Utrecht's ancient city centre features many buildings and structures, several dating as far back as theHigh Middle Ages. It has been the religious centre of the Netherlands since the 8th century. In 1579, theUnion of Utrecht was signed in the city to lay the foundations for theDutch Republic. Utrecht was the most important city in the Netherlands until theDutch Golden Age, when it was surpassed byAmsterdam as the country's cultural centre and most populous city.
Utrecht is home toUtrecht University, the largest university in the Netherlands, as well as several other institutions of higher education. Due to its central position within the country, it is an important hub for bothrail androad transport; it has the busiest railway station in the Netherlands,Utrecht Centraal. It has the second-highest number of cultural events in the Netherlands, after Amsterdam.[9] In 2012,Lonely Planet included Utrecht in the top 10 of the world's unsung places.[10]
Although there is some evidence of earlier inhabitation in the region of Utrecht, dating back to theStone Age (app. 2200BCE) and settling in theBronze Age (app. 1800–800 BCE),[11] the founding date of the city is usually related to the construction of aRomanfortification (castellum), probably built in around 50CE. A series of such fortresses were built after theRoman emperorClaudius decided the empire should not expand further north. To consolidate the border, theLimes Germanicus defense line was constructed[12] along the main branch of the riverRhine, which at that time traversed a more northern route (now known as theKromme Rijn) compared to today's Rhine flow. These fortresses were designed to house acohort of about 500 Roman soldiers. Near the fort, settlements grew that housedartisans, traders and soldiers' wives and children.
In Roman times, the name of the Utrecht fortress was simplyTraiectum, denoting its location at a possible Rhine crossing. Traiectum became Dutch Trecht; with the U fromOld Dutch "uut" (downriver) added to distinguish U-trecht fromMaas-tricht,[13][14] on the riverMeuse. In 11th-century official documents, it was Latinized as Ultra Traiectum. Around the year 200, the wooden walls of the fortification were replaced by sturdiertuff stone walls,[15] 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. After around 275 the Romans could no longer maintain the northern border, and Utrecht was abandoned.[12] Little is known about the period from 270 to 650. Utrecht is first spoken of again several centuries after the Romans left. Under the influence of the growing realms of theFranks, duringDagobert I's reign in the 7th century, a church was built within the walls of the Roman fortress.[12] In ongoing border conflicts with theFrisians, this first church was destroyed.
Centre of Christianity in the Netherlands (650–1579)
TheDom Tower seen from the city centre. The remaining section of theCathedral of Saint Martin is not connected to the tower since the collapse of thenave in 1674 due to a storm.
By the mid-7th century, British, English and Irishmissionaries set out to convert theFrisians.Pope Sergius I appointed their leader, SaintWillibrordus, as bishop of the Frisians. The tenure of Willibrordus is generally considered to be the beginning of theBishopric of Utrecht.[12] In 723, the Frankish leaderCharles Martel bestowed the fortress in Utrecht and the surrounding lands as the base of the bishops. From then on Utrecht became one of the most influential seats of power for the Catholic Church in the Netherlands. The archbishops of Utrecht were based at the uneasy northern border of theCarolingian Empire. In addition, the city of Utrecht had competition from the nearby trading centreDorestad.[12] After the fall of Dorestad around 850, Utrecht became one of the most important cities in the Netherlands.[16] The importance of Utrecht as a centre of Christianity is illustrated by the election of the Utrecht-bornAdriaan Florenszoon Boeyens aspope in 1522 (the last non-Italian pope beforeJohn Paul II).
When the Frankish rulers established the system offeudalism, theBishops of Utrecht came to exercise worldly power asprince-bishops.[12] The territory of the bishopric not only included the modern province of Utrecht (Nedersticht, 'lowerSticht'), but also extended to the northeast. The feudal conflict of theMiddle Ages heavily affected Utrecht. The prince-bishopric was involved in almost continuous conflicts with the Counts ofHolland and the Dukes ofGuelders.[17] TheVeluwe region was seized by Guelders, but large areas in the modern province ofOverijssel remained as the Oversticht.
