Soest, Provincie Utrecht, Netherlands

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

Population centres • Boerenstreek • De Eng Soest Midden • ’t_Hart_Soestdijk • Klaarwater • Overhees • Smitsveen • Soestduinen • Soesterberg • Soest-Zuid.

The town of Soest 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 fifteenth century. Traces of earlier habitation are found though. The 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.

Agricultural activity is still visible as there is much farmland within Soest. The biggest area is in the centre of the town, on a hill, and are called 'de Engh'. A small street is het Kerkpad (literally, the Church Path). The Soesterduinen (sand dunes), is a popular area for recreation.

Numerous churches depict the Calvinist/Catholic tradition of Soest and the region. Christengemeente Soest, Wilhelmina Kerk Soest, Gereformeerde Kerk Vrijgemaakt, Emmakerk and the Evangelische Kerk Soest are the main churches.

Soest Duinen, meaning Soest Dunes, a small town between Soest and Soesterberg contains acres upon acres of sand dunes named the Lange Duinen (meaning the long dunes).

Transport Soest has three railway stations: • Soestdijk; • Soest; • Soest Zuid; The biggest of the three is Soest Zuid.

Soest can be reached by train from Utrecht (every half-hour, xx:06 and xx:36) and Baarn (xx:22 and xx:52); all trains stop at the three stations. The station of Soestduinen, situated between Utrecht Centraal and Amersfoort Centraal, was closed in 1998, after being in use for 135 years. It is now a restaurant.

The stations that can be reached directly from Soest are: • Baarn • Den Dolder • Bilthoven • Utrecht Overvecht • Utrecht Centraal.

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 70 however, travel both directions to Amersfoort and Hilversum. Line 74 travels within the town of Soest. And multiple others travel through Soest. (272 Bunschoten-Spakenburg to Uithof, Utrecht vv. More info found at 9292ov.nl for all the public transport connections