From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Utrecht
Flag Coat of arms
Coordinates: 52°05′36″N 5°7′10″E / 52.09333, 5.11944
Country	Netherlands
Province	Utrecht
Area (2006)
- Total	99.32 km² (38.3 sq mi)
- Land	95.67 km² (36.9 sq mi)
- Water	3.64 km² (1.4 sq mi)
Population (1 January 2007)
- Total	288,731
- Density	3,018/km² (7,816.6/sq mi)
	Source: CBS, Statline.
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)

Utrecht (pronunciation (help·info)) city is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the Randstad, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands, with a population of 288,732. The total Utrecht agglomeration counts some 620,000 inhabitants.

Utrecht's ancient city-centre features many buildings and structures from its earliest origins onwards. It has been the religious centre of the Netherlands since the eighth century AD. Currently it is the see of the Archbishop of Utrecht, the most important Dutch Roman Catholic leader.^{[citation needed]} Utrecht is also the see of an archbishop of the Old Catholic church, and the location of the offices of the main protestant church.

Utrecht is host to Utrecht University, the largest university of the Netherlands, as well as several other institutes for higher education. Due to its central position within the country it is an important transportation hub (rail and road) in the Netherlands. It has the second highest number of cultural events in the Netherlands, after Amsterdam.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Origins 1.2 Middle Ages 1.3 16th to 18th Century 1.4 Modern history 2 Demographics 2.1 Population centres in the municipality 3 Cityscape 4 Transport 4.1 Public transport 4.1.1 Rail connections 4.1.2 Bus transport 4.2 Other transport 4.2.1 Roads 4.2.2 Shipping 5 Economy 6 Education 7 Culture 7.1 Museums 8 Famous people from Utrecht 9 Twin cities 10 See also 11 References 12 External links

The origin of the city is a Roman fortification (castellum), probably built around the year 47 AD. It was built as a border fortress in the limes Germanicus defense line. This line was located at the borders of the river Rhine, which then had a more northern bed than nowadays. The name of the fortress originally was simply Traiectum denoting its location on the Rhine at a ford. Later the name was adorned with the prefix Ultra (on the far side) to distinguish it from other settlements (for example Mosa Trajectum Maastricht). Over time the two parts of the name would merge and evolve into the current name (Utrecht).^[1] In the second century, the wooden walls were replaced by sturdier tuff stone walls, remnants of which are still to be found below the buildings around Dom Square. At that time approximately 500 Roman soldiers were encamped here. Near the fort a settlement grew housing artisans, traders and soldiers' wives and children.

From the middle of the 2nd century Germanic tribes regularly invaded the Roman territories, and around 270 the Romans left Utrecht. There is little known about the following period 270-500. Utrecht is first spoken of again in the 6th century when it came under the influence of the Franks.

During the early Middle Ages, Utrecht became the most important city of the Northern Netherlands. This is due for no small amount to the bishops, who chose the stone walled Roman fortress as their see. Willibrordus is usually considered to be the first bishop of Utrecht. In 695 he was appointed archbishop of the Frisians and in 703 or 704 Pepin II of Herstal gave him Utrecht as see for his missionary activities further north. From then on Utrecht became one of the most influential power seats of the Roman catholic church in the Netherlands. The town of Utrecht started to grow subsequently. Utrecht was struck by some Viking raids, but never as heavily as the nearby Dorestad, which at the time was a much wealthier trade center.

The bishops of Utrecht became to exercise worldly power as prince-bishops not only in the province of Utrecht (Nedersticht, 'lower Sticht') but also further to the northeast. The Veluwe soon became part of Gelre but Overijssel remained the Oversticht. The clergy built several churches and monasteries in the city. Most dominant of these was the gothic Cathedral of Saint Martin construction of which started in 1254 after an earlier romanesque cathedral had been badly damaged by fire. Declining finances prevented this ambitious cathedral from being finished. The lack of flying buttresses proved to be the undoing of the central section of the church when Utrecht was struck by a tornado in 1674.

