Baarle is a village whose territory is divided into a patchwork of Belgian and Dutch territories. The Belgian part includes 16 exclaves within Dutch territory. The borders of these enclaves, however, do not run straight, they cut houses in half, divide buildings, gardens and shops with borders, marked by white crosses on the ground, that often cut through the middle of buildings and homes. For these properties, the voordeurregel (literally: "front door rule") policy applies: their address lies in the country that contains their front door.