Several churches and monasteries were built inside, or close to, the city of Utrecht. The most dominant of these was theCathedral of Saint Martin, inside the old Roman fortress. The construction of the presentGothic building was begun in 1254 after an earlierromanesque construction had been badly damaged by fire. Thechoir andtransept were finished from 1320 and were followed then by the ambitiousDom tower.[12] The last part to be constructed was the centralnave, from 1420. By that time, however, the age of the great cathedrals had come to an end and declining finances prevented the ambitious project from being finished, the construction of the central nave being suspended before the plannedflying buttresses could be finished.[12]Besides the cathedral there were fourcollegiate churches in Utrecht:St. Salvator's Church (demolished in the 16th century), on the Dom square, dating back to the early 8th century.[18] SaintJohn (Janskerk), originating in 1040;[19]Saint Peter, building started in 1039[20] andSaint Mary's church building started around 1090 (demolished in the early 19th century, cloister survives).[21]Besides these churches, the city housedSt. Paul's Abbey,[22] the 15th-centurybeguinage of St. Nicholas, and a 14th-century chapter house of theTeutonic Knights.[23]
Besides these buildings which belonged to the bishopric, an additional fourparish churches were constructed in the city: theJacobikerk (dedicated to Saint James), founded in the 11th century, with the current Gothic church dating back to the 14th century;[24] the Buurkerk (Neighbourhood-church) of the 11th-century parish in the centre of the city; Nicolaichurch (dedicated toSaint Nicholas), from the 12th century,[25] and the 13th-century Geertekerk (dedicated to SaintGertrude of Nivelles).[26]
Its location on the banks of the river Rhine allowed Utrecht to become an important trade centre in the Northern Netherlands. The growing town was grantedcity rights byHenry V at Utrecht on 2 June 1122. When the main flow of the Rhine moved south, the old bed which still flowed through the heart of the town became ever morecanalized; and the wharf system was built as an inner city harbour system.[27] On the wharfs, storage facilities (werfkelders) were built, on top of which the main street, including houses, was constructed. The wharfs and the cellars are accessible from a platform at water level with stairs descending from the street level to form a unique structure.[nb 2][28] The relations between the bishop, who controlled many lands outside of the city, and the citizens of Utrecht was not always easy.[12] The bishop, for example dammed theKromme Rijn atWijk bij Duurstede to protect his estates from flooding. This threatened shipping for the city and led the city of Utrecht to commission a canal to ensure access to the town for shipping trade: the Vaartse Rijn, connecting Utrecht to theHollandse IJssel atIJsselstein.
In 1528 the bishop lost secular power over both Neder- and Oversticht—which included the city of Utrecht—toCharles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Charles V combined theSeventeen Provinces (the currentBenelux and the northern parts of France) as a personal union. This ended the prince-bishopric of Utrecht, as the secular rule was now thelordship of Utrecht, with the religious power remaining with the bishop, although Charles V had gained the right to appoint new bishops. In 1559 the bishopric of Utrecht was raised to archbishopric to make it the religious centre of the Northernecclesiastical province in the Seventeen Provinces.
The transition from independence to a relatively minor part of a larger union was not easily accepted. To quell uprisings, Charles V struggled to exert his power over the city's citizens who had struggled to gain a certain level of independence from the bishops and were not willing to cede this to their new lord. The heavily fortified castleVredenburg was built to house a large garrison whose main task was to maintain control over the city. The castle would last less than 50 years before it was demolished in an uprising in the early stages of theDutch Revolt.
In 1579 the northern seven provinces signed theUnion of Utrecht treaty (Dutch: Unie van Utrecht), in which they decided to join forces against Spanish rule. The Union of Utrecht is seen as the beginning of theDutch Republic. In 1580, the new and predominantly Protestant state abolished the bishoprics, including the archbishopric of Utrecht. Thestadtholders disapproved of the independent course of the Utrecht bourgeoisie and brought the city under much more direct control of the republic, shifting the power towards its dominant provinceHolland. This was the start of a long period of stagnation of trade and development in Utrecht. Utrecht remained an atypical city in the new republic being about 40% Catholic in the mid-17th century, and even more so among the elite groups, who included many rural nobility and gentry with town houses there.[29]
The fortified city temporarily fell to the French invasion in 1672 (theDisaster Year, Dutch: Rampjaar). The French invasion was stopped just west of Utrecht at theOld Hollandic Waterline. In 1674, only two years after the French left, the centre of Utrecht was struck by atornado. The halt to building before construction of flying buttresses in the 15th century now proved to be the undoing of the cathedral of St Martin church's central section which collapsed, creating the current Dom square between the tower and choir. In 1713, Utrecht hosted one of the first international peace negotiations when theTreaty of Utrecht settled theWar of the Spanish Succession. Beginning in 1723, Utrecht became the centre of the non-RomanOld Catholic Churches in the world.
