Oog in Al

Oog in Al is a residential area in the west of the city of Utrecht in the Netherlands. The Amsterdam–Rhine Canal, the Merwede Canal and the Leidse Rijn canal form the area's limits, rendering it a man-made island in the shape of a triangle. From the 12th century, the area of present-day Oog in Al was part of the 'Trechter Weide', the communal meadow of the city of Utrecht. The meadow was divided in the 'Hoge Weide' and 'Lage Weide' (high meadow and low meadow), divided by a canal, the Vletsloot. Oog in Al was later built in the 'Hoge Weide' part of the communal meadow. The Leidse Rijn was dug in 1663–1664 as a water transport link between Utrecht and Leiden. The Utrecht nobleman Everard Meyster built a residential estate in a curve of the new canal, where a new city expansion planned by mayor Hendrik Moreelse, could best be viewed. For this reason Meyster called his estate "Oog in Al" (Eye on All).