Utrecht (province) Utrecht (province) Utrecht () is a province of the Netherlands. It is located in the centre of the country, bordering the Eemmeer in the north, the province of Gelderland in the east, the river Rhine and Lek in the south, the province of South Holland in the west and the province of North Holland in the north-west. With an area of approximately , it is the smallest of the twelve Dutch provinces. Apart from its eponymous capital, major cities in the province are Amersfoort, Houten, Nieuwegein, Veenendaal, IJsselstein and Zeist. In the International Organization for Standardization world region code system
Utrecht than 50 years before it was demolished in an uprising in the early stages of the Dutch Revolt. In 1579 the northern seven provinces signed the Union of Utrecht, in which they decided to join forces against Spanish rule. The Union of Utrecht is seen as the beginning of the Dutch Republic. In 1580, the new and predominantly Protestant state abolished the bishoprics, including the archbishopric of Utrecht. The stadtholders 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 province Holland. This