Soest, Netherlands

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Coordinates: 52°11′N 5°18′E

Soest

Location municipality Soest

Country Netherlands
Province Utrecht
Coordinates 52°11′ N 5°18′ E
Area 46.45 km²
- Land 46.26 km²
- Water 0.19 km²
Population (2005) 45,115
- Density 975/km²

This article is about the Dutch town and municipality. There is also a town called Soest in Germany, see Soest, Germany.

Soest is a municipality and a town in the central Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. It is located about 6 km west of Amersfoort.

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[edit] Population centres

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[edit] The town of Soest

Soest is at least 975 years old. The oldest documents mentioning Soest (then written as Zoys) date from 1029. Its oldest church (the Oude Kerk, meaning Old Church), which is still in use today, dates from the 15th century.Traces of earlier habitation are found though. De area of "Hees", now at the outskirts of Soest may date in to the Early Middle Ages, and prehistoric burial mounds in the Soesterduinen point to early habitation in this area.

Medieval agricultural activity is still visible as there are many farmlands inside Soest. The biggest are in the center of the town, on a hill, and are called 'de Engh'. A nice small street is 'het Kerkepad'. The Soesterduinen, in the South, sanddunes, are worth visiting.

[edit] Transport

Soest can be reached by train (every half hour) from Utrecht (:09 and :39) and Baarn (:23 and :53); all trains stop at the three stations, Soest Zuid, Soest and Soestdijk. The station of Soestduinen situated on the railroad between Utrecht and Amersfoort was closed in 1998, after being in service for 135 years.

Soest has a number of bus stops and three bus lines, all of which leave from the bus station at Soest Zuid exactly at the half hour. Line 1 and 2 are local busses that do not leave Soest. Line 70, however, travels both directions to Amersfoort and Hilversum. Recently, this line includes Leusden.

[edit] External links


 
Utrecht Province

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