Coordinates | 52°05′36″N5°7′10″N |
---|---|
Official name | Utrecht |
Skylinesize | 250px |
Image shield | Utrecht gemeente wapen.svg |
Subdivision type | Country |
Subdivision name | Netherlands |
Subdivision type1 | Province |
Subdivision name1 | Utrecht |
Area footnotes | (2006) |
Area total km2 | 99.32 |
Area land km2 | 95.67 |
Area water km2 | 3.64 |
Population as of | 1 January 2011 |
Population note | Source: CBS |
Settlement type | Municipality |
Population total | 312,634 |
Population density km2 | 3279 |
Population metro | 640,000 |
Timezone | CET |
Utc offset | +1 |
Timezone dst | CEST |
Area code | 30 |
Utc offset dst | +2 |
Latns | N |
Coordinates | 52°05′36″N5°7′10″N |
Longew | E |
Leader title | Mayor |
Leader name | Aleid Wolfsen }} |
Utrecht's ancient city centre features many buildings and structures from the Early Middle Ages. It has been the religious centre of the Netherlands since the eighth century. Currently it is the see of the Archbishop of Utrecht, the most important Dutch Roman Catholic leader. Utrecht is also the see of the archbishop of the Old Catholic church, titular head of the Union of Utrecht (Old Catholic), and the location of the offices of the main Protestant church. Until the golden age, Utrecht was the city of most importance of the Netherlands until Amsterdam became its cultural and most populous centre.
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 transport hub for both rail and road transport. It has the second highest number of cultural events in the Netherlands, after Amsterdam.
In Roman times, the name of the Utrecht fortress was simply ''Traiectum'' denoting its location on the Rhine at a ford. Traiectum became Dutch Trecht. The U comes from Old Dutch "uut" meaning downriver. It was added to distinguish from the other Tricht, Maas-tricht. In 11th century official documents it was then Latinized as Ultra Traiectum. Around the year 200, the wooden walls of the fortification were replaced by sturdier tuff stone walls, remnants of which are still to be found below the buildings around Dom Square.
From the middle of the 3rd century Germanic tribes regularly invaded the Roman territories. Around 275 the Romans could no longer maintain the northern border and Utrecht was abandoned. Little is known about the next period 270-650. Utrecht is first spoken of again in the 7th century when the influence of the growing realms of the Franks led Dagobert I to build a church devoted to Saint Martin within the walls of the Roman fortress. In ongoing border conflicts with the Frisians the church was however destroyed.
Besides these buildings which were part of the hierarchy of the bishopric; an additional four parish churches were constructed in the city: the Jacobikerk (dedicated to Saint James), founded in the 11th century, with the current gothic church dating back to the 14th century; the Buurkerk (Neighbourhood-church) of the 11th century parish in the centre of the city; Nicolaichurch (dedicated to Saint Nicholas), from the 12th century and the 13th century Geertekerk (dedicated to Saint Gertrude of Nivelles).
The city, which was held against its will in the states of the Republic, failed to defend itself against the French invasion in 1672 (the Disaster Year)
The lack of structural integrity proved to be the undoing of the central section of the cathedral of St Martin church when Utrecht was struck by a tornado in 1674.
The Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 settled the War of the Spanish Succession.
Since 1723 (but especially after 1870) Utrecht became the centre of the non-Roman Old Catholic Churches in the world.
Growth of the city increased when, in 1843, a railway connecting Utrecht to Amsterdam was opened. After that, Utrecht gradually became the main hub of the Dutch railway network.
In 1853, the Dutch government allowed the bishopric of Utrecht to be reinstated by Rome, and Utrecht became the centre of Dutch Catholicism once more.
With the industrial revolution finally gathering speed in the Netherlands and the ramparts taken down, Utrecht 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 this period, several Jugendstil houses and office buildings were built, followed by Rietveld who built the Rietveld Schröder House (1924), and Dudok's construction of the city theater (1941).
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 and Lunetten were built. Additionally the area surrounding Utrecht Centraal railway station and the station itself have been developed following modernist ideas of the 1960s, in a brutalist style. This led to the construction of the shopping mall Hoog Catharijne, music centre Vredenburg (Hertzberger, 1979), and conversion of part of the ancient canal structure into a highway (Catherijnebaan). Protest against further modernisation of the city centre followed even before the last buildings were finalised. In the early 21st century the whole area is being redeveloped.
Currently the city is expanding once more with the development of the Leidsche Rijn housing area.
Utrecht city had a population of 296,305 in 2007. Utrecht is a growing municipality and projections are that the city's population will surpass 392,000 by 2025.
