Utrecht

   Dutch province and also the city that serves as its capital. With about 1,172,000 inhabitants, it is the smallest province in the Netherlands. After its capital of the same name, the second most im portant city is Amersfoort. The province got its irregular borders during the Middle Ages as a result of conflicts between the bishops of Utrecht, the counts of Holland, and the dukes of Gelre. During the Revolt against the Spanish king Philip II, Utrecht became one of the seven provinces of the new Republic. The partly urbanized province still has a great variety of landscapes, with forests, hills, lakes, and rivers, as well as cultivated areas for agri culture. In the 17th century, rich Amsterdam merchants built beau tiful country houses along the River Vecht, which was also a part of the Dutch water line. The private Nyenrode Business University, near Breukelen, is located in such an estate. In May 1940, the Dutch army used (for the last time) the old Grebbe line (in southeast Utrecht), trying to stop the Nazi invasion.

   The city of Utrecht was built on the site of a Roman castellum and gained municipal rights in 1122. During the early Middle Ages, it was the religious center of the Christianization of northwestern Europe. Willibrord was appointed here as archbishop of the Frisians in 675. The city, which was favorably situated on the Rhine River, also gained importance as a commercial center. In 1579, a treaty among what would become the Seven United Provinces—the Union of Utrecht—was concluded here. Auniver sity was founded in Utrecht in 1636, and in 1713 a peace was con cluded with France in this city to end the War of the Spanish Suc cession. The seat of the Roman Catholic archbishop was again established in Utrecht in 1853. Utrecht has about 281,000 residents, and it houses several kinds of industries, such as food, textile, and chemical products. There is a strong accent on services, such as the exhibition center and administrative seats of several national com panies and institutions, for instance, the Dutch Railways, the Mint, the Protestant LaborUnion, and many state-owned organizations. Utrecht is also an important cultural center, with an orchestra and two fine museums for religious and modern art. The tower of the Dom Church is the highest of all church towers in Netherlands at 112 meters (367 feet). Utrecht’s main suburbs are Nieuwegein, Houten, and Maarssen.