{"id":121499,"date":"2023-11-24T08:19:39","date_gmt":"2023-11-24T08:19:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leviolonrouge.com\/?p=121499"},"modified":"2023-11-24T08:19:39","modified_gmt":"2023-11-24T08:19:39","slug":"the-strange-town-straddling-two-eu-countries-where-the-border-runs-through-homes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leviolonrouge.com\/world-news\/the-strange-town-straddling-two-eu-countries-where-the-border-runs-through-homes\/","title":{"rendered":"The strange town straddling two EU countries where the border runs through homes"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The most likely place that comes to mind when describing a ‘divided European city’ is Cold War Berlin.<\/p>\n

Back then, Germany was split between East and West, with the West holding on to a tiny strip of land in an ocean of eastern territory in the city of Berlin, which itself was divided between the two states.<\/p>\n

But that all ended 34 years ago, how could there be another divided European settlement in the 21st century? Enter Baarle.<\/p>\n

Blink and you’d miss the fact that Baarle is shared between Belgium and the Netherlands.<\/p>\n

There’s no great wall, no barbed wire, no menacing border guards patrolling an imaginary line with German shepherds on patrol \u2014 you have to look really hard to find the dividing line of Baarle.<\/p>\n

READ MORE <\/strong> The beautiful little UK seaside town with a tiny hotel named one of world’s best<\/strong><\/p>\n

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But it’s definitely there, just on the floor running straight through the town, a row of white-painted crosses that stretch across the pavement.<\/p>\n

It doesn’t just stop at the pavement, however. The crosses quite literally run through everything from shops, buildings, and the city hall.<\/p>\n

The weird border means everything is split in half: homes, families, governments, taxes, and even the name of the town itself is split, known as Baarle-Nassau on the Dutch side and Baarle-Hertog on the Belgian side.<\/p>\n

There are two separate churches, two separate bus lines governed and operated by two different councils, two postal services, and even two different types of craft beers.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the biggest dividing line is that which runs through private property \u2014 people’s homes \u2014 and means everyone has to follow what is known as the ‘Door Rule’.<\/p>\n

The rule goes that if your front door is in the Netherlands you live in the Netherlands, and if your front door is in Belgium, you live in Belgium.<\/p>\n

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