4. Result of Research

4. RESULT OF RESEARCH In this chapter, the writers present the relevant information and data regarding to the problem statement, such as all information about Soest and Soesterberg liked history and population statistics. Also, the writers analyze all the results of questionnaires from the guest and company of the Oriental Swan restaurant, Soesterberg. And we build Customer Relationships Management program in the Oriental Swan restaurant. 4.1 Welcome to the municipality of Soest The municipality of Soest (Province of Utrecht) is situated in the centre of the Netherlands. The territory is 4644 ha greats and covers the suburbs of Soest, Soestduinen and Soesterberg. At 1-1-2002 there were some 44.686 inhabitants. Soest is situated in the triangle Amersfoort (7 km), Hilversum (10 km) and Utrecht (20 km). To these cities there are good connections by both train and bus. During the first half of the 20th century the originally agricultural municipality of Soest got more and more the character of a commuters village. The richness and beauty of its natural surroundings had a lot to do with this. After World War II the business- and service-sector also strongly developed. After the accomplishment of the Dalweg-domain (Town Hall, Police station, Sports-palace and Overday- Hospital) during the nineties the urban character of Soest has been strenghtened.Nevertheless, 30% of its territory is still covered by forests and natural domains (sandy dunes). Soest also enjoys a vivid social and cultural life. Soest (NL) maintain special bondings with the town of Soest (Westfalen- Germany). Sportsmen and sportswomen of various disciplines meet every other year, once here and then over there. 4.1.1 Bird's eye view of Soest The municipality of Soest is situated in the center of The Netherlands and has a lot of pure natural scenery. Soest has a little over 44.000 inhabitants. It is 40 Petra Christian University 41 basically an agricultural and industrial community. The distance from Soest to Amersfoort is about 6 kilometers, to Utrecht about 20 km, and to Hilversum about 10 km. There is a good transportation system by either bus or train to these cities. When one looks from a bird's eye view over the 46 km2 area of the municipality, one sees clearly that there are two different areas. Both are surrounded by woods, agricultural land or meadows. The biggest area, Soest, covers Soestdijk, the original Soest and Soest South, interconnected along the railroad track from Utrecht to Baarn, each with its own train station. Also parts of Soest are the district of Hees at the border of the Soesterveen and the woods of Pijnenburg. The smaller area, Soesterberg, is situated on the other side of the Soester "mountain" and the airfield. In between those two, and surrounded by woods, is the district of Soestduinen. Soestduinen (Soestdunes), situated alongside the railroad track from Utrecht to Amersfoort, also has its own train station. The agricultural area of Soest is located on the plateau of the Eng, which runs southeast to northeast. At the foot of the Eng, on the border of meadows near the Eemriver, the old village of Soest was founded around the Oude Kerk (Old Church), which is still there. The farms are still situated in a long row along the east side of the Eng, also bordering the meadows of the Eem and the higher agricultural land. Thanks to the railroad and better road access to Soest, the town became very popular for people who wanted to move out of the busy cities and preferred the more quiet areas. This resulted in an increase of residential areas, especially around the Eng, at Soestdijk and Soest South. More houses were subsequently built at the Soesterveen as well. Soest and Soesterberg are lucky to be surrounded by a very beautiful area of woods and natural sand dunes. On the north side one will find the river Eem and Meadowland. This agricultural landscape between Soest and Amersfoort is very attractive. The peacefulness there with the scenery - the green meadows and spread out farms - makes one forget the bustle of the highways near by. Coming from Amersfoort one can see the slim silhouette of the tower of the Old Church. In Soest South one finds the woods and dunes, a natural reserve area of about 500 hectares. it borders the woods of Birkhoven (Amersfoort) and Pijnenburg. The Soest dunes are also well known with their hardwood and pine trees, and beautiful views. At the Soesterveen one will find two small natural Petra Christian University 42 reserve areas, which are very popular with botanical students. The surroundings are not only important for Soest's inhabitants, but also for those coming from the busy Randstad Holland (cities of Amsterdam, Den Haag, Utrecht), and who are looking