During World War II, Utrecht was held by the Germans until the general German surrender of the Netherlands on 5 May 1945. British and Canadian troops that had surrounded the city entered it after that surrender, on 7 May 1945. Following the end of World War II, the city grew considerably when new neighborhoods such as Overvecht, Kanaleneiland, Hoograven, and Lunetten were built. Around 2000, the Leidsche Rijn housing area was developed as an extension of the city to the west.
The area surrounding Utrecht Centraal railway station and the station itself was developed following modernist ideas of the 1960s, in a brutalist style. This development led to the construction of the shopping mall Hoog Catharijne, the music center Vredenburg (Hertzberger, 1979), and conversion of part of the ancient canal structure into a highway (Catherijnebaan). Protest against further modernization of the city center followed even before the last buildings were finalized. In the early 21st century, the whole area is undergoing change again. The redeveloped music center TivoliVredenburg opened in 2014 with the original Vredenburg and Tivoli concert and rock and jazz halls brought together in a single building.
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