Netherlands, Zeist

Zeist is a municipality and a town in the central Netherlands, located east of the city of Utrecht.

The town of "Seist" was first mentioned in a charter in the year 838. The original settlement was located at the present Dorpsstraat. In the late 12th century, a church was built here. Its tower is now a part of the Reformed Church, the remainder of which was built in the 19th century.

From 1677 to 1686, the "Slot Zeist" was built on or near the ruins of "Kasteel Zeist", the original castle (donjon) of Rodgar van Zeist. There is very little documentation on the family that lived there, but a few names are found: in the 12th century a Godefridus de Seist and in the late 13th century another Godefridus, a knight, with his son Johannes and his daughter Petronilla.

In the last quarter of the 17th century, Count Willem Adriaan van Nassau, an illegitimate descendant of Prince Maurice of Orange, acquired the property and built Slot Zeist in the Dutch Classisist style. Murals by Daniel Marot are still largely intact.

Camp Zeist (Kamp van Zeist), a former United States Air Force base near this town, was in 2000 temporarily declared sovereign territory of the United Kingdom, (specifically Scotland), in order to allow the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial to take place outside the UK, but under Scots law.

Zeist is the location of the Royal Netherlands Football Association (KNVB) and also known for the forests surrounding the town.