Bilthoven

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Bilthoven in the municipality of De Bilt.

Bilthoven (52°8′N 5°12′E) is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of De Bilt. It has a railway station with connections to Utrecht, Amersfoort and Baarn. Also it is home to the National Institute for Public Health and Environment, RIVM.

The history of the town goes back to August 20, 1863, the day when the Utrecht-Amersfoort railway track began operating. A station was placed at the junction of the track line with the Soestdijkseweg. Initially the Dutch railways had not planned a station on this spot.

Just around 1900, the first villas appeared around the new station. The train traffic to and from the new station strongly increased at the same time: in 1902, one could take the train in both directions 52 time per day. As a result of this track connection with the city, and the fact that the ground was relatively cheap, the number of villas continued to increase rapidly.

At this time the name of the town was still Bilt-station, but since it was not only a station anymore, the name was changed during a Council meeting on the May 23, 1917. Several names were presented, among which Bilt-Buiten, the Biltwijk and the Leyen. Eventually the name Biltsche Duinen was chosen. However, this name ran up against objection of the Dutch railways. For this reason, on October 11, 1917 another Council meeting was dedicated to the naming of the village. At this Council meeting again several names were discussed, such as Leyenhoven, Bilt-Hoog and the Bilthof. A majority of the Council went eventual agreement with the name Bilthoven (which is plural for Bilthof), presented by the Council member Melchior.

The statistical area "Bilthoven", which also can include the surrounding countryside, has a population of around 17560.^[1]

[edit] Significant events

Two international peace groups were founded in Bilthoven in the aftermath of the First World War: Service Civil International in 1920 and War Resisters' International in 1921. The founding meetings of both groups took place at the home of Kees and Betty Boeke^[2].

The experimental school De Werkplaats^[3], founded by Kees Boeke, has been based in Bilthoven since 1926.

[edit] References

1. ^ Statistics Netherlands (CBS), Statline: Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2003-2005. As of January 1, 2005.
2. ^ Devi Prasad, War is a Crime against Humanity: the Story of War Resisters' International. London: WRI 2005
3. ^ De Werkplaats website. Viewed 04/12/2006.