In the early 19th century, the role of Utrecht as a fortified town had become obsolete. The fortifications of theNieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie were moved east of Utrecht. The town walls could now be demolished to allow for expansion. The moats remained intact and formed an important feature of the Zocher plantsoen, anEnglish style landscape park that remains largely intact today. 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 theDutch railway network. With theIndustrial Revolution finally gathering speed in the Netherlands and the ramparts taken down, Utrecht began to grow far beyond its medieval centre. When the Dutch government allowed the bishopric of Utrecht to be reinstated byRome in 1853, Utrecht became the centre of Dutch Catholicism once more. From the 1880s onward, neighbourhoods such as Oudwijk,Wittevrouwen, Vogelenbuurt to the East, and Lombok to the West were developed. New middle-class residential areas, such as Tuindorp andOog in Al, were built in the 1920s and 1930s. During this period, severalJugendstil houses and office buildings were built, followed byRietveld who built theRietveld Schröder House (1924), andDudok's construction of the city theatre (1941).
TheWinkel van Sinkel, the first department store in The Netherlands.
DuringWorld War II, Utrecht was held by German forces until the general German surrender of the Netherlands on 5 May 1945.British andCanadian troops that had surrounded the city entered it after that surrender, on 7 May 1945. Following the end of World War II, the city grew considerably when new neighbourhoods such asOvervecht,Kanaleneiland,Hoograven [nl] andLunetten were built. Around 2000, theLeidsche Rijn housing area was developed as an extension of the city to the west.[citation needed]
The area surroundingUtrecht Centraal railway station and the station itself were developed following modernist ideas of the 1960s, in abrutalist style. This development led to the construction of the shopping mallHoog Catharijne [nl], the 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 undergoing change again. The redeveloped music centre TivoliVredenburg opened in 2014 with the original Vredenburg and Tivoli concert and rock and jazz halls brought together in a single building.
Utrecht city had a population of 361,924 in 2022. It is a growing municipality and projections are that the population will surpass 392,000 by 2025.[33] As of November 2019, the city of Utrecht has a population of 357,179.[8]
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. About 52% of the population is female, 48% is male. The majority of households (52.5%) in Utrecht are single-person households. About 29% of people living in Utrecht are either married, or have another legal partnership. About 3% of the population of Utrecht is divorced.[33]
For 62.8% of the population of Utrecht both parents were born in the Netherlands. Approximately 12.4% of the population consists of people with a recentmigration background fromWestern countries, while 24.8% of the population has at least one parent who is of 'non-Western origin' (8.8% from Morocco, 4% Turkey, 3% Surinam and Dutch Caribbean and 9.1% of other countries).[33]
Population of the city of Utrecht by country of birth of the parents of citizens (2022). Those with a mixed background are counted in the 'non Dutch' groupings.[35]
Utrecht has been the religious centre of the Netherlands since the 8th century. Currently it is the see of the MetropolitanArchbishop of Utrecht, the most senior Dutch Roman Catholic leader.[36][37] Hisecclesiastical province covers the whole kingdom.
As of 2013, the largest religion is Christianity with 28% of the population being Christian, followed by Islam with 9.9% in 2016 and Hinduism with 0.8%.
The city of Utrecht is subdivided into 10 city quarters, all of which have their own neighbourhood council and service centre for civil affairs.
Binnenstad
Oost
Leidsche Rijn
West
Overvecht
Zuid
Noordoost
Zuidwest
Noordwest
Vleuten-De Meern
Utrecht is the centre of a densely populated area, a fact which makes concise definitions of its agglomeration difficult, and somewhat arbitrary. The smaller Utrecht agglomeration of continuously built-up areas counts some 420,000 inhabitants and includesNieuwegein,IJsselstein andMaarssen. It is sometimes argued that the close by municipalitiesDe Bilt,Zeist,Houten,Vianen,Driebergen-Rijsenburg (Utrechtse Heuvelrug), andBunnik should also be counted towards the Utrecht agglomeration, bringing the total to 640,000 inhabitants. The larger region, including slightly more remote cities such asWoerden andAmersfoort, counts up to 820,000 inhabitants.[39]
PanoramaOudegracht (the 'old canal') in central UtrechtThe Oudegracht in the 1890sView of the Oudegracht from the Dom TowerAerial view of Utrecht from the Dom Tower
Utrecht's cityscape is dominated by theDom Tower, the tallest belfry in the Netherlands and originally part of theCathedral of Saint Martin.[40] An ongoing debate is over whether any building in or near the centre of town should surpass the Dom Tower in height (112 m [367 ft]). Nevertheless, some tall buildings are now being constructed that will become part of the skyline of Utrecht. The second-tallest building of the city, theRabobank-tower, was completed in 2010 and stands 105 m (344 ft) tall.[41] Two antennas will increase that height to 120 m (394 ft). Two other buildings were constructed around theNieuw Galgenwaard stadium (2007). These buildings, the 'Kantoortoren Galghenwert' and 'Apollo Residence', stand 85.5 m (280.5 ft) and 64.5 m (211.6 ft) high, respectively.The former Utrecht Main Post Office, built in 1924, is still in the city centre at Neude square, but is now serving as library, see alsoUtrecht Post Office.
