Utrecht Heritage Day 2025: Icons of Utrecht
This year Utrecht Heritage Day will take place on Saturday September 13th 2025.
Utrecht Heritage Day celebrates the many monuments that the city has to offer. More than 90 monuments open their doors to the public. These iconic buildings show the rich and various histories of Utrecht.
Heritage & Architecture
Utrecht has reinvented itself time and again over the centuries. The architecture reflects the city’s rich history, and each monument is tangible evidence of a particular era. Medieval icons such as the Gothic St. Jacob’s Church and the imposing Dom Church clearly represent a different architectural style than the 19th-century neo-Gothic St. Willibrord’s Church and St. Gertrude’s Cathedral. Yet to mention the 20th century, which also produced some unmistakable icons. Think of the New Objectivity movement, of which Villa Jongerius is a prime example. This monument shows how functionality and aesthetics can reinforce each other, and how architecture responds to social and technological changes.
Famous heritage and hidden gems
Utrecht is filled with old churches, palaces and monasteries. You can visit the Dom church, Lofen Palace, and some of the many university buildings. A special highlight this year is the Inktpot. The largest brick building in the Netherlands can rightly be called an Utrecht icon. Besides that, Utrecht knows several other UNESCO World Heritage Sites, such as the Rietveld Schröderhouse, the Dutch Waterline Forts and the remains of the Roman Limes. Still, make sure you don’t miss out on the lesser known – but impressive – monuments! Examples are the Muntgebouw, that used to produce coins and banknotes, and young monuments like The Gebouw, conceptualised by artist Stanley Brouwn.
Most monuments organize on-site activities such as exhibitions, musical performances and guided tours. All monuments and activities can be found on our website, the Open Monumentendag app or in the special Monumentsnewspaper that will be distributed in the city from September 5th. Please note: most activities are in Dutch, translations cannot be provided.
Our English leaflet introduces 23 highlights in the city center of Utrecht. The numbers correspond to the number of the sites on the map. You can download the English leaflet here.