News

A special day: March 4, 1424. It was the day that Hilversum became an independent village. Huzzah! We owe it to Jan van Beieren. But who was he?

Imagine your (grand)child attempts suicide. That is of course terrible. It happened to Hilversum resident Alfons Klarenbeek and his daughter 12 years ago. "She is now glad that it didn't work out back then," says Alfons. "But it still happens far too often. Also in Hilversum."

The field on Busken Huetplein is loved by local residents, but could use a boost. That is why local residents worked together to renovate the field, for which they used the district budget of the municipality of Hilversum. Initiator Annemieke Voeten explains in this interview how this joint effort led to more living pleasure and contact with neighbors.

July 17 marked the tenth anniversary of the MH17 disaster. The Kuala Lumpur-bound plane was shot down over eastern Ukraine. All 298 passengers, including 196 Dutch, were killed. Fifteen victims came from Hilversum. Designer Sven Lamme designed the MH17 monument in the Dudok Park, where these victims are commemorated.

The square in front of Joanne Vogelzang's apartment has been tiled for years. This had to change, the Hilversum resident thought. With the district budget and help from the district director, she created more greenery and conviviality.

For a long time, Hilversum was a small, simple sheep village where little happened. There was not much contact with the outside world. But various events ensured that Hilversum grew into the media city it is today. How that came about is something we will go through in a nutshell in this story.