Austerlitz () is a village in the Dutch province of

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

. It is a part of the municipality of

Zeist Zeist () is the capital and largest town of the municipality of Zeist. The town is located in the Utrecht province of the Netherlands, east of the city of Utrecht. History The town of "Seist" was first mentioned in a charter in the year 83 ...

, and lies about 6 km east of Zeist.

History

In 1804, an army camp was established at the site, called French camp. The town was founded on 17 August 1806 on the location of the camp. It was given its name by King Louis Napoleon of

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

in honour of the victory of his brother, emperor

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

in the

Battle of Austerlitz The Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805/11 Frimaire An XIV FRC), also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important and decisive engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle occurred near the town of Austerlitz in ...

. In 1840, it was home to 233 people. Close to the town, there is an artificial hill called the

Pyramid of Austerlitz The Pyramid of Austerlitz is a 36-metre-high pyramid of earth, built in 1804 by Napoleon's soldiers on one of the highest points of the Utrecht Hill Ridge, in the municipality of Woudenberg, the Netherlands. Atop the pyramid is a stone obelisk fr ...

(), actually part of the municipality

Woudenberg Woudenberg () is a municipality and a town in the central Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. There are forests in the western part of the municipality. The Pyramid of Austerlitz is located in the municipality. Etymology The name Woudenber ...

. It used to have a wooden

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...

, but was removed in 1808 due to instability. In 1894, a stone obelisk added to the top.

Gallery

File:Austerlitz 2.jpg, Bandstand in Austerlitz File:Austerlitz De Hoeksteen.jpg, Church in Austerlitz File:Austerlitz Dorpsplein 10.jpg, House in Austerlitz File:Austerlitz Dorpspomp.jpg, Village pump

References

Populated places in Utrecht (province) Zeist 1806 establishments in the Netherlands {{Utrecht-geo-stub