Every design for Soest

Soest lies just west of Amersfoort, on the lower slopes of the Utrechtse Heuvelrug where higher sandy ground gives way to the meadows of the Eem polder. Woods, heath, dunes and pasture surround it, and much of that land is used by the Dutch army for training.

The town brings to mind a slower kind of day. Farming still matters here, and the largest stretch of farmland lies right in the middle of town, on the hill called de Engh. The Soesterduinen, the sand dunes, draw people out for walks and rides, and the Lange Duinen at Soestduinen roll on for what feels like miles. Most residents commute, catching trains from one of three stations, Soestdijk, Soest or Soest Zuid, yet evenings belong to the dunes and the fields.

Paleis Soestdijk stands on the edge of things, a reminder that this was once a place of grand country houses, while Soest itself remained a farming village. The oldest church, the Oude Kerk from the fifteenth century, is still in use. And the image that stays is the farmland of the Engh on its hill in the middle of town, with the little Kerkpad, the Church Path, close by.