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Utrecht (province)
 
 
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Utrecht () is the smallest province
Provinces of the Netherlands

A Dutch province represents the administrative layer in between the national government and the local municipalities, having the responsibility for matters of subnational or regional importance....
 of the Netherlands
Netherlands

The Netherlands is a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands is located in North-West Europe, and bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east....
, and is located in the center of the country. It is bordered by the Eemmeer
Eemmeer

The Eemmeer is a lake situated in the middle of the Netherlands between the provinces of Flevoland and Utrecht , Noord Holland. It measures and contains one small island, the Dode Hond ....
 in the north, Gelderland
Gelderland

Gelderland is a Provinces of the Netherlands of the Netherlands, located in the central eastern part of the country. The capital city is Arnhem....
 in the east, the river Rhine
Rhine

File:Swiss Grand Canyon.jpgThe Rhine is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe, at , with an average discharge of more than ....
 in the south, South Holland
South Holland

South Holland is a Provinces of the Netherlands situated on the North Sea in the western part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is The Hague and its largest city is Rotterdam....
 in the west, and North Holland
North Holland

North Holland is a Provinces of the Netherlands situated on the North Sea in the northwest part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is Haarlem and its largest city is Amsterdam....
 in the northwest. Utrecht makes up one region of the International Organization for Standardization
International Organization for Standardization

The International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO , is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations....
 world region code system, having the code ISO 3166-2:NL
ISO 3166-2:NL

ISO 3166-2:NLis an International Organization for Standardization standard which defines geocodes: it is the subset of ISO 3166-2 which applies to...
-UT. Important cities in the province are its capital (also called Utrecht
Utrecht (city)

Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands province of Utrecht . It is located in the North-Eastern end of the Randstad, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands, with a population of 300,030....
), Amersfoort
Amersfoort

Media:Nl-Amersfoort.ogg is a municipality and the second largest city of the province of Utrecht in central Netherlands. The city is growing quickly and has a well-preserved medieval core....
 and Zeist
Zeist

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

he Middle Ages
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
, most of the area of the current province was ruled by the Archbishopric of Utrecht.






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Utrecht () is the smallest province
Provinces of the Netherlands

A Dutch province represents the administrative layer in between the national government and the local municipalities, having the responsibility for matters of subnational or regional importance....
 of the Netherlands
Netherlands

The Netherlands is a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands is located in North-West Europe, and bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east....
, and is located in the center of the country. It is bordered by the Eemmeer
Eemmeer

The Eemmeer is a lake situated in the middle of the Netherlands between the provinces of Flevoland and Utrecht , Noord Holland. It measures and contains one small island, the Dode Hond ....
 in the north, Gelderland
Gelderland

Gelderland is a Provinces of the Netherlands of the Netherlands, located in the central eastern part of the country. The capital city is Arnhem....
 in the east, the river Rhine
Rhine

File:Swiss Grand Canyon.jpgThe Rhine is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe, at , with an average discharge of more than ....
 in the south, South Holland
South Holland

South Holland is a Provinces of the Netherlands situated on the North Sea in the western part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is The Hague and its largest city is Rotterdam....
 in the west, and North Holland
North Holland

North Holland is a Provinces of the Netherlands situated on the North Sea in the northwest part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is Haarlem and its largest city is Amsterdam....
 in the northwest. Utrecht makes up one region of the International Organization for Standardization
International Organization for Standardization

The International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO , is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations....
 world region code system, having the code ISO 3166-2:NL
ISO 3166-2:NL

ISO 3166-2:NLis an International Organization for Standardization standard which defines geocodes: it is the subset of ISO 3166-2 which applies to...
-UT. Important cities in the province are its capital (also called Utrecht
Utrecht (city)

Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands province of Utrecht . It is located in the North-Eastern end of the Randstad, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands, with a population of 300,030....
), Amersfoort
Amersfoort

Media:Nl-Amersfoort.ogg is a municipality and the second largest city of the province of Utrecht in central Netherlands. The city is growing quickly and has a well-preserved medieval core....
 and Zeist
Zeist

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

History

In the Middle Ages
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
, most of the area of the current province was ruled by the Archbishopric of Utrecht. The bishopric was founded in 722 by Willibrord
Willibrord

Saint Willibrord was a Northumbrian missionary, known as the "Apostle to the Frisians" in the modern Netherlands. He became the first Bishop of Utrecht and died at Echternach, Luxembourg....
. Many wars were fought between Utrecht and the neighbouring counties and duchies, Holland
Holland

Holland is a name in common usage given to two regions in the western part of Netherlands. The name 'Holland' is also often mistakenly used to refer to the whole of The Netherlands....
, Gelderland
Gelderland

Gelderland is a Provinces of the Netherlands of the Netherlands, located in the central eastern part of the country. The capital city is Arnhem....
 and Brabant
Duchy of Brabant

