The city is home to several major radio, television, and newspaper companies such asNOS. Hilversum is thus known for being themediastad (media city) of the Netherlands.
Hilversum has one public library, two swimming pools (Van Hellemond Sport and De Lieberg), several sports halls, and several shopping centers (such as Hilvertshof, Winkelcentrum Kerkelanden, De Riebeeckgalerij, and Winkelcentrum Seinhorst). Locally, the town center is known ashet dorp (Dutch for 'the village').
Hilversum is located on the sandy, hilly parts of the Gooi region and has four hills: the Boomberg (closest to the town center); the Trompenberg (now a luxury residential area), the Hoorneboeg (farther to the south), and two kilometers east of there, the Zwaluwenberg (25m), home to the headquarters of the inspector-general of the armies since 1950. These hills date from the period of theIce-age, when Hilversum was thesouthern-most point covered by glaciers.
The surrounding towns of Hilversum are Nieuw-Loosdrecht, Bussum, Kortenhoef, Blaricum, Hollandsche Rading, Lage Vuursche, Maartensdijk, 's-Graveland, Laren, Nederhorst den Berg, and Ankeveen.
Hilversum consists of the following districts and neighborhoods: Center (Langgewenstbuurt, Sint Vitusbuurt, Havenstraatbuurt, and Centrum), Northwest (Nimrodpark, Trompenberg North, Trompenberg South, Media Park, Raadhuiskwartier, and Boomberg), Northeast (North, Johannes Geradtswegbuurt, Erfgooiersbuurt, and AZC Crailo), East (Geuzenbuurt, Electrobuurt, Astronomiebuurt, Science neighborhood, Kamrad, Kleine Driftbuurt and Liebergen), Southeast (Bloemkwartier Noord, Bloemenkwartier Zuid, Schilderskwartier, 't Hoogt van' t Kruis, Arenaparkkwartier and West Indiëkwartier), Zuid (Schrijverskwartier, Staatsliedenkwartier and Zeeheldenkwartier), Southwest (Kerkelanden, Havenkwartier, Zeverijn and Het Rode Dorp) and Hilversumse Meent. In 1767, Hilversum was still divided into 4 districts (quarters): the Neuquartier, Groestquartier, Kerkquartier, and the Sandtbergerquartier.
The Oude Haven in the southwest is at the end of the Gooische Vaart. The construction of the canal between 's-Graveland and Hilversum was done in stages over 240 years. The canal was completed in 1876. Later, a modern harbor was dug, surrounded by an industrial estate. There is also a leisure harbor.
Hilversum has a variety of international schools, such as theViolenschool andInternational School Hilversum "Alberdingk Thijm". Also,Nike's,[5]Hunkemöller's[6][circular reference] andConverse's[7] European headquarters are located in Hilversum.
Earthenware found in Hilversum gives its name to theHilversum culture, which is an early- to mid-Bronze Age, or 1800–1200 BCmaterial culture. Artifacts from this prehistoric civilization bear similarities to the Wessex Culture of southern Britain and may indicate that the first Hilversum residents emigrated from that area.[8]
The first brick settlements formed around 900, but it was not until 1305 that the first official mention of Hilversum ("Hilfersheem" from "Hilvertshem" meaning "houses between the hills") was found. At that time it was a part ofNaarden, the oldest town in the Gooi area.
Interior of a farm near Hilversum, a 19th-century drawing byJohannes Bosboom
Farming, raising sheep, and wool manufacturing were the main sources of income for inhabitants of the Gooi region in the Middle Ages. In 1424, Hilversum received its first official independent status. This made further growth possible because permission was no longer needed from neighboring Naarden for new industrial development.
The town grew further in the 17th century when the Dutch economy was strong, and several canals were built connecting it indirectly to Amsterdam.
In 1725 and 1766 large fires destroyed most of the town, leveling parts of the old townhouse and the church next to it. The town overcame these setbacks and the textile industry continued to develop, among other ways by devising a way to weave cows' hair.
In the 19th century a substantial textile and tapestry industry emerged, aided by a railway link to Amsterdam in 1874. From that time onward the town grew quickly with wealthy commuters from Amsterdam moving in, building themselves large villas in the wooded surroundings, and gradually starting to live in Hilversum permanently. Despite this growth, Hilversum was never grantedcity rights so it is still referred to by many locals as "het dorp", or "the village."
TheNederlandse Seintoestellen Fabriek (NSF) company established a professional transmitter and radio factory in Hilversum in the early 1920s, growing into the largest of its kind in the Netherlands.
