Netherlands Utrecht

Utrecht is the fourth largest city in the Netherlands. 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 8C. It is the see of the Archbishop of Utrecht, the most important Dutch Roman Catholic leader, as well as 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. Utrecht is host to the largest university in the Netherlands, as well as several other institutes for higher education. It has the second highest number of cultural events in the Netherlands, after Amsterdam.

Amersfoort is a municipality and the second largest city of the province of Utrecht in central Netherlands. The city is growing quickly but has a well-preserved and protected medieval centre. Amersfoort is one of the largest railway junctions in the country, because of its location on two of the Netherlands' main east-west and north-south rail lines. The city celebrated its 750th birthday in 2009. Amersfoort is home to several impressive museums. The city also has a zoo, DierenPark Amersfoort, which was founded in 1948.

Bunschoten is located in the province of Utrecht. Its territory comprises the original municipality of Bunschoten (created in 1204 by the bishop of Utrecht) and the former municipality of Duyst, De Haar and Zevenhuizen, which was a part of Hoogland from 1854 until 1971. Bunschoten was first named in 1294. It was located on the border between Utrecht and Guelders, and it suffered a number of times from invasions from Guelders. In 1383, the bishop of Utrecht gave Bunschoten city rights, which allowed the citizens to build an earthen wall around the town. The fortifications and a part of the town were destroyed at Christmas 1427 in a war between two rival bishops, and were never rebuilt.