Crazy border stories
On a dark night in Baarle, something strange happened... Stories from the local magazine Baarlezine.
Old lady
What if, by government decision, you suddenly live in another country without moving at all? This happened to an 84-year old lady from Baarle in 1995. She always lived in one of the Belgian enclaves, until after remeasurements, it turned out that she officially lived in the Netherlands. Her house on the Chaamsestraat no. 10 appeared to be right on the enclave border in Baarle – but on the ‘wrong’ side. Instead of becoming a Dutch citizen, she decided to exchange her front door with the window next to it. Now, the old lady was sure to live the last years of her life as a citizen of Belgium.
Tax migrant
On a dark night in Baarle, something strange happened. A front door that used to be on the Dutch side suddenly moved to the Belgian one. A tax migrant? No one knows. What we do know, however, is that the attempt to emigrate failed. The authorities soon found out about the illegal rebuilding and the citizen that thought to be smart got two warrants: a Dutch and a Belgian one. He quickly moved the front door back to where it used to be.
In the local magazine Baarlezine, you can find more of these curious stories from Baarle.