Centrally located, Utrecht is the smallest of the twelve provinces. The capital of the province, which bears the same name as the province, has a long and influential history. Roman period Utrecht is almost 2000 years old. It all began with a Roman fortification established in 47 AD as part of the reinforcements along the Rhine river against invasions from Germania. The Latin word for a river crossing was Trajectum or Ultra Trajectum, which was later mispronounced as Ultrajectum, Trecht and then