The growing town Utrecht received city rights in 1122. When the main flow of the Rhine moved south, the old flow through the center became evermore canalized; and a unique wharf system was built as an inner city harbour system. Canals in Utrecht have a system of wharf cellars (werfkelders) with the roadway on top. The cellars are accessible from a platform at water level. This sets it apart from other canal cities in The Netherlands, where water in canals borders directly on the road surface. The Utrecht City Archive has historic photos of werfkelders. When the bishop dammed the Lek at Wijk bij Duurstede, shipping was threatened and Utrecht commissioned a canal, the Vaartse Rijn, to connect Utrecht to the Lek at Nieuwegein; to insure access to the town for shipping trade. By now the often diverging goals of the bishop and the citizens of the town were leading to frequent frictions. In 1528 the wordly powers of the bishop over both Neder- and Oversticht; including the city of Utrecht, were transferred to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, who became the Lord of the 17 Netherlands (the current Benelux and the Northern parts of France). This transition was not an easy one and Charles V wanted to exert his power of the citizens of the city; who had achieved a certain level of independence from the bishops and were not willing to give this power to their new lord. Charles decided to build a heavily fortified castle Vredenburg to house a large garrison with as most important task to maintain order in the city. The castle would last less than 50 years before it was demolished in an uprising in the early stages of the Dutch revolt.

In 1579 the northern seven provinces of these Low Countries signed the Union of Utrecht, in which they decided to join forces against Spanish rule. The Union of Utrecht is seen as the beginning of the Dutch Republic. In 1580 the new and predominantly Protestant state abolished the bishoprics, including the one in Utrecht, which had become an archiepiscopal see in 1559. Only in 1853 did the Dutch government allow the see to be reinstated (by Rome). However, since 1723, but especially after 1870, Utrecht has been the centre of the non-Roman Old Catholic Churches in the world.

The Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 settled the War of the Spanish Succession. Its most lasting result was the cession by Spain of Gibraltar to Great Britain.

In the 17th century Utrecht became a major fortified city in the Dutch Water Line severely limiting its growth. Only in the early 19th century the fortresses became outdated with the construction of the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie, just east of Utrecht. The ramparts were demolished, but the water defenses remained intact and formed an important feature of the Zocher plantsoen, an English style landscape park that remains largely intact until today.

In 1843, a railway connecting Utrecht to Amsterdam was opened. After that, Utrecht gradually became the main hub of the Dutch railway network. With the industrial revolution finally gathering speed in the Netherlands and the ramparts taken down, Utrecht finally began to grow far beyond the medieval center from the 1880s onward with the construction of neighbourhoods such as Oudwijk, Wittevrouwen, Vogelenbuurt to the East, and Lombok to the West.

New middle class residential areas, such as Tuindorp and Oog in Al, were built in the 1920s and 1930s.

During World War II, Utrecht was held by the Germans until the general German surrender of the Netherlands on 5 May 1945. Canadian troops that surrounded the city entered it after that surrender, on May 7, 1945.

Since World War II, the city has grown considerably when new neighbourhoods such as Overvecht, Kanaleneiland, Hoograven, Lunetten, and (recently) Leidsche Rijn were built.

Utrecht city has a population of 288,732. The total Utrecht agglomeration counts some 620,000 inhabitants. About 68% of the population is Dutch, 9% is Moroccan, 5% is Turkish, 3% Surinamese and 15% of other ethnicities. Utrecht is expected to have 340,000 inhabitants in 2020.

Inhabitants of Utrecht are called Utrechter or more rarely Utrechtenaar.^[2]

• The city of Utrecht (population: 281,000)
• Vleuten-De Meern (population: 30.000)
  • Haarzuilens
  • De Meern
  • Veldhuizen
  • Vleuten

Vleuten-De Meern was a separate municipality until 2001, which included the villages of Haarzuilens and Veldhuizen. Population data are of Jan 1, 2005.^[3]

Utrecht is famous for the Dom Tower of Utrecht, belonging to the former cathedral (Dom Church), and for the canal structure in the inner city. The inner city has largely retained its Medieval structure. Due to the importance of Utrecht as a religious centre in the past, several monumental churches have survived, such as the romanesque St Peter's and St John's churches, and the gothic churches of St Jacob and St Nicholas, and the so-called Buurkerk, now converted into a museum.

Utrecht is the center of the Dutch railroad network and the location of the head office of the Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch Railways). NS's former head office 'De Inktpot' in Utrecht is the largest brick building in the Netherlands (the "UFO" gracing its facade stems from an art program in 2000). The building is currently used by ProRail.

A large indoor shopping center called Hoog Catharijne (nl) is located between the central railway station and the city center. The corridors have been considered public places like streets, and the main route from station to city center is therefore open all night. Over the next 20 years (counting from 2004), parts of Hoog Catharijne will disappear as a consequence of the renovation of the Station-area[1]. Parts of the city's network of canals, which were filled to create the shopping center and central station area, will be recreated.

