Utrecht

“ The painted exterior of the houses and their various forms, the narrow winding streets, and the old-fashioned ‘ensemble,’ are much more pleasing to my eye than the so-called handsome towns, the streets of which, like mathematical figures, invariably intersect at right angles, and the whole weary line of each street is to be seen at a glance. The environs are charming, the air very healthful, Utrecht being the highest town in Holland, and, as I was assured, the society in winter and spring very lively and agreeable, as all the wealthiest nobles of the country make it their residence. ”

“ Their number is quite astonishing: from Amsterdam to Utrecht, full thirty miles, we beheld no other objects than endless avenues and stiff parterres scrawled and flourished in patterns like the embroidery of an old maid’s work-bag. Notwithstanding this formal taste, I could not help admiring the neatness and arrangement of every inclosure, enlivened by a profusion of flowers, and decked with arbours, beneath which a vast number of consequential personages were solacing themselves after the heat of the day. ”

“ At Utrecht, a city with a population of forty-four thousand, we found sufficient to entertain us for a day. On ascending the steeple of the cathedral, three hundred and eighty-eight feet high, we obtained a view of the surrounding country, which is a perfect flat, watered by canals in different directions, and [66] avenues of trees, all planted by the rule, with an occasional windmill and steeple in the distance, to break the monotony of a Dutch landscape. ”

“ There are a hundred ways of passing time agreeably. You go to see the arrival of milkboats from Utrecht; you follow the barges that are transsporting various kinds of cargo to their destinations, with white-capped maid-servants standing on the prow; you pass half an hour on the tower of the Royal Palace, from whence can be seen at one glance the gulf of the Y, the ancient lake of Haarlem, the towers of Utrecht, the red roofs of Zandam, and all that fantastic forest of masts of vessels, steeples, and mills ”

“ Now to divulge my secret for treating Utrecht and Bois le Duc in the same chapter: with their famous churches they are the most important ecclesiastical cities in Holland. Utrecht, in addition, is a university town, a cattle center, and one of the oldest places, as well as one of the largest, in the Netherlands. In Roman times it was known by the Latin translation of “The Ford of the Rhine”—Trajectum ad Rhenum. In the seventh century, under the Frisians, King Dagobert I founded here the first Frisian church. ”

“ Utrecht is a large town, and has, I think, nearly sixty thousand inhabitants; and of these, one half are Catholics. It is rather on an ascent, and so is unlike any other place we have seen in Holland. The place is famous for the treaty of 1713. Here is a university, and some very fine private residences; and the fortifications have been laid out in fine walks. The Mall, or public walk, is a noble avenue of trees,—limes, I think,—and they are in six or eight rows. In this place is a cathedral, which we only saw. From its tower is the best view of the country ”

“ There's a better Air at Utrecht than in the other Towns of Holland, the Ground it stands on being much higher, and by consequence not so marshy. This Town, which is situate upon the old Channel of the Rhine, is incompass'd with a fine fruitful Plain, and has charming Walks in the Neighbourhood, which are not inferior to those at the Hague. ”

“ Utrecht, the capital of the province of that name, with its canals and old houses, its lime avenues and its shady parks, has more of the typical Dutch element in its make-up, and can be as easily reached, and as profitably, from either Rotterdam or Amsterdam.
’S Hertogenbosch, on the other hand, the frontier town of the southern provinces, lies along the route that leads into Germany, and its “windmills and wooden shoes” are conspicuous in their absence. It seems, out of respect for its geographical position, more of a Belgian city. ”

“ The road, leaving Amsterdam, passes beside the Dimmermeer, the polder (the drained lands are called polder) which is the deepest in Holland, and runs along the branch of the Rhine called Vecht, then winding among villas and kitchen-gardens, reaches Utrecht, which is seated in the midst of a most fertile country watered by the Rhine, crossed by canals, and sprinkled with houses and gardens. ”

