She is proud to have introduced tango in Utrecht. On sunny Thursday evenings a civil servant opens the windows, puts speakers on the windowsill and the dancing starts.

Shatter Hassan was the hero of a Middle Eastern fairytale, but in Utrecht he became involved with the underworld and lost everything.

Once a refugee from Turkey, she’s now creating a painting of the Treaty of Utrecht. It becomes a personal essay on liberty and peace.

Painter Roelandt Savery lived here and named the house ‘The Emperor’s Weapon’, in reference to his time serving the Habsburg Emperor Rudolf II in Prague.

His father was sent to Indonesia as a young man in the army and refused to talk about it later. Now his son created a composition that expresses his father’s immense fears.

The filmmaker is touched by the sad faith of Shatter Hassan: “I gained so much respect for him. The same thing could have happened to anyone, including me.”

In the 17th century Utrecht was the leading city for the art of painting. His students lived behind the house of the painter and even Rubens was a visitor here

Four artists created a ceramic mural on the place where poet Ingmar Heytze’s grandfather used to work as a designer.

Utrera, a small town near Seville, is the birthplace of flamenco. Because of it’s numerous fans of the dance, Utrecht was nicknamed ‘Utrera del Norte’.

He was a famous abroad for his surrealism, but here his paintings would be banned from exhibitions. Yet, the obstacles only made him more determined.

He wrote: “Only in my poems can I make my home. I have found shelter in no other form.” It set the tone for his entire oeuvre.

When he was still a young boy, he once passed by the police station and the cops made him write lines of punishments. “You wait,” he told them, “when I grow up I will own this place.”

The worlds he creates are as elusive as they are familiar. Like they were always there but only became visible now as a result of his drawings.

This museum inspired him as a young boy. Now he turns old masters into terrorist scouts, blind prostitutes and girlfriends as crusaders.

With seemingly simple lines, Dick Bruna’s books not only enchant children of all ages, but also a new generation of designers world-wide.

No one ever described the old Utrecht of the thirties so clearly and touching as this writer, according to insiders like illustrator Peter Vos.

The poet tries to enlarge his habitat, but sometimes his poetic vision and the harshness of reality don’t combine.

The writer made little notes about everything he observed. Later he would use them for his stories, like ‘Music over the water’ and ‘The festive life’.

Dirkje Kuik had a love-hate relationship with her hometown. Even the part of the Dom church that remained after a big storm became a ruin in her hands.

Almost everything he designed was destroyed later, but this city palace remains an example of his characteristic clear forms, curved lines and sober but striking decorations.

During her studies, art had to be politically engaged. This engagement still shines through in her work today, like the statue of Lady Justice.

He loved to experiment, that’s why he created the famous Rietveld-Schröderhouse. When the municipality decided to build a highway next to it, he wanted to brake down the house.

He hated the city so he fled to the countryside. On one of his last paintings you can see the Dom Tower sinking in the sea.

This famous composer and jazz musician is always looking for new creations. In the Dom Church he works on he new composition with organist Berry van Berkum.