for quiet areas and fresh country air. 4.1.2 Historical development of Soest Not much is known of Soest's early development. Historians do know however, that about 11.000 years before Christ, different hunting groups lived in these areas. Proof of this was the discovery of some small artefacts in the Soest dunes, which date back to about 8000 years before Christ and some burial mounds like the Enghenbergje at the Eng on agricultural land and some at the Korte Duinen/ Monnikenbos between Soest and South Amersfoort, which date from about 2000 BC. All this shows that Soest is an ancient settlement, one of the oldest at the Sticht (an area of Utrecht Province). The earliest written history of Soest dates back to 1029 AD. As of that time, most events have been recorded. In its early days, Soest was also known as: Soyse, Zoys, Suys or Sose. The name probably means something like "well in between the high and low grounds", the Utrecht hills and Eem valley respectively or it could refer to the settlement on the east side (Soest) of the Utrecht hills. Many battles have been fought at the peaceful-looking Eng. The first military event took place in 1278. While not of great importance to the history of The Netherlands, it was important for the ongoing battle between Utrecht and Holland Provinces. The battle of 1278 was fought between the Amstelaren and the Woerdeners on one side and the Sticht groups on the other. The latter was defeated. During the Middle Ages, the people made their living from agriculture at the Eng, peat at the Soesterveen, sheep on the heather land as well as beekeeping and some dairy cows. Soest developed as a typical village along one side of the road. At the Eng were agricultural land and the farms stretched like a ribbon along its foot. The ends of this lengthy village were formed by the Kort- End (short-end), in the area of the Ferdinand Huycklaan and the Lang-End (long- end), in the area of the Burg. Grothestraat, that was interconnected with the Kerkebuurt (church area) and the Old Church. There were also other residential Petra Christian University 43 areas: the Hart, the Bunt (Soest South), Behind the Eng (area Nieuweweg) the Veen, the Birkt and the Heyberg at Soesterberg. Important to the society of Soest were also the founding of two monasteries, the Marienburg at the Eemstreet (where the farm Het Klooster now stands), and the Marienhof at the Birkstreet. A major landmark in the history of the community was the granting of municipal rights bij Bishop of Bourgundy on 26 September 1472. In the years thereafter Soest was looted and burned a number of times, but was always rebuilt. By the end of the 18th century, it was still an agricultural village with 1200 inhabitants. In the early 1800's there were many changes in the community. The road from Naarden to Amersfoort was built between 1815 and 1817 and Gerrit Steijn van Hensbroeck became the first mayor in 1823. In 1869, the first 16 street lanterns were installed; on 1 July 1895, Soest had its first horse-tram and the railroad between Utrecht and Baarn was officially opened on 27 July 1898. But even this did not change the quiet pace of living at Soest. After 1920 Soest began tot grow and by 1930 counted 15000 inhabitants. In 1945, there were 22000 residents; in 1960 28500; in 1970 37500, in 1975 38764 and by 1 January 1999 44106. 4.1.3 Historical development of Soesterberg The name Soesterberg has become known throughout the world since the founding of the Aviation Department on 1 July 1912. In the early days the area was only heather. During the 17th century many Soest residents left the town, moved across the "mountain", and settled down on the heatherland. The reasons they left included poverty and a desire for independence. They were mostly small farmers, called heather farmers in those days. Their sod houses were hidden in the heather, away from the road. They were afraid of highwaymen, who were very active in those days. There was a lot of game in the heatherland then. This meant, of course, that poachers were very active. Many farmers started beekeeping, and others made brooms from materials natural to the heatherland. A hundred years ago there was no church at Soesterberg. The people had to go over the mountain to worship in Soest. This changed when Soesterberg officially became a "parish"; before that time it was referred to as a district. The name Soesterberg comes form the "heather mountain" of the Soest municipality, although "mountain" is a rather Petra Christian University 44 misleading word. Soesterberg has no great history. But still there was the road connecting Amsterdam and Arnhem in the 17th century, which in 1800 was paved by order of Napoleon.

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