Utrecht University is the largest university of The Netherlands. Utrecht is also home to the FC Utrecht football club, which plays in Stadium Nieuw Galgenwaard.

At the west side of the central railway station can be found the Jaarbeurs, one of the largest convention centers of the Netherlands.

The city also has a minor skyline, dominated by the Dom tower, which will be expanded in the next couple of years. The second highest building of the city, the 'Rabobanktoren', will be completed in 2010 and will stand 105m tall. Two antennas will increase that height to 120m. Two other buildings are currently under construction around the 'Nieuw Galgenwaard' stadium. These buildings, the 'Kantoortoren Galghenwert' and 'Apollo Residence', will be completed in 2007 and will stand 85,5 and 64,5 metres high respectively. Finally, there are somewhat controversial plans for a 262 m high skyscraper in the newly built neighbourhood of Leidsche Rijn: the 'Belle van Zuylen'.

Because of its central location, the City of Utrecht is well connected to the rest of the Netherlands, and has a well-developed public transport network.

Utrecht Centraal railway station (NS abbreviation: ut) is a main node of the Dutch railway network. The station is served by:

• Regular Intercity trains to all major Dutch cities, and since March 2006 a direct service to Schiphol airport-railway station.
• International trains (ICE) to Germany.
• Many local trains.

There are also four minor railway stations in Utrecht: Utrecht Overvecht (uto), Utrecht Lunetten (utl), Utrecht Terwijde (utt), and Utrecht Zuilen (utzl). Additionally, some new railway stations are planned for the Randstadspoor project. Special train services operate to the former Maliebaan station, which is now home to the Dutch railroad museum.

A light-rail (sneltram in Dutch) line runs from the Utrecht Centraal station, through the neighbourhoods of Lombok and Kanaleneiland to Nieuwegein and IJsselstein. This line is operated by Connexxion.

Besides being an important node in the transportation system Utrecht hosts the headquarters of both the Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch Railroads), the most important train company in the Netherlands, and ProRail, the state owned company that is responsible for building and maintenance of railroad tracks throughout the Netherlands.

Utrecht Central railway station also operates as the main local and regional bus station. The bus network of Utrecht includes

• Local buses, operated by GVU, including a high-quality bus line to the Uithof university district to the east of the city, served by double-articulated buses.
• Regional Connexxion buses.
• Regional Arriva buses. Arriva also operates buses to Gorinchem and Dordrecht (Q-liner).
• Veolia Transport buses to and from the region northwest of the city, and to Breda and Oosterhout (Interliner).

The Utrecht Central railway station is also frequented by the pan-European Eurolines bus company and acts as the departure and arrival place of many bus trips to holiday resorts in Spain and France and during winter in Austria and Switzerland.

Utrecht is well connected to the main roads in the Netherlands. Two of the most important major roads cross near Utrecht: The A12 [The Hague - Germany] and the A2 [Amsterdam - Maastricht]. Other roads are the A27 [Almere - Bavel] and the A28 [Utrecht - Groningen]. Due to the increasing traffic, traffic congestion is a common phenomenon in and around Utrecht.

Utrecht also has a medium-sized industrial port, located on the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal, which is connected to the Rhine river. The CTU container terminal has a capacity of 80,000 containers a year. In 2003, the port facilitated the transport of four million tons of cargo; mostly sand, gravel, fertilizer, and fodder.

Additionally some touristic boat trips are organised from various places on the Oudegracht.

The economy of Utrecht depends for a large part on the several large institutions located in the city. Production industry has a relatively small influence in Utrecht. Among others the Dutch National Railroads, Rabobank a large bank, and Jaarbeurs have their headquarters in Utrecht.

Utrecht University, the largest university of The Netherlands (26,787 students as of 2004), is based in the inner city and in the Uithof campus area, on the east of the city. It's the 42nd best university in the world, according to Shanghai Jiaotong University's university ranking in 2007.^[4] Utrecht is also the home of [TiasNimbas][2], an internationally top ranked business school focused on post-experience management education and the largest management school of its kind in The Netherlands, recently rated 8th best business school in Europe by the Financial Times. Utrecht also houses the much smaller University of Humanistics (estimated at a few hundred students).

Utrecht is also home to two other large institutions and one small institution of higher education: the Hogeschool Utrecht (30,000 students), the HKU Utrecht School of the Arts (3,000 students).

Utrecht city has an active cultural life, in the Netherlands second only to Amsterdam^{[citation needed]}.

