Gooi

The Gooi ( ) is an area around Hilversum, in the centre of the Netherlands. It is a slightly hilly area characterised by its green landscape, its historical charm, the wealth of its inhabitants and its villas. The Gooi is known in the country as the home of the rich and famous.

Location and composition

The Gooi is the area around Hilversum in the southeastern corner of the province of North Holland. It is located east of Amsterdam and north of Utrecht, between Amersfoort and Amsterdam. The boundaries are not clearly demarcated. It is generally the area between a dry ditch called the Gooyergracht, dug in 1356 to demarcate the border with the province of Utrecht, and the river Vecht. The Gooi refers traditionally to the part of this area that lies in the province of North Holland. Often the term is used to refer just to the higher, sandy, forested part of this area. The towns in the area include (in descending order of size): Hilversum (the centre of the area and the largest municipality), Bussum and Naarden, Huizen, Laren and Blaricum. To the north of the Gooi there is a body of water called Lake Gooi (in Dutch, Gooimeer), a southern extension of the IJsselmeer. An area called the Vechtstreek lies to the west of the Gooi. Eemland in the province of Utrecht lies to the east. The towns of Weesp and Eemnes are also sometimes thought to be in the Gooi. Their inclusion would mean that the region extends in the west to the Amsterdam–Rhine Canal (not just to the Vecht) and in the east to the river Eem (not just to the Gooyergracht). However, historically and geographically these towns are not really part of the Gooi. Weesp is part of the Vechtstreek and Eemnes part of Eemland. To the west and southwest there are two lake systems called the Loosdrecht Lakes (Loosdrechtseplassen) and the Ankeveen Lakes (Ankeveenscheplassen). On 1 January 2002 the towns in the area of these lake systems was organised into a municipality called Wijdemeren. This municipality includes Ankeveen, Breukeleveen, 's-Graveland, Kortenhoef, Muyeveld, Nederhorst den Berg, Nieuw-Loosdrecht and Oud-Loosdrecht. Some of this area is fenland. Since then this area has also been considered to be part of the Gooi, although historically not all of it was. Pasture land called the Utrechtse weilanden lies to the south. To the southeast lies a wooded area in the province of Utrecht called the Laagte van Pijnenburg, or Pijnenburg Depression, marking the transition to the central part of the Utrecht Hill Ridge. Two motorways run through the Gooi: the A1 runs east and west; the A27 runs north and south. The railways running from Amsterdam to Hilversum and Amersfoort (Gooilijn, part of the Amsterdam–Zutphen railway) and from Hilversum to Utrecht (Hilversum–Lunetten railway) run through the area. A line called the "Gooiboog" links the Gooilijn with the Weesp–Lelystad railway (Flevolijn) to Almere and Lelystad.

Landscape and nature

, 1887]]The Gooi is centred on the northernmost point of a geological formation called the Utrecht Hill Ridge (Utrechtse Heuvelrug). The "hilliness" of this area is relative. It is considered hilly because the rest of the countryside is flat and below sea level. The highest point in the Gooi is the Tafelberg (36.4 m above sea level), which is located halfway between Blaricum and Huizen. Originally the Gooi area was covered with woods and heath. It was at one time encircled by treacherous high and low fen areas (with peat bogs) that created a natural barrier and isolated it from the Utrecht area to the south. Today there is still a good amount of variation in the landscape in the Gooi area. The landscape is dominated by a dry, sandy ridge. To the east and west of the ridge there is flat wet low-lying pasture land. The changes in land elevation, and the transition from wet to dry, are important for many animals and plants. The bodies of water at the margins of the area are fed by water seeping through the sandy ridge. Some of the woods and heath have survived into the present today, notably Spanderswoud, Hilversumse Heide, Hoorneboegse Heide and Bussumer Heide. These areas are now all nature areas managed by the Gooi Nature Reserve Foundation. The vegetation in the area includes deciduous and coniferous woods, heath, grassland with sand pits, land developed as estates and the unique leftovers of open high ground and commons (engen en meenten). Some areas have been set aside for protection, including the Naardermeer (the oldest nature reserve in the Netherlands and the home of a unique colony of black cormorants (phalacrocorax nigra)) and the Gooi Nature Reserve (Goois Natuurreservaat). These areas are valuable buffers against encroaching urban development. A feature of the landscape in the Gooi is the consistent encirclement of many heath areas with wooded margins, creating the illusion of an uninterrupted landscape and keeping the built-up areas out of sight. In the Netherlands this is rare. There is some concern about the motorways running through the area (the A1 and A27) because they cut through important nature areas. Near Hilversum the longest wildlife crossing overpass in the world has been constructed over the N524 and the Amsterdam-Hilversum railway line. Called the Natuurbrug Zanderij Crailo (literally, the "Crailo Sand Quarry Nature Bridge"), the massive structure is over 800 meters long and spans not just the motorway and railway line, but also a business park, river and sports complex. Monitoring is currently under way to examine the effectiveness of this innovative project combining wildlife protection with urban development.

History

Towns in the Gooi

Notes

References

Map of Het Gooi on Google Maps Het Gooi's tourist (VVV) web page Expat view of the area from Expatica.com Wijk & Buurt informatie Gooi en Vechtstreek (Dutch only)

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1338858488 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.

Names in other languages