Houten

• City

Houten is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht.Population centresThe municipality consists of the following towns: 't Goy Houten Schalkwijk Tull en 't WaalHouten (town)The main town in the municipality is Houten, a commuter town about 9 km southeast of Utrecht. On 1 January 2012, the town had 48,314 (CBS) inhabitants. The built-up area was 5.08km2 in area, and contained 18,451 residences. The slightly larger statistical district of Houten had a population of about 39,100 in 2004.History of HoutenRemains of a Roman villa have been found in the old centre of Houten, made visible in a street pattern. There used to be a Roman villa on that spot. This building was discovered in the fifties. In the Dark Ages Houten took shape as a rural centre. The area of the municipality of Houten was divided in the so-called 'gerechten' (districts). The names of these districts are still in use: Schonauwen, Wulven, Waijen, Heemstede. A lot of elements in present-day Houten are reminders of its history. Prominent in the old centre 'Het Oude Dorp' are the Roman Catholic Church (1884) and the Protestant Church (1563). The first accounts of this church date from the ninth century, the oldest parts of the church are probably from the eleventh century. Another prominent building is the restaurant/cafe 'De Engel', already mentioned in the 16th century as a tavern. Former access roads to the old centre are still recognisable by their names, such as the 'Odijkseweg' and 'Loerikseweg'. Houten had many orchards, but few have survived.