AFP – If ever a place encapsulated the glorious complexity and sometimes paradoxical nature of the European Union (EU), it would be Baarle, just on the Dutch side of the Netherlands-Belgium border.
The town of just under 10,000 people is split in two, Baarle-Nassau (which is Dutch) and Baarle-Hertog (a Belgian enclave surrounded by the Netherlands).
The international border runs through the town, marked by a series of white crosses in the pavement that sometimes even bisects buildings – including the town hall.
And come European election day, the Dutch parts of the town voted on June 6 whereas their Belgian neighbours have to wait three days later to cast their ballot.
“Anyone Dutch? Come and vote in here,” cried a volunteer outside the “Stembureau” (polling station) when AFP visited on Dutch election day.
Literally a few metres across the road is Belgium, a snack bar offering “Fresh Belgian Fries”.
Dutch and Belgian election posters stand a stone’s throw apart with a completely different set of candidates and parties.
The town’s split identity is much more complex than a single border line. There are several separate chunks of land scattered around the town belonging to one country or the other.
There are 22 Belgian enclaves in total, the smallest the size of half a football pitch, and six Dutch “counter-enclaves” within these Belgian enclaves.
This means the border snakes haphazardly around the town, resulting in a bizarre patchwork quilt effect on international maps.
Visiting every enclave would mean crossing the Dutch-Belgian border 60 times in a few kilometres, explained Ad Tuijtelaars from the local tourist office.
Anecdotes abound about the pecularities of the town, which describes itself as “Europe in Miniature” or the “World’s Strangest Border Situation.”
Couples tying the knot in the town hall have to decide which country to get married in. Left side of the room: Belgium. Right side: Netherlands.
In one house split by the border, a 90-year-old woman lives on the Belgian side. Her son just down the corridor… in the Netherlands.