Another landmark is the old centre and the canal structure in the inner city. TheOudegracht is a curved canal, partly following the ancient main branch of theRhine. It is lined with the unique wharf-basement structures that create a two-level street along the canals.[42] The inner city has largely retained its medieval structure,[43] and the moat ringing the old town is largely intact.[44] In the 1970s part of the moat was converted into a motorway. It was then converted back into a waterway, the work being finished in 2020.[45][46]
Because of the role of Utrecht as a fortified city, construction outside the medieval centre and its city walls was restricted until the 19th century. Surrounding the medieval core there is a ring of late-19th- and early-20th-century neighbourhoods, with newer neighbourhoods positioned farther out.[47] The eastern part of Utrecht remains fairly open. TheDutch Water Line, moved east of the city in the early 19th century, required open lines of fire, thus prohibiting all permanent constructions until the middle of the 20th century on the east side of the city.[48]
Due to the past importance of Utrecht as a religious centre, several monumental churches were erected, many of which have survived.[49] Most prominent is theDom Church. Other notable churches include the romanesqueSt Peter's and St John's churches; the gothic churches of St James and St Nicholas; and the Buurkerk, now converted into amuseum for automatically playing musical instruments.
Utrecht is the location of the headquarters ofNederlandse Spoorwegen (English:Dutch Railways), the largest rail operator in the Netherlands, andProRail, the state-owned company responsible for the construction and maintenance of the country's rail infrastructure.
TheUtrecht sneltram is alight rail system with three routes connecting Utrecht Centraal railway station to the suburbs ofIJsselstein andNieuwegein and to theUithof district. The sneltram began operations in 1983 and is currently operated under the U-OV brand by the private transport companyQbuzz. The system has a total length 18.3 km and 54 trainsets. It carried over 9 million riders in 2023.[50]
Utrecht is the only city among the four largest in the Netherlands (the others being Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam) that awards a public transportation concession by tender. Qbuzz will hold that concession until December 2025 after whichTransdev will take it over until 2035.[50]
Utrecht Centraal railway station also serves local and regional buses at its west side (Centrumzijde) and at its east side (Jaarbuursplein), where both sides have connections to the Utrecht sneltram. Fifty localbus routes are operated byQbuzz under the U-OV brand until December 2025 when Transdev will take over the concession.[50] The local bus fleet is one of Europe's cleanest, using only buses compliant with theEuro-VI standard[51] as well as electric buses for inner-city transport. The plan is that all buses be zero-emission by 2028.[50] Regional buses from the city are operated byArriva.
The Utrecht Centraal railway station is also served by the pan-European services ofEurolines. Furthermore, it acts as departure and arrival place of many coach companies serving holiday resorts in Spain and France—and during winter inAustria andSwitzerland.
Like most Dutch cities, Utrecht has an extensive network ofcycle paths, making cycling safe and popular. 51% of journeys within the city are by bicycle, more than any other mode of transport.[52][53] (Cars, for example, account for 30% of trips).[citation needed] Bicycles are used by young and old people, and by individuals and families. They are mostly traditional, upright, steel-framed bicycles, with few gears. There are also bucket bikes for carrying cargo such as groceries or small children. Thanks in part to the access provided by bicycles, 100% of the population lives in a15-minute city and more than 90% can get to the major destination types within 10 minutes.[54]
In 2014, the city council decided to build the world's largestbicycle parking station, near theCentral Railway Station.[55] This three-floor construction cost over €30 million and can hold 12,500 bicycles. The bicycle parking station was built in stages, with the first part opening in August 2017, and the final section (after some delay) being opened on 19 August 2019.[56]
Utrecht is well-connected to the Dutch road network. Two of the most important major roads serve the city of Utrecht: theA12 andA2 motorways connectAmsterdam,Arnhem,The Hague andMaastricht, as well as Belgium and Germany. Other major motorways in the area are theAlmere–BredaA27 and the Utrecht–GroningenA28.[57] Due to the increasing traffic and the ancient city plan, traffic congestion is a common phenomenon in and around Utrecht, causing elevated levels ofair pollutants. This has led to a passionate debate in the city about the best way to improve the city's air quality.
