UTRECHT, one of the seven United Provinces, or States of Holland, wholly surrounded by Holland and Guelderland, excepting a small part of it that borders on the Zuyder-Zee. Its greatest length is about 32 miles, and breadth about 22. It enjoys a good air; and in most places the soil is fruitful, but in some sandy, or what is called turf-ground, and in others over-run with wood. It is watered by the Leek, Rhine, Vecht, and other smaller rivers, besides several canals; of which that extending from the village of Vreeswyk to Utrecht is one of the chief. The states here, as in the other provinces, are composed of the nobility and the towns; the latter of which are Utrecht, Amersfoort, Wyk, Rheden, and Montfoort; but Utrecht bears the chief sway. The bishops of that city were anciently temporal lords of the province, as well as of Overijssel, till Henry of Bavaria sold the sovereignty thereof to Charles V. In 1559 the fee of Utrecht was raised to an archbishopric by Philip II. of Spain. In 1579 it acceded to the alliance of the other provinces, and became a free state. The provincial states are composed of 22 members, and three deputies are sent by them to the assembly of the States-general. The established clergy are divided into three classes, making 79 ministers, of whom a synod is held once a year at Utrecht.