The Baarle town: a real nightmare for a border guard

Our planet is rich by interesting geographical events. You know about countries enclaves and exclaves and a lot of them are separated of other country by wall or river or towers. But town Baarle is a very unique place for sure: it is the Belgian enclave inside the Netherlands, in 5 km of the border, and by-turn there are the Dutch enclaves inside the Belgium ones. 

The Dutch-Belgian border here has a rather sophisticated form. It doesn’t follow rivers or other natural barriers. No. The borders can pass obliquely of the streets, make sharp turns right on the roads, sometimes they divide houses in two parts. 

Such a difficult border is a result of permanent lands trades and showdowns between Flemish feudal lords from different families in 1200–1650 years. After the Westphalia peace treaty in 1648 the lands here were divided between two Flemish states: the independent Netherlands and Belgium colonized by Spain. After the revolution in 1830 and new Belgium founding the border was demarked. 

 

Baarle-Hertog is included in Belgian commune Antwerp, Baarle-Nassau is included in Dutch province North Brabant. There are 22 Belgium enclaves and seven Dutch spots are situated inside them like Russian dolls. To know exactly what enclave is here they have letter and number markings. For example the enclave H12 has a territory of 260 square meters. So small! 

Special crosses on the ground are used to mark the border and these marks differ from the road marking. The whole Baarle centre is covered by crosses and tourists like to make pictures standing with one foot in Belgium and other one in Netherlands. Tthere are two ways to understand where you are in the town periphery: GPS and Google maps or a label near the front door. 

 

As a rule the state border goes along the ground areas borders. But sometimes it can pass right through houses and then kitchen will be in one country and bathroom will be in the other one. To escape difficulties it was decided to define state belonging of houses and citizenship of their people by where the front door is situated. All houses have labels with the national flags’ pictures: black-yellow-red for Belgium and red-white-blue for the Netherlands. 

This strange town has everything for two: two administrations, two cathedrals, two post offices, two garbage gathering companies. And it’s not surprising that dustcarts and postmen go along the streets twice in a day. There are three Belgian and three Dutch cellular networks, but as exception citizens can call each other by local prices not international. And only one tourist office intended for Dutch speakers. The police is situated in the Netherlands but also the Belgian people work there. In other respects Baarle is completely usual Flemish village. 

Certainly this amusing geographical location attracts here a lot of tourists and national features often are useful for travelers. For example, the Dutch restaurants are closed earlier than the Belgian ones and people just take another seat… and continue their party abroad. Taxi drivers can pass along one street often by different prices. Also the Belgian shops don’t work on Sundays and shopping lovers go abroad. By the way, now it is not so strange as several years ago, because some differences disappeared after the countries joined the European Union.

 

by Valentin Ivanov

 

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Feel yourself like Gulliver!

Without fail everybody of you as a child has read a Jonathan Swift’s novel about Gulliver’s travels. And for sure you remember clumsy Gulliver walking at Lilliputians’ town. You can feel yourself giant by visiting of miniature city Madurodam in The Hague.

There are about 20 miniature cities all over the world and what is interesting of them is situated in Western Hemisphere. Madurodam in the Netherlands is one of the oldest miniature cities in the world and the first one in the continental Europe.

The urban development plan was created by architect Sibe Jan Baum and Madurodam. Since 1952 year opening it was visited by tens millions of tourists.

It is not only tourist place, but it is war memorial. Mini-city was named after a student George Maduro who fought against the Nazi invaders, was a member of Dutch resistance and died in 1945 as a hero. After all these events George’s parents donate means for the project’s starting and for earnings to go for charity.

Dutchmen, it is necessary to say, are very funny people. They appoint princess Beatrix a mayor of Madurodam. She hold a post with all the gravity by her coronation. So, now Beatrix is the city’s patroness, and major is elected by Youth municipal union consisted of 22 schoolchild.

All objects here are done on a scale of 1:25. Visiting this open air museum you’ll make an acquaintance of everything the Netherlands are famous by. They are windmills, markets, churches, Amsterdam canals, farms, oil-processing and other factories, museums, Rotterdam station Blaak, Amsterdam airport Schiphol, offices and dwelling houses. Some of the exhibits were built in more than four years. Only 35 people work here, they build new models, look after other, make excursions for the tourists.

Typical Netherlands buildings are presented here. The Anne Frank House, the Royal Palace, the Schreierstoren tower, the Magere Brug Bridge, the Airport Schiphol are borrowed from Amsterdam. Small copies of the Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis, the Peace Palace and the Binnenhof show us The Hague’s architecture.

Tourists, triumph! All these miniature copies are very much alike true buildings.  And models have splendid feature: they are more photo-friendly than their bulky prototypes. The minimodels fit into frame perfectly, there are no people crowds against a background and you can do photo at any angle.

Designers and architects are worthy of respect! All details are so well done. If you peep in one of the windows of Amsterdam Rijksmuseum you’ll see a minicopy of Rembrandt’s painting “The Night Watch”. Voilà!

Mini-city have more advantages than real one. For example, you can have a good look at King Palace from behind. And if you remember, it is forbidden to take pictures of Amsterdam Red-light district. In fear tourists hide their cameras to bags! In reality you can’t do excellent photo! And who don’t dream about seeing favorite city, its canals and streets from the height of avian flight.

And besides buildings you can meet complete Lilliputians here: small people, dogs, cars and buses. And trees! In fact they are bushes cut special way and their height is kept at the level of 60 centimeters. Moreover, crows and ducks here are real, they create unique color at all this place!

Tourists here can take part in urban life: they can make Lilliputians move. They need drop a 20 eurocents coin in the slot: people will begin to walk, sing, dance; roads and carousels will revive with music and squeaks!

It will make you laugh to look at real people walking among streets, canals and especially contrast to the background of airport Schiphol and airplanes there. By the way these airplanes don’t fly, only make circles here. And trains run on their routs. Everything looks very naturally!

Madurodam is located in The Hague’s district Scheveningen and thanks to this district is the most fore-handed in this city. Scheveningen’s managers have realized many excellent ideas to promote their territory. Apart from Madurodam there are more than 20 sights you must visit here and some activities you must take part in. Of course you should walk along pier outgoing to the see where a lot of shops and restaurants are located. The Scheveningen Museum, The See Sculpture Museum, more than hundred-year lighthouse, the seven-centuries-old church, the Oceanarium.

In general, Madurodam is a good project not only for the business benefits, but also for promotion of all the Netherlands. I think, after visiting this theme park you’ll want to see all of these places of interest in reality!

by Valentin Ivanov

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