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Hilversum () is a city and municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is the largest urban centre in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, forest, , lakes and smaller towns. Hilversum is part of the Randstad, one of the largest in Europe, and the Amsterdam metropolitan area; it is about 22km southeast of Amsterdam's city centre and about 15km north of Utrecht.
The city is home to several major radio, television, and newspaper companies such as Nederlandse Omroep Stichting. Hilversum is thus known for being the mediastad (media city) of the Netherlands.
Hilversum has one public library, two swimming pools (Van Hellemond Sport and De Lieberg), several sports halls, and several shopping centers (such as Hilvertshof, Winkelcentrum Kerkelanden, De Riebeeckgalerij, and Winkelcentrum Seinhorst). Locally, the town center is known as the village.
The surrounding towns of Hilversum are Nieuw-Loosdrecht, Bussum, Kortenhoef, Blaricum, Hollandsche Rading, Lage Vuursche, Maartensdijk, 's-Graveland, Laren, Nederhorst den Berg, and Ankeveen.
Hilversum consists of the following districts and neighborhoods: Center (Langgewenstbuurt, Sint Vitusbuurt, Havenstraatbuurt, and Centrum), Northwest (Nimrodpark, Trompenberg North, Trompenberg South, Media Park, Raadhuiskwartier, and Boomberg), Northeast (North, Johannes Geradtswegbuurt, Erfgooiersbuurt, and AZC Crailo), East (Geuzenbuurt, Electrobuurt, Astronomiebuurt, Science neighborhood, Kamrad, Kleine Driftbuurt and Liebergen), Southeast (Bloemkwartier Noord, Bloemenkwartier Zuid, Schilderskwartier, 't Hoogt van' t Kruis, Arenaparkkwartier and West Indiëkwartier), Zuid (Schrijverskwartier, Staatsliedenkwartier and Zeeheldenkwartier), Southwest (Kerkelanden, Havenkwartier, Zeverijn and Het Rode Dorp) and Hilversumse Meent. In 1767, Hilversum was still divided into 4 districts (quarters): the Neuquartier, Groestquartier, Kerkquartier, and the Sandtbergerquartier.
The Oude Haven in the southwest is at the end of the Gooische Vaart. The construction of the canal between 's-Graveland and Hilversum was done in stages over 240 years. The canal was completed in 1876. Later, a modern harbor was dug, surrounded by an industrial estate. There is also a leisure harbor.
The first brick settlements formed around 900, but it was not until 1305 that the first official mention of Hilversum ("Hilfersheem" from "Hilvertshem" meaning "houses between the hills") was found. At that time it was a part of Naarden, the oldest town in the Gooi area.
Farming, raising sheep, and wool manufacturing were the main sources of income for inhabitants of the Gooi region in the Middle Ages. In 1424, Hilversum received its first official independent status. This made further growth possible because permission was no longer needed from neighboring Naarden for new industrial development.
The town grew further in the 17th century when the Dutch economy was strong, and several canals were built connecting it indirectly to Amsterdam.
In 1725 and 1766 large fires destroyed most of the town, leveling parts of the old townhouse and the church next to it. The town overcame these setbacks and the textile industry continued to develop, among other ways by devising a way to weave cows' hair.
In the 19th century a substantial textile and tapestry industry emerged, aided by a railway link to Amsterdam in 1874. From that time onward the town grew quickly with wealthy commuters from Amsterdam moving in, building themselves large villas in the wooded surroundings, and gradually starting to live in Hilversum permanently. Despite this growth, Hilversum was never granted city rights so it is still referred to by many locals as "het dorp", or "the village."
For the 1928 Summer Olympics in neighboring Amsterdam, it hosted all of the non-jumping equestrian and the running part of the modern pentathlon event. 1928 Summer Olympics official report. pp. 271–8.
The Nederlandse Seintoestellen Fabriek (NSF) company established a professional transmitter and radio factory in Hilversum in the early 1920s, growing into the largest of its kind in the Netherlands.
Following the defeat of Allied forces in the Netherlands in 1940, and its occupation by Nazi Germany, Hilversum became the headquarters of the German Army ( Heer) in the Netherlands. On February 25 and 26, 1941, most of Hilversum's factories went on strike against the start of the Holocaust in the so-called February strike (Amsterdam Docker's Strike). Some 10,000 people took part. The Holocaust took the lives of 2,000 Hilversum Jews and the community never fully recovered. Since 2015 there has been an annual remembrance service. Some 50 Hilversummers were awarded the title of Righteous among the nations from Yad Vashem, including Victor Kugler, one of Anne Frank's helpers.
In 1948, NSF was taken over by Philips. However, Dutch radio broadcasting organizations (followed by television broadcasters during the 1950s) centralised their operations in Hilversum, providing a source of continuing economic growth. The concentration of broadcasters in Hilversum has given it its enduring status as the media city for the Netherlands.
In 1964, the population reached a record high of over 103,000. However, the textile industry had started its decline; only one factory, Veneta, managed to continue into the 1960s, when it also had to close. Another major industry, the chemical factory IFF, also closed by the end of the 1960s.
After the 1960s, the population gradually declined, until stabilising at around 86,000 in 2006 and rising to 90,000 in 2018. Several factors other than the slump in manufacturing contributed to this decline: one is the reduction in average family size, with fewer people living in each house; second, the town is virtually unable to expand because much surrounding land was sold by city architect W.M. Dudok to the Goois Natuurreservaat ( nl); third, the rapid increase in property values forced many people to move to less expensive areas in the Netherlands.
