As a Singaporean living abroad, who now calls Utrecht city my home, I am still constantly exploring and getting to know this lesser known Dutch city (compared to Amsterdam!) To kick-off the long list of blog posts I have planned for Utrecht, here are 3 fun facts I’ve learnt about this lovely city.
#1 The tallest church tower in the Netherlands!
The Dom Toren (Dom Tower) is the pride of Utrecht and a defining landmark of this city. Standing at 112m high, it is the tallest church tower in the Netherlands. It was also one of the largest towers constructed in Europe in the 14th century and stands at the spot where the city of Utrecht was founded some 2000 years ago.
#2 World’s largest bicycle parking lot!
Utrecht is a bicycle-friendly city with over 125,000 cyclists who ride to their work, school, university, public transport, shops or home through the city centre, everyday. The first fietspad (bicycle path) was in Utrecht in 1885, the street is called Maliebaan. In 2018, the world’s largest bicycle parking lot under Utrecht Centraal Train Station was completed, beating the current title-holder – Kasai underground station in Tokyo. The parking lot measures at 17,100 square metres and is able to house up to 12,500 bikes.
#3 Top 5 happiest place
In 2013, Utrecht City was listed as one of the top 5 happiest places in the world by BBC. This was based on the World Happiness Report, released in September 2013 by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. The report measured the wellbeing of residents in more than 150 countries, based on six key factors: GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, having someone to count on, perceived freedom to make life choices, freedom from corruption, and generosity. The Netherlands ranked 4th with a score of 7.512 out of 10. You can read more about the other 4 cities here!
Bonus fact: The first CatVideoFest in the Netherlands was in Utrecht last year
In 2019, Cinema Louis Hartlooper celebrated International Cat day with the pre-premiere of CatVideoFest 2019. CatVideoFest, a compilation reel of the latest and best cat videos, is shown all over the world and 2019 was first time that the cat sensation was shown in the cinema in the Netherlands. Besides Utrecht, the videos are also screened in Groningen and Rotterdam. Part of the profits from the event was donated to local cat shelters and animal welfare organizations!
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