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, meadows and smaller towns. Hilversum is part of one of the largest conurbations in Europe. Hilversum lies 15 km north of Utrecht; the town is known for its architecturally important Town Hall, designed by Willem Marinus Dudok and built in 1931. Hilversum has one public library, two swimming pools, a number of sporting halls and several shopping centres. Locally, the town centre is known as het dorp, which means "the village". Hilversum is called "media city", since it is the principal centre for radio and television broadcasting in the Netherlands, is home to an extensive complex of radio and television studios and to the administrative headquarters of the multiple broadcasting organizations which make up the Netherlands Public Broadcasting system. Hilversum is home to many newer commercial TV production companies.

Radio Netherlands, broadcasting worldwide via shortwave radio since the 1920s, is based here. 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 co-ordinated from Hilversum. Hilversum has a variety of international schools, such as the Violenschool and International School Hilversum "Alberdingk Thijm". Nike's, Hunkemöller's and Converse's European headquarters are located in Hilversum. Earthenware found in Hilversum gives its name to the Hilversum culture, an early- to mid-Bronze Age, or 800–1200 BC material culture. Artifacts from this prehistoric civilization bear similarities to the Wessex Culture of southern Britain and may indicate that the first Hilversum residents emigrated from that area.

The first brick settlements formed around 900, but it was not until 1305 that the first official mention of Hilversum is found. At that point it was a part of the oldest town in the Gooi area. Farming, raising sheep and some wool manufacturing were the means of life for the Gooi in the Middle Ages. In 1424 Hilversum received its first official independent status; this made possible further growth in the village because permission from Naarden was no longer needed for new industrial development. The town grew further in the 17th century when the Dutch economy as a whole entered its age of prosperity, 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 the town grew with rich commuters from Amsterdam moving in, building themselves large villas in the wooded surroundings, 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. The Nederlandse Seintoestellen Fabriek 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, its occupation by Nazi Germany, Hilversum became the headquarters of the German Army in the Netherlands.. In 1948, NSF was taken over by Philips. However, Dutch radio broadcasting organizations 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 – over 103,000 people called Hilversum home. However, the textile industry had started its decline. Another major industry, the chemical factory IFF closed by the end of the 1960s. After the 1960s, the population declined, until stabilising at around 85,000. Several factors other than the slump in manufacturing have featured in this decline: one is the fact that the average family nowadays consists of fewer people, so fewer people live in each house. M. Dudok to the Goois Natuurreservaat; the third reason for this decline of the population was because the property values were increasing in that moment of time, many people were forced to move to less expensive areas in the Netherlands. Some sources blame connections in the television world for attracting crime to Hilversum. Hilversum was one of the first towns to have

The European Police Cross of Honour is an honourary medal of the European Association of the Bodies and Public Organisations of Security and Defence in France by Decree: N° 81-1103 on 4 December 1981. As by legal definition, the medal is to be worn on the left side, mounted alongside any other medals. Recipient of the Cross of Honour: All member of a public safety forces (Federal officers, Local Policemen or Military police officers, or other public safety and security personnel, that are active, and/or retired. Has been a help to the European community, must be serving or having served with honour, loyalty and courage during the course of their career, is the only way to be eligible for the European Policeman Cross of Honour; the European Police Cross of Honour can be awarded to exceptional police officers of non-European countries by maintaining the quoted preconditions above, there citation has to be presented by two members of the AE-COPSD. No one may be awarded this honourary distinction, if they do not present all the values of morality and integrity need for the award.

A candidates nominations can be sent directly to the reward committee on a suggestion memo. Informational documents that has justify its values of the award with the highest of merits; the European Police Cross of Honour is awarded by a committee. If not nominated by a member of the awards committee, they look into the candidate's service history; the committee must have documentation on official unit or department letter head, stating that the candidate does not have any negative remarks on their service record. It must be written by the candidates section chief; the committee decisions are irrevocably. The Cross of Honour does not have to be awarded to a persons for their merits. An exceptional candidate is any police officer, wounded in the line of duty, saves the life of a member of the public, captures a top wanted criminal, or is killed in the line of duty, their actions in one of the following circumstances may be taken into account for the achievement of an honorary decoration. Exceptional candidates who are awarded the cross will come with the honorary palms device attached to both the ribbon bar and the medals ribbon

The Brücke von Andau is a small bridge over the Einserkanal/Hansági-főcsatorna, a small river which forms part of the border between Austria and Hungary. It is located near to the village of Andau. With political turmoil in the People's Republic of Hungary during the summer and fall of 1956, more and more Hungarians fled to the west over the border to Austria. Though it was just a small, wooden bridge over a small river, the bridge at Andau was the escape route for about 70,000 Hungarians during the Hungarian Revolution. After crossing the border, fugitives had to walk a nine km long road, the "Road To Freedom", to the village of Andau, where they were received with great hospitality by the inhabitants of Andau and the surrounding villages. On November 21, 1956, the bridge was blasted by Soviet troops. In 1996, with the 40th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution, the bridge was rebuilt as a symbol of tolerance and helpfulness. Organised as a joint operation by the Austrian and Hungarian armies, it replaced a stub bridge, built by peasants for transportation reasons.

At the same time, the Road Of Freedom was used as an open-air exhibition with the title "Road Of Woes", showing about ninety sculptures and other art works by Hungarian and Austrian artists. As a symbol of freedom, the bridge not only achieved fame with the book The Bridge at Andau by James Michener, but became a world-known memorial; the Bridge of Andau is the topic of Der Bockerer III, a 2000 Austrian movie dealing with the Hungarian Revolution in a humorous manner. Pusztasomorja, Jánossomorja Der Bockerer III on IMDB The Bridge At Andau on Amazon Pictures of the bridge and its surrounding area