Baarn


Baarn is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, near Hilversum in the province of Utrecht.

The municipality Baarn

The municipality of Baarn consists of the following towns: Baarn, Eembrugge, Lage Vuursche.

The town 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 in Baarn when Queen Beatrix 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' 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 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, Amersfoort and Amsterdam.
The A1 motorway runs just north of Baarn.

Notable residents

Royalty

Baarn is twinned with:

Gallery