is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

, in the province of North Holland

North Holland

North Holland |West Frisian]]: Noard-Holland) is a province situated on the North Sea in the northwest part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is Haarlem and its largest city is Amsterdam.-Geography:...

. Located in the region called 't Gooi, it is the oldest town in that area. It is one of the richest towns in the Netherlands, along with its neighbour Blaricum

Blaricum

Blaricum is a municipality and village in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland.It is known for its many monumental farm buildings, local cafes and restaurants, nature, several annual community events and extensive up-market residential areas...

. Nationally, Laren is well-known for its history as a late 20th century art colony

Art colony

right|300px|thumb|Artist houses in [[Montsalvat]] near [[Melbourne, Australia]].An art colony or artists' colony is a place where creative practitioners live and interact with one another. Artists are often invited or selected through a formal process, for a residency from a few weeks to over a year...

, preserved in the museum Singer Laren

Singer Laren

Singer Laren is a museum and concert hall located in the center of Laren on the Oude Drift. The museum is devoted to presenting and preserving the collection of the American artist William Henry Singer and his wife Anna.-History:...

, as well as its wide array of clothing shops.

Local government

The municipal council of Laren consists of 15 seats, which are divided as follows:

• VVD
  People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
  The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy is a conservative-liberal political party located in the Netherlands. The VVD supports private enterprise in the Netherlands and is often perceived as an economic liberal party in contrast to the social-liberal Democrats 66 alongside which it sits in...
  
   - 4 seats
• Larens Behoud - 5 seats
• CDA
  Christian Democratic Appeal
  The Christian Democratic Appeal is a centre-right Dutch Christian democratic political party. It suffered severe losses in the 2010 elections and fell from the first to the fourth place...
  
   - 3 seats
• PvdA
  Labour Party (Netherlands)
  The Labour Party , is a social-democratic political party in the Netherlands. Since the 2003 Dutch General Election, the PvdA has been the second largest political party in the Netherlands. The PvdA was a coalition member in the fourth Balkenende cabinet following 22 February 2007...
  
   - 2 seats
• Liberaal Laren - 1 seat

Demographics (2007)

• Birth Rate: 7.29 per 1000
• Death Rate: 17.94 per 1000
• NGR: -1.07% per year. http://statline.cbs.nl/StatWeb/publication/?DM=SLEN&PA=37259ENG&D1=1-2&D2=0,20,24,33,38,154,262,325,818,1143-1146&D3=a&D4=a,!0-39&LA=EN&VW=T

Notable people born in Laren

• Willemien Aardenburg
  Willemien Aardenburg
  Willemien Aardenburg is a former Dutch field hockey player, who won the bronze medal with the National Women's Team at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Aardenburg just played three international matches for the Dutch, in which she did not score.-References:*...
  
   (1966) – field hockey player
• Marcel van der Westen
  Marcel van der Westen
  Marcel van der Westen is a Dutch hurdler and tax attorney.He reached his first international final at the 2007 European Indoor Championships in 60 metres hurdles, and won the silver medal behind compatriot Gregory Sedoc.Van der Westen had previously competed at the 2005 World Championships and the...
  
  (1976) – track and field athlete