Baarle-Hertog Attractions

The enclave of Baarle-Hertog, 14km/8.5miles north of Turnhout, is a curiosity as it is a Belgian enclave completely surrounded by Dutch territory. In the 12th C. the village was divided between the dukes of Brabant and the lords of Breda. Each part has a school, a town hall, a post office and a police station. The market, however, is in Holland, while the inn by the market stands on Belgian territory. Sometimes the frontier goes right through the houses; the nationality can be seen by the house numbers which are painted in national colors. The confusion is completed by the sister parish of Baarle-Nassau; this is a Dutch enclave surrounded by Belgian territory, and thus an enclave within an enclave.