The Complicated Border(s) Between Belgium and Netherlands

If the Philippines has islandception, Europe has countryception. This is the case between the municipalities of Baarle-Hertog and Baarle-Nassau in the town of Baarle that lies between the border of Belgium and Netherlands. These municipalities are not divided by the usual border which separates left from right or top from bottom. Instead, there are several pieces of land – little bits of Belgium and Netherlands scattered in the town of Baarle.

I’ve already heard about it but it was Iris’ idea to side trip on this town before heading to Amsterdam. A line of white crosses with NL and B on each side greets you as soon as you hop off the bus. This line indicates the border of multiple enclaves you will see in town. There are about 26 enclaves that belong to Belgium, of which 22 of them are found in the Netherlands. While there are more or less 10 Dutch enclaves that are inside Belgian enclaves.

This bizarre geography results from agreements and land swaps between the Lords of Breda and Dukes of Brabant in the Middle Ages.

For many years, you can go shopping in a single street on different tax rules. There was even a time when according to Dutch laws, restaurants should close earlier. This means that the customers simply had to change their tables on the Belgian side and dinner continues.

We had no idea if there are other cool stuff to do in this town since we had only a few hours to stay before we catch our train for Amsterdam. However, these confusing borders could totally make you scratch your head. And if your goal is to cross the countries several times in an hour on different borders, this is the place to go. 😀