
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When you are not sure which country you want to live in (that could be the solution to our problem 😂) and Cross border love.
I’ll share a few other interesting bits with life in Baarle tomorrow.
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atotaltaitaitale · 2 years
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Baarle… Where you can eat an ice cream in 2 countries at once… depending on which side you lick 😂
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atotaltaitaitale · 2 years
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In Baarle you cross borders multiple times by just walking down the street but both Belgium and the Netherlands are in the Schengen Area so you do not need a passport ;-)
If you walk on Kapelstraat for example you will cross the border five times if you are on the left side of the street but you will only cross the border three times on the right side!!
This street is located in enclave H1 which is the largest enclave of Baarle. Almost 80% of Baarle's enclave population has its residence in this one enclave. H1 is referred to as the 'main enclave' or 'mother enclave'. What's more, H1 is the only enclave in the world with more than one counter-enclave (this is an enclave within an enclave). The Belgian enclave H1 holds not less than six Dutch counter-enclaves!
On Dutch soil, in Baarle and surroundings, are 22 enclaves belonging to Belgium and these Belgian enclaves in turn include 7 Dutch enclaves. This little village with about 9,200 inhabitants is divided into two communities from two countries: Baarle Hertog (Belgian, 2,600 inhabitants) and Baarle Nassau (Dutch, 6,600 inhabitants). In Baarle everything is doubled: two churches, two town halls, two post offices, two fire stations, two police forces (which are now housed in the same building) and so on.
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atotaltaitaitale · 2 years
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Baarle Herlog/Nassau is considered the most complicated border and the one of 2 places in the world with enclave within enclave. The second place is the Omani territory of Madha which is enclaved by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and inside this Omani enclave there is a second-order enclave: Nahwa, which is part of the UAE.
There are actually a few enclaves places on the world: Llivia is a Spanish village within French territory. Campione d’Italia an Italian village within Switzerland. Büsingen is a German municipality surrounded by Switzerland. Mützenich is a German exclave surrounded by Belgian territory. The particularly of Jungholz, in Austria is that while it is joined to the rest of Austria it is accessible only via Germany. Dahagram–Angarpota is a Bangladeshi enclave in India only about 200 m away from the border of Bangladesh.
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atotaltaitaitale · 2 years
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Because crossing borders multiple time this summer with all our traveling was not enough we decided to cross borders multiple time within minutes.
I present you: Baarle Herlog (Belgium) and Baarle Nassau (The Netherlands). The town is home to perhaps the craziest border situation in the world. 2 countries, 2 villages, 30 enclaves (and exclaves) with their borders running criss-cross through everything—including houses
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