Soest

Soestdijk: palace

Soest, gemeente (municipality), central Netherlands, in the wooded Gooi district. It includes the villages of Soestdijk, site of a royal residence; Soesterberg, with an air base and the Dutch Air Force Museum; and Soestduinen. Soest town, founded in 1029, has a Gothic church dating from c. 1400 and restored in 1959. Formerly an agricultural centre, the town is now largely residential and has expanding light industries. Pop. (2007 est.) 45,360.