The Oudegracht, or "old canal", runs through the center 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 ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. It starts in the southeast of the

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

. Here the

Kromme Rijn The Kromme Rijn () ("Crooked Rhine", for its many bends) is a river in the central Netherlands. In Roman times, this northernmost branch of the Rhine delta was the main distributary of this major European river. Along its banks the Romans buil ...

(the original main bed of the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

river) and the Vaartse Rijn (a medieval canal reconnecting Utrecht to the newer main stream of the Rhine, the

Lek Lek or LEK may refer to: * Lek mating, mating in a lek, a type of animal territory in which males of a species gather * Albanian lek, the currency of Albania * Lek (magazine), a Norwegian softcore pornographic magazine * Lek (pharmaceutical comp ...

) arrive to meet the original moat of the fortified town, and the Oudegracht goes from there into the center of town. Parts of the Oudegracht follow the original flow of the river

, but there is some disagreement on what parts. The northern part is most likely an early canal (app. 1000) connecting the Rhine section to the river Vecht. The southern part was started in 1122, after the water level of the Rhine in Utrecht dropped because of the new dam at Wijk bij Duurstede. The ground excavated was used to raise the sides of the canal, to reduce the chance of flooding. When the city's system of locks was finished in 1275 the water level was constant, enabling the creation of permanently dry cellars and new quays at water level, hence the typical

wharf A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths (mooring locatio ...

s ( nl, werven) below street level.

Warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities ...

s used to line the canal. Today many of these warehouses have been converted into restaurants and cafés.

Gallery

File:Oudegracht (Utrecht).jpg, Oudegracht by night File:Utrecht, RM-panden aan de Oudegracht 107-119oneven foto7 2015-11-01 10.11.jpg, Monumental houses at the Oudegracht File:Utrecht, de Jansbrug met monumentale panden aan de Oudegracht (RM36502 en 36503) foto5 2015-11-01 10.18.jpg, Bridge (de Jansbrug) with monumental houses File:Utrecht, de Planeet en de Viebrug foto8 2015-11-01 10.47.jpg, Shopping mall (de Planeet) and bridge (de Viebrug) File:Utrecht, de Vismarkt-Choorstraat vanaf de Maartensbrug foto5 2015-11-01 11.07.jpg, View to de Vismarkt-Choorstraat from bridge (de Maartensbrug) File:Utrecht, de Winkel van Sinkel RM31051 foto8 2015-11-01 10.03.jpg, Shop: de Winkel van Sinkel Canals in the Netherlands Canals in Utrecht (province) History of Utrecht (city) Buildings and structures in Utrecht (city) Transport in Utrecht (city) {{Utrecht-geo-stub