“ For this reason it is said that you see in the streets of Utrecht the pallid and attenuated Puritan visage which has disappeared elsewhere, and which seems a shade evoked from older times. The people are graver of aspect than in the other cities, ladies affect a nun-like demeanor, and even among the students there is a certain air of penitence and reserve, which, however, does not exclude beer, or banquets, or scandal, or evil practices. ”

“ Most of Utrecht's population is apparently suburban, and is housed in little brick houses and villas with white trimmings and door-steps, a bulb garden, an iron fence, and a miniature canal flowing through the back yard. This is the formula for laying out a Utrecht suburban villa.
The Het Kasteel van Antwerpen, on the Oude Gracht, is a hotel which treats you very well for five or six florins a day, and allows you also to put your automobile under roof, charging nothing for the service. ”

“ Our road lay through a very rich and beautiful country, well drained, abounding with neat compact little farms, orchards, wood plantations, the lofty and venerable towers of Utrecht appearing full in our view all the way. We passed by the mall, which has a handsome stone entrance, is upwards of a mile in length, and is bordered with a triple row of trees, with a carriage-road on each side. ”

“ If Europe had no just reason to find fault with the peace of Utrecht from the point of view of her larger interests, neither could the nations themselves complain that their individual aspirations had been unduly neglected. ”

“ The longest trip for the people of South Holland, North Holland, and Utrecht, is through these three provinces, and the way over the ice-clad country is quite as picturesque as in summer-time, the little mills, quaint old drawbridges, and rustic farmhouses losing nothing of their charm in winter garb. ”

“ There are other artists who do honour to this their native city, but I have mentioned those of the first order, in number and reputation perfectly sufficient to establish the pretensions of Utrecht to high rank in the roll of renowned cities. I quitted this beautiful place, the prosperity of which has suffered much by the war with England, about four o’clock on a beautiful autumnal morning, and proceeded to Arnheim, which and Nimeguen, are the capital cities of Guelderland. This beautiful and valuable province contains twenty-two considerable towns, and upwards of three hundred villages. ”

“ The peace of Utrecht, concluded amidst a thousand difficulties, from our allies abroad, and our parties, that were never so much exasperated against each other at home; must ever remain the monument of his glory. ”

“ The bishop's seat had to be fortified against the incursions of the heathen Frisians and Northmen, and the security thus afforded attracted population till, after the destruction of its rival Dorestad by the Normans in the 9th century, Utrecht became the chief commercial centre of the northern Netherlands. ”

“ Utrecht is one of the most ancient cities of the Netherlands, having been founded under Nero by a Roman Senator named Antony, hence it is frequently referred to by historians as Antonia Civitas.
Its name in time evolved itself into Trajectum inferius or vetus, and in the Latin nomenclature of the early middle ages, it became Ultrajectum, or Trajectum Ultricensium. Under the Franks it was called Wiltrecht, which was but a short step to the name it now bears. ”

“ Thus in that society everything is classed, established, measured; life goes on with the regularity of a machine; man moves like an automaton; rules take the place of will, and the clock governs thought. When I entered the building I saw no one but two servants standing at the threshold, and one girl with a red ribbon at a window. The courtyards were deserted, no sign of life was there, not even a fly buzzed. I looked here and there, as one looks at a cemetery through the bars of a gate, and went thoughtfully back to Utrecht. ”

“ The chapter of the see was secularized, and out of the members of the five colleges a certain number, known as “the Elected” (Geéligerden) , were chosen by the other two “members” of the estates. They held office for life, and were reckoned as the “first member” of the estates. The knights formed the “second member,” the representatives being chosen by co-option. The city of Utrecht, with the four smaller towns of Amersfoort, Rheenen, Wijk-by-Duurstede and Montfoort, made up the “third member.” (G. E.)
The later history of the see of Utrecht is of considerable ecclesiastical interest. ”

“ I think Utrecht one of the most beautiful cities in Holland, next to the Hague, which it is said to exceed in size. The streets are wide, and the buildings handsome, amongst which the hand of the Spanish architect is frequently to be traced. ”