Utrecht has an industrial port located on theAmsterdam-Rijnkanaal.[58] The 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, fertiliser and fodder.[59] Additionally, some tourist boat trips are organised from various places on the Oudegracht; and the city is connected to touristic shipping routes through sluices.[60][61][62]
Production industry constitutes a small part of the economy of Utrecht. The economy of Utrecht depends for a large part on the several large institutions located in the city. It is the centre of the Dutch railway network and the location of the head office ofNederlandse Spoorwegen.ProRail is headquartered inDe Inktpot [nl] (The Inkwell), the largest brick building in the Netherlands[63] (the "UFO" featured on its façade stems from an art program in 2000).Rabobank, a large bank, has its headquarters in Utrecht.[64]
Utrecht is also informally considered[who?] the "capital" of theDutch games industry.[65] It was named byBusiness Finland in 2023 as one of several capitals for the European games industry as a whole.[66] Utrecht's influence in this field was caused by video game development courses at its universities, which were the first such courses in Europe when launched in 2002. Since 2008 Utrecht has also been home to the studio incubator programDutch Game Garden, which has launched a number of studios in the area.[67][68] By 2014 the program had created 200 jobs.[69] Utrecht is also home toNixxes Software (aPlayStation Studios subsidiary) as well asSokpop Collective.
View on the Science Park campus ofUtrecht University. The building in the centre is the library.
Utrecht hosts several large institutions of higher education. The most prominent of these isUtrecht University (est. 1636), the largest university of theNetherlands with 30,449 students (as of 2012[update]). The university is partially based in the inner city as well as in theUithof campus area, on the east side of the city. According toShanghai Jiaotong University's university ranking in 2014, it is the 57th-best university in the world.[70] Utrecht also houses the much smallerUniversity of Humanistic Studies, which houses about 400 students.[71]
Utrecht is home of one of the locations ofTIAS School for Business and Society, focused on post-experience management education and the largest management school of its kind in the Netherlands. In 2008, its executiveMBA program was rated the 24th best program in the world by theFinancial Times.[72]
Utrecht is also home to two other large institutions of higher education: the vocational universityHogeschool Utrecht (37,000 students),[73] with locations in the city and the Uithof campus; and theHKU Utrecht School of the Arts (3,000 students).
There are many schools forprimary and secondary education, allowing parents to select from different philosophies and religions in the school as is inherent in theDutch school system.
Miffy statue at the Nijntjepleintje in UtrechtTheRietveld Schröder House from 1924Caryatids at the Winkel van Sinkel
Utrecht city has an active cultural life, and in the Netherlands is second only to Amsterdam.[9] There are several theatres and theatre companies. The 1941 main city theatre was built byDudok. In addition to theatres, there is a large number of cinemas including three arthouse cinemas. Utrecht is host to the internationalEarly Music Festival (Festival Oude Muziek, for music before 1800) and theNetherlands Film Festival. The city has an important classical music hall Vredenburg (1979 byHerman Hertzberger). Its acoustics are considered among the best of the 20th-century original music halls.[citation needed] The original Vredenburg music hall has been redeveloped as part of the larger station area redevelopment plan and in 2014 gained additional halls that allowed its merger with the rock club Tivoli and the SJU jazzpodium. There are several other venues for music throughout the city. Young musicians are educated in theconservatory, a department of theUtrecht School of the Arts. There is a specialisedmuseum of automatically playing musical instruments.
There are many art galleries in Utrecht. There are also several foundations to support art and artists. Training of artists is done at theUtrecht School of the Arts. TheCentraal Museum has many exhibitions on the arts, including a permanent exhibition on the works of Utrecht resident illustratorDick Bruna, who is best known for creatingMiffy ("Nijntje", in Dutch). BAK, [Dutch: "Basis voor Actuele Kunst," Basis for Contemporary Art] offers contemporary art exhibitions and public events, as well as a Fellowship program for practitioners involved in contemporary arts, theory and activisms. Although street art is illegal in Utrecht, the Utrechtse Kabouter, a picture of a gnome with a red hat, became a common sight in 2004.[74] Utrecht also houses one of the landmarks of modern architecture, the 1924Rietveld Schröder House, which is listed on UNESCO'sWorld Heritage Sites.
