the encyclopedic entry of Baarle-Hertog

Baarle-Hertog

Baarle-Hertog, Fr. Baerle-Duc, town (1991 pop. 2,126), Antwerp prov., N Belgium. A Belgian possession since 1479, it is an enclave (3 sq mi/7.8 sq km) and market town in S Netherlands. The sovereignty of its outlying districts was disputed by the Dutch, but was settled (1959) in favor of Belgium by the International Court of Justice.

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Baarle-Hertog

Baarle-Hertog is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the town of Baarle-Hertog proper. On January 1 2006 Baarle-Hertog had a total population of 2,306. The total area is 7.48 km² which gives a population density of 308 inhabitants per km².

Baarle-Hertog is noted for its complicated borders with Baarle-Nassau in the Netherlands. In total it consists of 24 separate pieces of land. Apart from the main piece (called Zondereigen) located north of the Belgian town of Merksplas, there are twenty Belgian exclaves in the Netherlands and three other pieces on the Dutch-Belgian border. There are also seven Dutch exclaves within the Belgian exclaves. Six of them are located in the largest one and a seventh in the second-largest one. An eighth Dutch exclave lies in Zondereigen.

The border is so complicated that there are some houses that are divided between the two countries. There was a time when according to Dutch laws restaurants had to close earlier. For some restaurants on the border it meant that the clients simply had to change their tables to the Belgian side.