The Duchy of Brabant was a historical region in the Low Countries. It consisted of not only the three modern-day Belgium provinces of Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant and Antwerp as well as the Brussels-Capital Region, but also the present-day Netherlands province of North Brabant....
. In 1527, the bishop of Utrecht sold his worldly power over his territories to Emperor Charles V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I of Spain, of the Spanish realms from 1516 until his abdication in 1556....
, who already owned the other Dutch provinces. However, the Habsburg rule did not last long, as Utrecht joined the revolt of the United Provinces against Charles's son Philip II of Spain
Philip II of Spain

Philip II was King of Spain from 1556 until 1598, List of monarchs of Naples from 1554 until 1598, king consort of England, as husband of Mary I of England, from 1554 to 1558, lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories, such as Duke or Count; and King of Portugal as Philip I...
 in 1579. In World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
, Utrecht was held by German forces until the general capitulation of the Germans in the Netherlands on May 5, 1945. It was occupied by Canadian Allied forces on May 7, 1945. The towns of Oudewater
Oudewater

Media:Nl-Oudewater.ogg is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht ....
, Woerden
Woerden

Woerden is a municipality and a city in the central Netherlands. Due to its central location between Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht , and the fact that it has excellent rail and road connections to those cities, it is a popular town for commuters who work in those cities....
 and Vianen
Vianen

Vianen is a municipality and a city in the central Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht . It is the only municipality in Utrecht located south of the Lek River....
 were transferred from the province of South Holland
South Holland

South Holland is a Provinces of the Netherlands situated on the North Sea in the western part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is The Hague and its largest city is Rotterdam....
 to Utrecht in 1970, 1989 and 2002 respectively.

Geography

In the east of Utrecht lies the Utrechtse Heuvelrug
Utrechtse Heuvelrug

Utrechtse Heuvelrug is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht . It was formed on 1 January 2006 by combining the former municipalities of Amerongen, Doorn, Driebergen-Rijsenburg, Leersum, and Maarn....
, a chain of hills left as lateral moraine by tongues of glacial ice after the Saline glaciation that preceded the last ice age
Ice age

The general term "ice age" or, more precisely, "glacial age" denotes a geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in an expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers....
. Because of the scarcity of nutrients in the fast-draining sandy soil, the greatest part of a landscape that was formerly heath
Heath (habitat)

A heath or heathland is a Chamaephyte habitat found on mainly infertile acidic soils, characterised by open, low growing woody vegetation, often Dominance by plants of the Ericaceae....
 has been planted with pine
Pine

Pines are Pinophyta trees in the genus Pinus, in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species....
 plantation
Plantation

A plantation is usually a large farm or Estate , especially in a tropical or semitropical country, like Brazil or Nicaragua on which cotton, tobacco, lice coffee, sugar cane and the like are cultivated, usually by resident laborers....
s. The south of the province is a river landscape. The west consists mostly of meadows. In the north are big lakes formed by the digging of peat from bogs formed after the last ice age.



Municipalities

For a complete list, including former municipalities, see List of municipalities in Utrecht
List of municipalities in Utrecht

This list of municipalities in Utrecht contains all present and former municipalities in the Netherlands province of Utrecht since 1812, when the province was first divided into municipalities ....
  • Abcoude
    Abcoude

    Media:Nl-Abcoude.ogg is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht ....
  • Amersfoort
    Amersfoort

    Media:Nl-Amersfoort.ogg is a municipality and the second largest city of the province of Utrecht in central Netherlands. The city is growing quickly and has a well-preserved medieval core....
  • Baarn
    Baarn

    Media:Nl-Baarn.ogg is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht ....
  • Breukelen
    Breukelen

    Media:Nl-Breukelen.ogg is a municipality and town in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht . It is situated to the north west of Utrecht , along the river Vecht and close to the Loosdrechtse Plassen, an area of lakes and great natural beauty....
  • Bunnik
    Bunnik

    Media:Nl-Bunnik.ogg is a municipality and a village in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht . The recorded history of the village dates back nearly 2000 years, when the Ancient Rome constructed a castellum at Fectio with a harbour facing the river Rhine, which marked the border of the Roman Empire....
  • Bunschoten
    Bunschoten

    Media:Nl-Bunschoten.ogg is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht . It lies about 7 km north of Amersfoort. Its territory comprises the original municipality of Bunschoten and the former municipality of Duyst, De Haar and Zevenhuizen, which was a part of Hoogland from 1854 until 1971....
  • De Bilt
    De Bilt

    Media:Nl-De Bilt.ogg is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht ....
  • De Ronde Venen
    De Ronde Venen

    Media:Nl-De Ronde Venen.ogg is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht ....
  • Eemnes
    Eemnes

    Media:Nl-Eemnes.ogg is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht ....
  • Houten
    Houten