Every Saturday, a paviour adds another letter toThe Letters of Utrecht, an endless poem in the cobblestones of the Oude Gracht in Utrecht. With theLetters, Utrecht has asocial sculpture as a growing monument created for the benefit of future people.
To promote culture, Utrecht city organizes cultural Sundays. During a thematic Sunday, several organisations create a program which is open to everyone without, or with a substantially reduced, admission fee. There are also initiatives foramateur artists. 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.
Triton rowing club [nl] team pauses with their coach by the Muntbrug, a rotating bridge built in 1887.
Utrecht is home to the premier league (professional)football clubFC Utrecht, which plays inStadium Nieuw Galgenwaard. It is also the home of Kampong, the largest (amateur) sportsclub in the Netherlands (4,500 members), SV Kampong.[75] Kampong featuresfield hockey, association football,cricket,tennis,squash andboules. Kampong's men and women top hockey squads play in the highest Dutch hockey league, the Rabohoofdklasse. Utrecht is also home to baseball and softball club UVV, which plays in the highest Dutch baseball league: de Hoofdklasse. Therugby culture in Utrecht is carried by theUSRS, that has been playing in the highest leagues of the Dutch rugby pyramid since 1967. Utrecht's waterways are used by several rowing clubs. Viking is a large club open to the general public, and the student clubs Orca and Triton compete in theVarsity each year.
In July 2013, Utrecht hosted theEuropean Youth Olympic Festival, in which more than 2,000 young athletes competed in nine different Olympic sports. In July 2015, Utrecht hosted the Grand Départ and first stage of theTour de France.[76]
Utrecht has several smaller and larger museums. Many of those are located in the southern part of the old town, the Museumkwartier.
Aboriginal Art Museum [nl],[77] located at the Oudegracht and closed since 15 June 2017, this museum had a small exhibit of Australian Aboriginal Art
BAK, basis voor actuele kunst, an international platform for theoretically-informed, politically driven art and experimental research
Centraal Museum, located in the MuseumQuarter, this municipal museum has a large collection of art, design, and historical artifacts;
Dick Bruna huis [nl],[78] art of Centraal Museum on this separate location is dedicated to Miffy creator Dick Bruna.
Duitse Huis has a collection of historical items including many charters with seals dating from as far back as the early 13th century and a collection of medieval coins.[79]
Museum Catharijneconvent, Museum of the Catholic Church shows the history of Christian culture and arts in the Netherlands;
Museum Speelklok National Museum in the centre of the city, displays several centuries of mechanical musical instruments;
There are two main theatres in the city, theTheater Kikker [nl][87] and theStadsschouwburg Utrecht [nl].[88] De Parade, a travelling theatre festival, performs in Utrecht in summer. The city also hosts the yearlyFestival aan de Werf which offers a selection of contemporary international theatre, together with visual arts, public art and music.
^"Postcodetool for 3512GG".Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland (in Dutch). Het Waterschapshuis.Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved3 April 2014.
^abcdefghide Bruin, R.E.; Hoekstra, T.J.;Pietersma, A. (1999).Twintig eeuwen Utrecht, korte geschiedenis van de stad (in Dutch). Utrecht: SPOU & Het Utrechts Archief.ISBN90-5479-040-7.
^van der Tuuk, Luit (2005). "Denen in Dorestad". In van der Eerden, Ria; et al. (eds.).Jaarboek Oud Utrecht 2005 (in Dutch). Utrecht: SPOU. pp. 5–40.ISBN90-71108-24-4.
^Janssen, H.P.H. (2002).Geschiedenis van de Middeleeuwen (in Dutch) (12th ed.). Utrecht: Aula. pp. 289–296.ISBN90-274-5377-2.
^Stöver, R.J. (1997).De Salvator- of Oudmunsterkerk te Utrecht, Stichtingsmonument van het bisdom Utrecht (in Dutch). Utrecht.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Haverkate, H.M. (1985).Een kerk van papier. De geschiedenis van de voormalige Mariakerk te Utrecht (in Dutch). Zutphen, the Netherlands.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Broer, C.J.C. (2000).Uniek in de stad. De oudste geschiedenis van de kloostergemeenschap op de Hohorst sinds 1050 de Sint-Paulusabdij te Utrecht (in Dutch). Utrecht.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^"Karel V" (in Dutch).Archived from the original on 17 December 2007. Retrieved6 January 2008.
^"Jacobikerk".Archived from the original on 9 January 2008. Retrieved6 January 2008.
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