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.
Name
The name Gooi is related to gouw, the Dutch word for "Gau ", being an old name for a 'region'. The Gooi is conventionally referred to in Dutch as het Gooi orLocation 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 : Hilversum, Bussum and Naarden, Huizen, Laren and Blaricum.To the north of the Gooi there is a body of water called Lake Gooi, 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 and in the east to the river Eem. 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 and the Ankeveen Lakes. 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 and from Hilversum to Utrecht run through the area. A line called the "Gooiboog" links the Gooilijn with the Weesp–Lelystad railway to Almere and Lelystad.
Landscape and nature
The Gooi is centred on the northernmost point of a geological formation called the Utrecht Hill Ridge. 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, 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 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.
Image:Gooise wei.jpg|right|thumb|Gooi landscape: Pasture land surrounded by woodsSome 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. Some areas have been set aside for protection, including the Naardermeer and the Gooi Nature Reserve. 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 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, 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.
Image:Panorama Bussumerheide.jpg|center|950px|360 degree view of a heath near Bussum
History
Prehistory
The Gooi area is situated on high sandy ground. In the constantly changing watery landscape of prehistoric Holland, this area was suitable for settlement and is thought to be one of the oldest inhabited parts of the Netherlands. Prehistoric mounds and the remains of the "Hilversum culture" are found in the area. The pottery remains found in Hilversum and area, particularly in burial mounds, indicate that the Hilversum culture dates from the early and mid-Bronze Age period. This culture is known for its cask-shaped and thick-sided urns, decorated on the edges with finger and nail imprints. The Hofland Geological Museum beside the St. John's Cemetery has a few objects from this culture on display.In this area water gathered in lower locations on the edges. These drinking spots provided a source of water for livestock and became the centres of the settlements in the area. Because of the low fertility of the sandy soil, the grazing of sheep was the main agricultural activity. This led to the development of wool production.
Until around 1300 the Gooi was mostly undeveloped. There were only a few farming settlements that used the land, woods and open fields in common.
Medieval period
The name of the area was "Nardincklant". From 968 to 1806, the lordship over Nardincklant was technically held by a noblewomen's convent in Hoog-Elten called the "Godgewijde Maagden van Elten". It was Count Wichmann of Ghent who founded the convent and gave lordship over the Gooi to the convent.The first village in the Gooi was Naarden and was referenced on a list that dates from 887 as "Naruthi". In 1085 a chapel was founded at the current location of the St. John's Cemetery in Laren. It became the religious centre for the area. It developed into a church and a place of pilgrimage, which would later acquire the status of basilica and make Laren the site of an annual St. John's Procession held on the Feast of St. John on 24 June. In 1285 Floris V, Count of Holland, purchased the heerlijkheid rights from the convent. The churches founded in the other towns in the area all bore the name of St. Vitus, the patron saint of the Gooi. Naarden and Hilversum each had two churches so named; Bussum and Blaricum one each.
Around 1300 a sort of farmer's co-operative was formed in the area. Unique in the Netherlands, its members asserted their rights to use and regulate the land as a commons. Called "the erfgooiers", this medieval organisation remarkably lasted until 1972.
The people in the area spoke a Dutch Low Saxon dialect called "Goois". Emigration from Frisia to Huizen meant that a Frisian dialect was spoken there.
Modern era
Starting around 1500, and reaching a peak in the 17th century, sand was quarried in the area for the expansion of Amsterdam. As a result a number of waterways were dug in 's-Graveland, Naarden and Bussum. The canal system and the arrival of a canal boat system connecting the area to Amsterdam helped the area to grow further economically. Hilversum developed into a centre for the production of wool and textiles.Image:Dudok2.JPG|thumb|right|Hilversum town hall, designed by Willem Marinus Dudok in 1924With the laying of canals, and later the railways, wealthy people from Amsterdam and Utrecht began to build grand country homes in the area. Affluent neighbourhoods developed. As a result of the railway between Amsterdam and Amersfoort in 1874, Hilversum and Bussum were the first to grow. In 1892, after the tram line connecting Laren, Blaricum and Huizen was laid, these towns also developed. In the 1950s the construction of motorways continued this process.
The broadcast industry in the Gooi developed after the NSF factory was built in Hilversum in 1918. It expanded from Hilversum to the other towns nearby. The first television broadcast in the Netherlands was from Bussum. Today the Netherlands Public Broadcasting has offices and studios all over the area.
The Gooi has become heavily populated. Because of the nature in the area and its historic charm, the villages have become attractive to the affluent, including retirees. The population is relatively older and there are many old-age homes. The original inhabitants of the area have been submerged by the flood of newcomers. The local dialect that used to be spoken here has virtually disappeared.