    Houten is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht . The expected population in 2015 will be 50,000 . The municipality consists of the following towns:...
  • IJsselstein
    IJsselstein

    Media:Nl-IJsselstein.ogg is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht . ?sselstein received City rights in the Netherlands in 1331....
  • Leusden
    Leusden

    Media:Nl-Leusden.ogg is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht . It is located about 3 kilometres southeast of Amersfoort....
  • Loenen
    Loenen

    Media:Nl-Loenen.ogg is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht . It is in an area called the "Vechtstreek"....
  • Lopik
    Lopik

    Media:Nl-Lopik.ogg is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht .In the Netherlands, 'Lopik' is often used as a reference to the broadcasting facilities located in the eastern part of the municipality and in neighbouring IJsselstein....
  • Maarssen
    Maarssen

    Media:275 Maarssen.ogg is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht , along the river Vecht ....
  • Montfoort
    Montfoort

    Media:Nl-Montfoort.ogg is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht . Montfoort received City rights in the Netherlands in 1329....
  • Nieuwegein
    Nieuwegein

    Media:Nl-Nieuwegein.ogg is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht . It lies about 7 km south of the city of Utrecht ....
  • Oudewater
    Oudewater

    Media:Nl-Oudewater.ogg is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht ....
  • Renswoude
    Renswoude

    Renswoude is a municipality and a town in the central Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht .External links...
  • Rhenen
    Rhenen

    Rhenen is a municipality and a city in the central Netherlands.The municipality also includes the villages of Achterberg, Remmerden , Elst and Laareind....
  • Soest
    Soest (Netherlands)

    Soest is a municipality and a town in the central Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht . It is located about 6 km west of Amersfoort....
  • Utrecht
    Utrecht (city)

    Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands province of Utrecht . It is located in the North-Eastern end of the Randstad, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands, with a population of 300,030....
  • Utrechtse Heuvelrug
    Utrechtse Heuvelrug

    Utrechtse Heuvelrug is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht . It was formed on 1 January 2006 by combining the former municipalities of Amerongen, Doorn, Driebergen-Rijsenburg, Leersum, and Maarn....
  • Veenendaal
    Veenendaal

    Veenendaal is a municipality and a town in central Netherlands, it is part of the province of Utrecht . Veenendaal is the only population centre within its administrative borders....
  • Vianen
    Vianen

    Vianen is a municipality and a city in the central Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht . It is the only municipality in Utrecht located south of the Lek River....
  • Wijk bij Duurstede
    Wijk bij Duurstede

    Wijk bij Duurstede is a municipality and a city in the central Netherlands....
  • Woerden
    Woerden

    Woerden is a municipality and a city in the central Netherlands. Due to its central location between Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht , and the fact that it has excellent rail and road connections to those cities, it is a popular town for commuters who work in those cities....
  • Woudenberg
    Woudenberg

    Woudenberg is a municipality and a town in the central Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht .There are still forests in the western part of the municipality....
  • Zeist
    Zeist

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


Famous Utrechters

  • Gerrit Rietveld
    Gerrit Rietveld

    Gerrit Thomas Rietveld was a Netherlands furniture designer and architect.In 1916, Rietveld started his own furniture factory, while studying architecture....
    - De Stijl
    De Stijl

    De Stijl , also known as neoplasticism, was a Dutch artistic movement founded in 1917. In a narrower sense, the term De Stijl is used to refer to a body of work from 1917 to 1931 founded in the Netherlands....
     designer and architect the Schröder House, at Utrecht.
  • Dick Bruna
    Dick Bruna

    Dick Bruna is a Dutch author, artist, illustrator and graphic designer.Bruna is best known for his children's books which he authored and illustrated, now numbering over 200....
    - Author, artist, illustrator and graphic designer, best known for creating Miffy
    Miffy

    Miffy is a small female rabbit in a picture book drawn by Dick Bruna. Her original Dutch name is Nijntje help:IPA] which stems from a toddler's pronunciation of the word "konijntje" meaning "little rabbit"....
    .
  • Anton Geesink
    Anton Geesink

    Antonius "Anton" Johannes Geesink is a Netherlands 10th dan rank judoka. He is a three-time World Judo Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist . He was 6'7" tall and at one time weighted 320 pounds ....


External links

  • Province maps showing subdivision in municipalities:
  • Public transport:
    • Nederlandse Spoorwegen
      Nederlandse Spoorwegen

      Nederlandse Spoorwegen , or NS, is the principal passenger railway operating company in the Netherlands. Its trains operate over the tracks of the Dutch national rail infrastructure company ProRail, which was split off from NS in 2003....
    • Connexxion
      Connexxion

      Connexxion is the largest public transport bus company in the Netherlands, operating in the west, middle, east and far northern part of the country....
      , region Midden
    • Veolia, region Utrecht northwest