In Utrecht 52% of the population is female, 48% is male. Utrecht has a young population, with many inhabitants in the age category from 20 and 30 years, due to the presence of a large university.
The majority of households (52.5%) in Utrecht is a single person household. About 29% of people living in Utrecht are either married, or have another legal partnership. About 3% of the population of Utrecht is divorced.
About 69% of the population is of Dutch ancestry. Approximately 10% of the population consists of immigrants from Western countries, while 21% of the population is of non-Western origin (9% Moroccan, 5% Turkish, 3% Surinamese and Dutch Caribbean and 5% of other countries). With 9% of its population being of Moroccan heritage, Utrecht contains the largest proportion of people of Moroccan descent of any Dutch municipality. Many of the city's boroughs have a relatively high percentage of originally non-Dutch inhabitants - i.e. Kanaleneiland 83% and Overvecht 57%.
Like Rotterdam, Amsterdam, The Hague and other large Dutch cities, Utrecht faces socio-economic problems. About 38% percent of its population either earns a minimum income or is dependant on social welfare (17% of all households). Boroughs such as Kanaleneiland, Overvecht and Hoograven consist primarily of high-rise housing developments, and are known for relatively high poverty and crime rate.
Female | Age | Male | ||
22761 | 15% | 23994 | 17% | |
44732 | 30% | 36165 | 26% | |
36444 | 24% | 39434 | 28% | |
15574 | 10% | 15996 | 11% | |
11899 | 8% | 11484 | 8% | |
8317 | 6% | 7457 | 5% | |
9374 | 6% | 4764 | 3% |
Utrecht is the centre of a densely populated area, which makes concise definitions of its agglomeration difficult, and somewhat arbitrary. The smaller Utrecht agglomeration counts some 420,000 inhabitants and includes Nieuwegein, IJsselstein and Maarssen. It is sometimes argued that the municipalities De Bilt, Zeist, Houten, Vianen, Driebergen-Rijsenburg (Utrechtse Heuvelrug), and Bunnik should also be counted towards the Utrecht agglomeration, bringing the total to 640,000 inhabitants. The larger region, including slightly more remote towns such as Woerden and Amersfoort counts up to 820,000 inhabitants.
Another landmark is the old centre and the canal structure in the inner city. The Oudegracht is a curved canal, partly following an old arm of the Rhine. It is lined with the unique wharf-basement structures that create a two-level street along the canals. The inner city has largely retained its Medieval structure, and the moat ringing the old town is largely intact. Because of the role of Utrecht as a fortified city,which restricted construction outside the walls, until the 19th century the city has remained very compact. Surrounding the medieval core there is a ring of late 19th and early 20th century neighbourhoods, with newer neighbourhoods positioned farther out. The eastern part of Utrecht remains fairly open. The Dutch Water Line, moved east of the city in the early 19th century required open lines of fire thus prohibiting all permanent constructions until the mid of the 20th century on the east side of the city.
Due to the past importance of Utrecht as a religious centre, several monumental churches have survived. Most prominent is the Dom Church. Other notable churches include the romanesque St Peter's and St John's churches, the gothic churches of St James and St Nicholas, and the so-called Buurkerk, now converted into a [[Museum Van Speelklok tot Pierement|museum for automatically playing musical instruments ]].
From Utrecht Centraal, there are regular services to all major Dutch cities; direct services to Schiphol Airport began in March 2006 with the opening of the Utrechtboog. International InterCityExpress (ICE) services to Germany as well as regular local trains to all areas surrounding Utrecht also depart from Utrecht Centraal.
The Utrecht sneltram is a light rail scheme running southwards Utrecht Centraal to the suburbs of IJsselstein, Kanaleneiland, Lombok-Leidseweg and Nieuwegein. The sneltram began operating in 1983 and is currently operated by the private transport company Connexxion; from December 2011, it will be operated by Qbuzz.
Utrecht is also the location of the headquarters of both Nederlandse Spoorwegen (English: ''Dutch Railways'') - the largest rail operator in the Netherlands - and ProRail - the state-owned company responsible for the construction and maintenance of the country's rail infrastructure.
The Utrecht Centraal railway station is also served by the pan-European services of Eurolines. Furthermore, it acts as departure and arrival place of many coach companies serving holiday resorts in Spain and France - and during winter in Austria and Switzerland.
Additionally, some tourist boat trips are organised from various places on the Oudegracht.
A large indoor shopping centre called is located between Utrecht Centraal railway station and the city centre. The corridors have been considered public places like streets, and the route between the station and the city centre is 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. Parts of the city's network of canals, which were filled to create the shopping center and central station area, will be recreated.
