| Baarn | |
| Settlement Type: | Municipality |
| Flag Size: | 100x67px |
| Map Alt: | Highlighted position of Baarn in a municipal map of Utrecht |
| Coordinates: | 52.2167°N 22°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Netherlands |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Utrecht |
| Government Footnotes: | [1] |
| Governing Body: | Municipal council |
| Leader Party: | VVD |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Mark Röell |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Elevation Footnotes: | [2] |
| Elevation M: | 6 |
| Population Demonyms: | Baarnaar, Barenaar |
| Timezone: | CET |
| Utc Offset: | +1 |
| Timezone Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postcode |
| Postal Code: | 3740–3749 |
| Area Code Type: | Area code |
| Area Code: | 035 |
Baarn (in Dutch; Flemish pronounced as /baːr(ə)n/) is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, near Hilversum in the province of Utrecht.
The municipality of Baarn consists of the following towns: Baarn, Eembrugge, Lage Vuursche.
Baarn, the main town of the municipality, received city rights in 1391. The town lies about 8 km east of Hilversum.
In 2001, the town of Baarn had a population of 22,871. The urban area of the town was 4.66km2, and consisted of 10,076 residences.[3]
The royal family owns several houses around Baarn. The Soestdijk Palace in Baarn was the home of Queen Emma, Queen Juliana and Juliana's husband prince Bernard. Crown prince Willem Alexander and his brothers attended school (Nieuwe Baarnse School and Het Baarnsch Lyceum) in Baarn when Queen Beatrix (then princess) and her family lived at Castle Drakesteijn in the village of Lage Vuursche, before they moved to The Hague in 1980. A piece of forest, the Baarnse Bos, is adjacent to the palace and historically belonged to it.
Baarn's shopping facilities are mainly located in the Laanstraat. Other visitor destinations include 'het Cantonspark' (a botanical garden) and Groeneveld Castle. In the north and east there are polders, and the river Eem. Recreation resources include the woodlands south-west of Baarn, connecting Baarn to Soestdijk, and called 'Het Baarnsche Bos'.
The Scout Centre Buitenzorg (Scouting Nederland) is located in Baarn.[4]
To the south lay the connecting road towards the city of Amersfoort, called 'Breemeentje'. This, approx. 10 km long straight of polder road, connects the town of Baarn to various roads in Soest and the industrial area of Amersfoort.
Due to good communications with Amsterdam, the town is home to a number of boutique international firms such as SEI Investments Company, Bain & Co and Cerberus Capital Management. Unilever's Conimex and software company Seyoda Games are located in Baarn.
Baarn has a railway station - Baarn railway station, with trains going every half-hour to Utrecht (Utrecht Centraal, 35 minutes), Amersfoort (Amersfoort Centraal, 10 minutes) and Amsterdam (Amsterdam Centraal, about 40 minutes).
The A1 motorway runs just north of Baarn.
Freighter of the KNSM, assigned to the allied invasion fleet for Sicily and sailing in convoy KWS 16, loaded from Alexandria with tanks, trucks, ammunition and petrol (in cans) and 4 LCMs, under captain LH Mager, 11 July 1943, anchored off the coast of Sicily, on the roadstead of Avola, attacked by 12 German bombers. The 'Baarn' is hit and catches fire. All those on board manage to save themselves and are on the landing beach within an hour. The 'Baarn' will later be sunk as a wreck by British warships.[5]