The
Bishopric of Utrecht was established in 695 when Saint
Willibrord was consecrated bishop of the
Frisians at
Rome by
Pope Sergius I. With the consent of the
Frankish ruler,
Pippin of Herstal, he settled in an old
Roman fort in
Utrecht. After Willibrord's death the diocese suffered greatly from the incursions of the
Vikings. Better times appeared during the reign of the
Saxon emperors, who frequently summoned the Bishops of Utrecht to attend the imperial councils and
diets. In 1024 the bishops were made Princes of the
Holy Roman Empire and the new Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht was formed. In 1122, with the
Concordat of Worms, the Emperor's right of investiture was annulled, and the cathedral chapter received the right to elect the bishop. It was, however, soon obligated to share this right with the four other collegiate chapters in the city. The Counts of
Holland and
Guelders, between whose territories the lands of the Bishops of Utrecht lay, also sought to acquire influence over the filling of the episcopal see. This often led to disputes and consequently the
Holy See frequently interfered in the election. After the middle of the 14th century the popes repeatedly appointed the bishop directly without regard to the five chapters. During the
Hook and Cod Wars, Utrecht was fought over by forces of the
Duke of Burgundy leading to the
First Utrecht Civil War (1470–1474) and
Second Utrecht Civil War (1481–1483). In 1527, the Bishop sold his territories, and thus his secular authority, to Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V and the principality became an integral part of the
Habsburg dominions, which already included most other Dutch provinces. The chapters transferred their right of electing the bishop to Charles V and his government, a measure to which
Pope Clement VII gave his consent, under political pressure after the
Sack of Rome. However, the Habsburg rule did not last long, as Utrecht joined in the
Dutch Revolt against Charles' successor
Philip II in 1579, becoming a part of the
Dutch Republic. In
World War II, Utrecht was held by German forces until the general capitulation of the Germans in the Netherlands on May 5, 1945. It was occupied by Canadian Allied forces on May 7, 1945. The towns of
Oudewater,
Woerden,
Vianen and
Leerdam were transferred from the province of
South Holland to Utrecht in 1970, 1989, 2002 and 2019 respectively. In February 2011, Utrecht, together with the provinces of
North Holland and
Flevoland, showed a desire to investigate the feasibility of a merger between the three provinces. This has been positively received by the
Dutch cabinet, for the desire to create one
Randstad province has already been mentioned in the
coalition agreement. The province of South Holland, part of the Randstad urban area, visioned to be part of the Randstad province, and very much supportive of the idea of a merger into one province, is not named. With or without South Holland, if created, the new province would be the largest in the Netherlands in both
area and population. == Geography ==