The Jaarbeurs, one of the largest convention centres in the Netherlands, is located at the west side of the central railway station.
One of Europe's biggest used car markets is located in the Voordorp district. It is open every Tuesday except on official holidays. With thousands of second-hand vehicles on sale the market is a special point of interest for customers from Eastern European countries who even organize special one-way bus tours for shopping there.
Utrecht is home of one of the locations of TiasNimbas, focused on post-experience management education and the largest management school of its kind in the Netherlands. In 2008, its executive MBA program was rated the 24th best program in the world by the ''Financial Times''.
Utrecht is also home to two other large institutions of higher education: the Hogeschool Utrecht (30,000 students), with locations in the city and the Uithof campus, and the HKU Utrecht School of the Arts (3,000 students).
There are many schools for primary and secondary education; allowing for different philosophies and religions as is inherent in the Dutch school system. There is some debate about segregation in the primary schools (which is a common occurrence in many large cities in the Netherlands). This is a result of immigrant families lack of Dutch language skills and a lack of knowledge of Dutch culture, leading Dutch parents to send their children to schools which are able to maintain high standards in turn leading to a situation where schools with a large proportion of immigrant children squeeze out more and more Dutch children.
There are several theatres and theatre companies. The 1941 main city theatre was built by Dudok. Besides theatres there is a large number of cinemas including three arthouse cinemas. Utrecht is host to the Netherlands Film Festival. The city has an important classical music hall Vredenburg (1979 by Herman Hertzberger). Its acoustics are considered among the best of the 20th century original music halls. Young musicians are educated in the conservatory (a department of the Utrecht School of the Arts). There is a specialised museum of automatically playing musical instruments. Located at the Oudegracht is the rock club Tivoli (which has a second location just outside the centre). There are several other venues for music throughout the city.
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. 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 ("Nijntje", in Dutch). 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. Furthermore there are many initiatives for amateur artists; e.g. in the performing arts, painting and sculpture. The city subsidises an organisation for amateur education in arts aimed at all inhabitants (Utrechts Centrum voor de Kunsten), as does the university for its staff and students. Additionally there are also several private initiatives. The city council provides coupons for discounts to inhabitants who receive welfare to be used with many of the initiatives.
Utrecht is home to the premier league (professional) football club FC Utrecht, which plays in Stadium Nieuw Galgenwaard. It is also the home of Kampong, the largest (amateur) sportsclub of the Netherlands (4,500 members), SV Kampong. Kampong features fieldhockey, soccer, cricket, tennis, squash and jeu de boules. Kampong's men and women top hockey squads play in the highest Dutch hockey league, the Rabohoofdklasse.
Over the ages famous people have been born and raised in Utrecht. Among the most famous Utrechters are:
Category:Cities in the Netherlands Category:Populated places in Utrecht (province) Category:Populated places on the Rhine Category:Provincial capitals of the Netherlands Category:40s establishments
af:Utrecht (munisipaliteit) ar:أوترخت an:Utrecht az:Utrext be-x-old:Утрэхт (горад) br:Utrecht (kêr) bg:Утрехт ca:Utrecht cs:Utrecht cy:Utrecht (dinas) da:Utrecht de:Utrecht et:Utrecht el:Ουτρέχτη (πόλη) es:Utrecht eo:Utrecht (urbo) eu:Utrecht fa:اوترخت fr:Utrecht fy:Utert (stêd) ga:Utrecht (cathair) gv:Utrecht (balley) gl:Utrecht ko:위트레흐트 hr:Utrecht (grad) id:Utrecht, Utrecht it:Utrecht he:אוטרכט jv:Gemeente Utrecht ka:უტრეხტი sw:Utrecht la:Traiectum ad Rhenum lv:Utrehta lb:Utrecht lt:Utrechtas li:Utrei (stad) hu:Utrecht mr:उट्रेख्त (शहर) ms:Utrecht, Utrecht nl:Utrecht (stad) nds-nl:Utrecht (stad) ja:ユトレヒト no:Utrecht (by) nn:Utrecht pnb:یوترخت pl:Utrecht pt:Utrecht (cidade) ro:Utrecht ru:Утрехт scn:Utrecht simple:Utrecht (city) sk:Utrecht srn:Utrecht sr:Утрехт fi:Utrecht sv:Utrecht th:ยูเทรกต์ (เมือง) tr:Utrecht (şehir) uk:Утрехт vi:Utrecht (thành phố) vo:Utrecht (zif) war:Utrecht (syudad) zea:Utrecht (gemeênte) zh:乌得勒支This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
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