“ A traveller can scarcely enter a town in Holland which has not given birth to some genius, whose fame reflects lustre upon his country. Utrecht enrols amongst those illustrious sages who resided, or were born within its walls, and who have bestowed upon it immortal celebrity, the learned Gronovius, the critic; Grævius, his pupil, one of the most profound writers of the middle of the sixteenth century, so well known for his Thesaurus Antiquitatum et Historiarum Italiæ, in thirteen folio volumes, and the two erudite Burmans. ”

“ As it stands, we have not conquered the city, but it has conquered us. To convince you that no harm is meant to Bishop Henry and his good city of Utrecht, we will command our men to repair to their hostels, lay down their arms, and pass their time in festivity. ”

“ Whether it were a reasonable system or an absurd one, a vigorous or an imbecile form of government, they were confident that the Union of Utrecht, made about a generation of mankind before, and the only tie by which the Provinces were bound together at all, was a compact between sovereigns. ”

“ We left Utrecht after lunch and slowly made our way along the picture landscapes of the Holland countryside, through Hobbema avenues, and under the shadow of quaint Dutch church spires.
One does not go to a foreign land to enjoy only the things one sees in cities. Hotels, restaurants, and cafés are very similar all over Europe, and the great shops do not vary greatly in Rotterdam from those in Liverpool. It is with the small things of life, the doings of the butcher, the baker and the candlestick-maker that the change comes in. ”

“ Beyond, but in immediate proximity, lay the ancient episcopal city and province of Utrecht, over which lay the road to the adjacent Holland and Zeeland. The very heart of the republic would be laid bare to the conqueror's sword if he could once force the passage, and obtain the control of these two protecting streams. With Utrecht as his base, and all Brabant and Flanders—obedient provinces—at his back, Spinola might accomplish more in one season than Alva, Don John, and Alexander Farnese had compassed in forty years, and destroy at a blow what was still called the Netherland rebellion. ”

“ He was himself a born citizen of that province, and therefore especially interested in its welfare, and there was an old and intimate friendship between Utrecht and Holland. It would have been painful to him to see that splendid city in the control of an ignorant mob, making use of religious problems, which they did not comprehend, to plunder the property and take the lives of peaceful citizens more comfortably housed than themselves. ”

“ Delft, The Hague, Leyden, Harlem, Amsterdam, Sardam, Broek, Alkmaar, The Helder, and Utrecht. The programme will enable you to see all the interesting points of Holland, including the capital, the drained lake of Harlem, and the great dike of the Helder.
"The water of Holland is very bad, and drank in any considerable quantities would probably make you sick. Spring water, brought from Utrecht in stone jars, may be obtained in the large towns. Whenever it is practicable, I shall see that you are supplied with it; but avoid the common water. You will now resume your studies." ”

“ One knows, as one walks in the streets of Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam, or Utrecht, that each place is a microcosm devoted to its own particular and narrow interests, and in these respects they are survivals of the Italian cities of the Middle Ages. There is, indeed, great similarity in the style of buildings, and, with the exception of Maestricht, in the south of the country, which is mediæval and Flemish, one always feels that one is in Holland. ”

“ In fact, one quarter of the whole kingdom, consisting of the provinces of North and South Holland, the western portion of Utrecht as far as the Vaart Rhine, Zeeland, except the southern part of Zeeland-Flanders, and the north-west part of North Brabant, lies below the Amsterdam zero; and altogether 38% of the country, or all that part lying west of a line drawn through Groningen, Utrecht and Antwerp, lies within one metre above the Amsterdam zero and would be submerged if the sea broke down the barrier of dunes and dikes. ”

“ These old Dutch towns of the Zuyder-Zee are unique in all the world, and Amsterdam is the gateway to them. An automobile is useless for reaching them. The best means are those offered by existing boat and tram lines.
For Utrecht one leaves Amsterdam via the Amstel Dyke and the Utrechtsche Zyde, and after forty kilometres of roadway, mostly brick-paved like that between Haarlem and Amsterdam, he reaches suburban Utrecht. Utrecht, with but a hundred thousand inhabitants, has suburbs, reaching out in every direction, that would do justice to a city five times it size. ”