Following thedefeat of Allied forces in the Netherlands in 1940, and its occupation byNazi Germany, Hilversum became the headquarters of theGerman Army (Heer) in the Netherlands. On February 25 and 26, 1941, most of Hilversum's factories went on strike against the start of theHolocaust in the so-calledFebruary strike (Amsterdam Docker's Strike). Some 10,000 people took part. The Holocaust took the lives of 2,000 Hilversum Jews and the community never fully recovered. Since 2015 there has been an annual remembrance service. Some 50 Hilversummers were awarded the title ofRighteous among the nations from Yad Vashem, includingVictor Kugler, one ofAnne Frank's helpers.
In 1948, NSF was taken over byPhilips. However, Dutch radio broadcasting organizations (followed by television broadcasters during the 1950s) centralised their operations in Hilversum, providing a source of continuing economic growth. The concentration of broadcasters in Hilversum has given it its enduring status as the media city for the Netherlands.
In 1964, the population reached a record high of over 103,000. However, the textile industry had started its decline; only one factory, Veneta, managed to continue into the 1960s, when it also had to close. Another major industry, the chemical factory IFF, also closed by the end of the 1960s.
After the 1960s, the population gradually declined, until stabilising at around 86,000 in 2006 and rising to 90,000 in 2018. Several factors other than the slump in manufacturing contributed to this decline: one is the reduction in average family size, with fewer people living in each house; second, the town is virtually unable to expand because much surrounding land was sold by city architectW.M. Dudok to theGoois Natuurreservaat (nl); third, the rapid increase in property values forced many people to move to less expensive areas in the Netherlands.
In the 1970s, Hilversum solidified its status as a media hub of the Netherlands, largely due to the concentration of broadcasting organizations, particularly radio and television, in the city.
Hilversum was one of the first towns to have a local party of the populist movement calledLeefbaar ("liveable"). Founded by former social-democratJan Nagel, it was initially held at bay for alderman positions. In 2001, Nagel from Leefbaar Hilversum teamed up with Leefbaar Utrecht leaders to found a nationalLeefbaar Nederland party.
The town has undertaken many improvements, including renovating its central train station, renovation of the main shopping centre (Hilvertshof), and development of new dining and retail districts downtown including the "vintage" district in the Leeuwenstraat. Several notable architectural accomplishments include theInstitute for Sound and Vision,[10] andZanderij Crailoo (nl), the largest man-madewildlife crossing in the world.
There is the large Catholic neo-gothic St. Vitus church (P.J.H. Cuypers, 1892, bell tower 96 metres (315 ft). The city played host to many landscape artists during the 19th century, includingBarend Cornelis Koekkoek.
In the 1950s and 1960s the city played host to a major European Tennis tournament.
Hilversum is often called "media city", since it is the principal centre for radio and television broadcasting in the Netherlands, and is home to an extensive complex of radio and televisionstudios and to the administrative headquarters of the multiple broadcasting organizations which make up theNetherlands Public Broadcasting system. Hilversum is also home to many newer commercial TV production companies.Radio Netherlands, which had been broadcasting worldwide viashortwave radio since the 1920s, was also based in Hilversum until it was dissolved in 2013.
The following is a list of organizations that have, or are continuing to, broadcast from studios in Hilversum:
One result of the town's history as an important radio transmission centre is that many older radio sets throughout Europe featuredHilversum as a pre-marked dial position on their tuning scales.
Dutch national voting in theEurovision Song Contest is normally co-ordinated from Hilversum.
Hilversum Airport is located in the southwest of the municipality. Next to it is the former Marine Training Camp (MOK), now Corporal Van Oudheusden Barracks for the medical troops. In wartime the airfield was expanded significantly by the German military. They also set up an assembly line for training aircraft, produced byFokker inWeesp.
This section'sfactual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. The reason given is: Many of the bus companies listed have changed since this section was last updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(May 2023)
Most local and regional buses are operated byConnexxion, but two of the bus routes are operated bySyntus Utrecht and two others byU-OV andPouw Vervoer. Regional bus route 320 is operated by both Connexxion andPouw Vervoer. In 2018, major road works started to make room for a new BRT bus lane from Hilversum to Huizen, set to open in early 2021.[11][12]
During weekday daytime hours, Saturday mornings and Sunday evenings, some buses only run between Hilversum and Huizen. During morning rush hours, 4 extra buses run between Hilversum Station and Hilversum Arenapark.
N32
Hilversum Station → Eemnes → Blaricum Bijvanck → Huizen
After the 2022 elections, the municipal government was made up of aldermen from the political parties Hart voor Hilversum, VVD, GroenLinks and CDA. Themayor is Gerhard van den Top.
Hart voor Hilversum, a local party, is the largest group on the council. Originally a part of Leefbaar Hilversum, it separated to form a party called DLPH, which won 1 seat in the 2006 elections. In 2006 leadership was taken over byLéonie Sazias, a TV celebrity. She later changed the party name to Hart voor Hilversum. They won 3 seats in the 2010 elections, 6 in 2014 and 8 in both 2018 and 2022.
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