There are several theatres and theatre companies. It hosts an important classical music centre Vredenburg and the rock club Tivoli. Training of young musicians is taking place in the conservatory (a department of the Utrecht School of the Arts). There is a specialised museum of automatically playing musical instruments. There are a large number of cinemas including three arthouse cinemas. Utrecht is host to the Netherlands Film Festival.

There are many art galleries in Utrecht. There are also several foundations to support art, and artists. Training of artists is done at the Utrecht School of the Arts, and there are many initiatives for amateur artists. The Centraal Museum has many exhibitions on the arts, including a permanent exhibition on the works of Utrecht resident illustrator Dick Bruna, who is best known for creating Miffy. Utrecht also houses one of the landmarks of modern architecture, the 1924 Rietveld Schröder House, which is listed on UNESCO's world heritage sites.

To involve the city population as a whole (rather than the elite alone) in the cultural riches of the city, Utrecht city, in collaboration with the different cultural organisations, regularly organise cultural Sundays. During a thematic Sunday several organisations create a program, which is open to everyone without, or with a very much reduced, admission fee.

• Aboriginal Art Museum
• Centraal Museum (arts and municipal history)
• Dick Bruna Huis
• Museum Catharijneconvent (history of Christian culture and arts in the Netherlands)
• National museum 'From musical clock to street organ' (several centuries of mechanical musical instruments, see Wikipedia page)
• Railroad Museum (history of Dutch railroad, see Wikipedia page)
• University museum (see Utrecht University)
• Volksbuurtmuseum Wijk C
• Money museum (In the actual building where Dutch coins are minted)

Main article: List of people from Utrecht

See also People from Utrecht

Over the ages famous people have been born and raised in Utrecht. Among the most famous Utrechters are:

• Pope Adrian VI (1429-1523) - head of the Catholic Church
• C.H.D. Buys Ballot (1817-1890) - meteorologist (Buys-Ballot's law)
• Theo van Doesburg (1883-1931) - painter, artist (De Stijl movement)
• Gerrit Rietveld (1888-1964) - designer, architect (De Stijl movement)
• Dick Bruna (1923- ) - writer, illustrator (Miffy)

Utrecht has town twinning agreements with the following:

• León, Nicaragua
• Brno, Czech Republic
• Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
• formerly Hannover, Germany, between 1970 and 1976

• List of mayors of Utrecht
• Ondiep

• R.E. de Bruin, T.J. Hoekstra and A. Pietersma, Twintig eeuwen Utrecht, korte geschiedenis van de stad, 1999, ISBN 90-5479-040-7

1. ^ http://us.holland.com/e/8376/History%20of%20Utrecht.php
2. ^ The term Utrechtenaar has become a profane expression for homosexual after the 1730-31 sodomy trials, and has fallen into disuse since. This distinction, however, is not always known by Dutch speakers from outside the region, who may use the term Utrechtenaar without being aware of the specific connotation.
3. ^ http://www.utrecht.nl/smartsite.dws?id=15450&mw=1157&w=18&p=15304&parFrom=214&infFrom=15304#intern11
4. ^ http://ed.sjtu.edu.cn/ranking.htm

• Official website of the city
• CU 2030 (Dutch only)
• Maps:
  • City map
  • Map of the whole province, but showing about equal detail

v • d • e Utrecht Province
Abcoude - Amersfoort - Baarn - Breukelen - Bunnik - Bunschoten - De Bilt - De Ronde Venen - Eemnes - Houten - IJsselstein - Leusden - Loenen - Lopik - Maarssen - Montfoort - Nieuwegein - Oudewater - Renswoude - Rhenen - Soest - Utrecht - Utrechtse Heuvelrug - Veenendaal - Vianen - Wijk bij Duurstede - Woerden - Woudenberg - Zeist
Netherlands - Provinces - Municipalities - map

v • d • e Capital cities of the Netherlands
National Capital Amsterdam Seat of Government The Hague
Drenthe Assen Flevoland Lelystad Friesland Leeuwarden Gelderland Arnhem Groningen Groningen Limburg Maastricht North Brabant 's-Hertogenbosch North Holland Haarlem Overijssel Zwolle South Holland The Hague Utrecht Utrecht Zeeland Middelburg
See also Provinces of the Netherlands, Capital of the Netherlands and List of cities in the Netherlands by province

v • d • e Populated places in the municipality Utrecht
cities	Utrecht
villages	De Meern | Haarzuilens | Vleuten
hamlets	Alendorp | Lage Haar | Ockhuizen | Oudenrijn | Stadsdam | Strijkviertel | Themaat | 't Zand | Veldhuizen