Hilversum was one of the first towns to have a local party of the populist movement called Leefbaar ("liveable"). Founded by former social-democrat Jan Nagel, it was initially held at bay for alderman positions. In 2001, Nagel from Leefbaar Hilversum teamed up with Leefbaar Utrecht leaders to found a national Leefbaar Nederland party.
The town has undertaken many improvements, including renovating its central train station, renovation of the main shopping centre (Hilvertshof), and development of new dining and retail districts downtown including the "vintage" district in the Leeuwenstraat. Several notable architectural accomplishments include the Institute for Sound and Vision, and Zanderij Crailoo ( nl), the largest man-made wildlife crossing in the world.
The nearby Media Park was the scene of the 2002 assassination of politician Pim Fortuyn; in 2015, a gunman carrying a false pistol stormed into Nederlandse Omroep Stichting's headquarters, demanding airtime on the evening news.
In the 1950s and 1960s the city played host to a major European Tennis tournament.
The 1958 Eurovision Song Contest took place in Hilversum. In 2020 the international television event was broadcast from Studio 21 in Hilversum's Media Park. This event was held in place of the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The following is a list of organizations that have, or are continuing to, broadcast from studios in Hilversum:
One result of the town's history as an important radio transmission centre is that many older radio sets throughout Europe featured Hilversum as a pre-marked dial position on their tuning scales.
Dutch national voting in the Eurovision Song Contest is normally co-ordinated from Hilversum.
| Hilversum | Opened on 10 June 1874. Served by regional, Intercity and international trains. |
| Hilversum Media Park | Opened on 26 May 1974. Previously named Hilversum NOS (1974–1989) and Hilversum Noord (1989–2013). Only served by regional trains. |
| Hilversum Sportpark | Opened on 1 June 1886. Previously named Amersfoortsche Straatweg (1886–1919) and Soestdijker Straatweg (1919–1965). Only served by regional trains. |
| 1 | Hilversum Station - Centrum (Downtown) - Kerkelanden | Connexxion | |
| 2 | Hilversum Station - Over 't Spoor - Erfgooiers | Connexxion | |
| 3 | Hilversum Station - Hilversum Sportpark Station - Tergooi Ziekenhuis (Hospital) | Connexxion |
| 58 | Hilversum Station - Hollandsche Rading - Maartensdijk - Bilthoven - De Bilt - Zeist | U-OV and Pouw Vervoer | Mon-Sat during daytime hours only. U-OV operates this route during weekdays, Pouw Vervoer on Saturdays. |
| 59 | Hilversum Station - Lage Vuursche - Den Dolder - Huis ter Heide - Zeist | U-OV and Pouw Vervoer | Mon-Sat during daytime hours only. U-OV operates this route during weekdays, Pouw Vervoer on Saturdays. |
| 70 | Amersfoort Station - Soest Zuid - Soest Overhees - Soestdijk Noord - Hooge Vuursche - Hilversum Station | Syntus Utrecht; a few runs are operated by Pouw Vervoer and Van Kooten | |
| 100 | (Hilversum Station -) Blaricum Bijvanck - Huizen - Naarden-Bussum Station | Connexxion | The route between Hilversum and Blaricum is only served during weekday daytime hours. |
| 104 | Hilversum Station - Hilversum-Zuid - Nieuw-Loosdrecht | Connexxion | |
| 105 | Hilversum Station - Kortenhoef - 's-Graveland - Hilversumse Meent - Naarden-Bussum Station | Connexxion | |
| 106 | (Hilversum Station - Kortenhoef -) Nederhorst den Berg - Weesp Station | Connexxion | Mon-Sat only. Only runs through from Nederhorst den Berg to Hilversum Mon-Fri during daytime hours. |
| 107 | Hilversum Station - Hilversum Mediapark - Bussum - Blaricum Ziekenhuis (Hospital) | Connexxion | |
| 108 | Hilversum Station - Laren - Blaricum Dorp - Huizen | Connexxion | |
| 109 | Hilversum Station - Eemnes - Laren - Blaricum Ziekenhuis (Hospital) - Naarden-Bussum Station | Connexxion | |
| 121 | Hilversum Station - Oud-Loosdrecht - Loenen aan de Vecht - Vinkeveen - Wilnis - Mijdrecht | Syntus Utrecht | Mon-Sat during daytime hours only. Only runs between Hilversum and Vinkeveen, Groenlandsekade on Saturdays. |
| 320 | Hilversum Station - Hilversum Arenapark - Blaricum Bijvanck - Huizen - Blaricum Ziekenhuis (Hospital) - Naarden Gooimeer - Muiden P+R - Amsterdam Amstel Station | Connexxion and Pouw Vervoer | During weekday daytime hours, Saturday mornings and Sunday evenings, some buses only run between Hilversum and Huizen. During morning rush hours, 4 extra buses run between Hilversum Station and Hilversum Arenapark. |
| N32 | Hilversum Station → Eemnes → Blaricum Bijvanck → Huizen | Pouw Vervoer | Only runs during Saturday late nights (between midnight and 5 AM). |
Hart voor Hilversum, a local party, is the largest group on the council. Originally a part of Leefbaar Hilversum, it separated to form a party called DLPH, which won 1 seat in the 2006 elections. In 2006 leadership was taken over by Léonie Sazias, a TV celebrity. She later changed the party name to Hart voor Hilversum. They won 3 seats in the 2010 elections, 6 in 2014 and 8 in both 2018 and 2022.
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