The Village that lies in two Countries

There is an unusual village on the German-Dutch border. Or rather: two villages? In fact, you can't really tell - because the state border runs directly along the village street. On one side the houses are Dutch, on the other German. And if you don't pay close attention, you won't even notice which country you are in. Time to take a closer look at this curiosity.

A film by Matthias Schwarzer.

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Intro song:
MÆT - Start Again

Music:
Epidemic sound

#netherlands #germany #border #borders #geography #eu #europe #europeanunion

[MatthiasSchwarzerEnglish]

Thanks for watching! Here's more you might like:

[sjoerdv]

As someone living and growing in Dinxperlo, thank you for making this video. In essence, for many people in Dinxperlo or Suderwick it is not "something" to think about when we go to the other side of the border. "Oh, just have an ice cream at Da Claudio or go to the Penny" is not strange at all, in fact, one of the most casual (the extent to which you can call shopping casual) things to do. Especially for someone who grew up here in the 2000s and who had never seen a real border crossing with passport/ID checks and such.

[Tminus]

I am Dutch, but didn't know this about Dinxperlo :) Thanks for showing us

[lesleyhirst]

The way you began with the quirks, and went through the history drew me in, and it was such a pleasure to listen to the two old friends, Dutch and German, from the historical society. As a Brit who never wanted to leave Europe, hearing their thoughts, and those of the Austrian lady and her Dutchman, on Brexit was fascinating. An excellent video, thank you!

[thatotherted]

Very interesting! The discussions with the elder folk were particularly illuminating. Also, great choice of music.

[jptv]

There is another place where a German and a Dutch city are one.
these are Kerkrade (NL) and Hertzogenrath (D).
There you have the Nieuwstraat/Neustraße, also on one side the Netherlands and on the other side Germany

[jonleibow]

Border villages in Europe have gotten more and more united, while border villages in North America have gotten more and more divided.

[Carloshache]

Lol, very interesting that the historical society guy from the Dutch side has a Dutch accent when speaking German, alltough historically these villages spoke the same Westphalian dialect of Low German.

[tdb]

You have such a pleasant accent to listen to - and I love the nerdy subjects you cover. I can actually hear the Dutch accent when one of the men is speaking German. G'day from Australia, mate ☺

[AZMindroma]

Awesome, thanks for the English upload! I wanted to show this to my Dutch friend but since she can't understand German well I couldn't, now I can :)

[louvendran]

The world is a funny place. My elders came with the British Empire to Africa. They decided to stay. Then South Africa became a country with Afrikaans/Dutch given priority to English. We were the first ones to learn Afrikaans although we never used it as Durban was English.

When I went to University I thought they were doing away with Afrikaans. A friend of mine spent a gap year in the Netherlands & told me it was difficult. Some of our comedians & older Afrikaans movies spoke with a Dutch accent so I picked up the shift.

I moved to Johannesburg for work because it is the financial heart of Africa & one of the most Cosmopolitan cities in the Southern Hemisphere. In my time there I got to really learn about South Africa because Johannesburg for example was a city of immigrants. Gold was found on a stock farm 55km from the nearest town or settlement ie Pretoria. I later learned that the town/city of Potchefstroom was the original capital of De/Het Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek. When I decided to leave Johannesburg my first choice was Flanders or the Netherlands. I decided not to because of my complexion as some don't know better would think I am a terrorist 😂.

I opted for New Zealand where I met Dutch, German & Flemish friends. They were quite surprised by my language skills. I have to explain to them & my Kiwi friends that in my country of birth, more especially in the Afrikaans parts I am regarded as being English. That always gets a good laugh.

I just think its wonderful that we can put past bigotry etc behind us & enjoy our lives together. Its interesting to see how others envisage or see the world. Time flies, so make the best of it.

Thanks for the video. I hope to visit the EU in the next few summers as I am not built for sub-zero temperatures. 😂 Greetings from New Zealand 🇳🇿

[markleon]

I find this sort of thing so fascinating. I come from a country that has no land borders so European borders and the history of them is so interesting to me. I can't imagine growing up in a place that has another country across the road. The cooperation between diverse countries, sharing a continent should be an inspiration to other continents.

[_JoyceArt]

See also Kerkrade and several other villages along the German-Dutch borders. Same with Belgium.

[BMoney]

As an American this is really fascinating to me. I know we sure could learn a lot from Europe in a lot of ways.

[rakutzimbel]

Super leuke film! Dit is wat Europa leuk maakt!

[mavadelo]

I always love your videos but I especially like your Baarle Hertog/Nassau and Dinxperwick episodes. They show that borders don't have to be an issue if you talk and cooperate. Something certain countries on the other side of the globe can learn something from.

[Lilygirl]

Thank you Matthias for doing this in English, very much appreciated...

[MausTheGerman]

Super recherchiert 👍 tolle Interviewpartner 👌

[fredskronk]

One thing I think documentaries like these always seem to leave out is the everyday practicalities, that isn't about the physical borders, but rather the technical ones. From where do you get your electricity? Your water? Is it purely tied to your address or can you be living in Germany while paying a Dutch company for your power?

Your phone? How did the old landlines work? How do you deal with having your neighbour being an international phone call away? Mobile phones pre 2017? Where everyone running around with dual sim cards? And even though your data is now included all over the EU, a call to your friends might still be an international one, if you have contracts in different countries.

And then we have internet. Guess it's the same thing as with the old landline phones, but here it comes down to IP address. Are you a german stuck with dutch Netflix? (and here it's time to talk about todays sponsor

[nakfan]

What a delight to watch… Thank you so much for making these great videos. BR, Per (Denmark)