GRONINGEN (CITY)

'Groningen' is the capital city of the province of Groningen in the Netherlands. With a population of 185,000 it is by far the largest city in the north of the Netherlands.

Contents

History

Art, culture and nightlife

Museums

Theatre and music

Nightlife

Partner towns

Politics

Industry

Transport

Football stadium

Born in Groningen

Trivia

See also

References

External links

History

The city was founded on the northernmost point of the "Hondsrug" area. The most ancient document referring to Groningen's existence dates from the year 1040. However, the city already existed long before then, for the oldest archaeological traces found are believed to stem from the years 3950-3720 BC, although the first major settlement in Groningen has been traced back to the third century AD.

In the 13th century, when Groningen was an important trade center, its inhabitants built a city wall so as to declare its authority. The city had a strong influence on its surrounding lands and made its dialect a common tongue. The most influential period of the city was the end of the 15th century, when the nearby province of Friesland was mainly under its regulation. During these years, the Martini Tower was built, which loomed over the city at 127 meters tall. It was the highest building in Europe at that time. But an end came to the city's independence when it chose to join forces with the Spanish during the war in 1594. Later it switched sides, joining the Republic of the United Netherlands.
In 1614, the University of Groningen was founded, initially only for religious education. In the same period the city expanded rapidly and a new city wall was built. That same city wall would later, in 1672, be fiercely attacked by the bishop of Münster, Bernhard von Galen, but the wall resisted and Groningen kept its freedom. To this day, this event is celebrated on 28 August, when the city bustles with music and fireworks.
The city did not escape the devastation of World War II. In particular, the main square, ''Grote Markt'', was largely destroyed in April 1945, at the end of the war. However, the Martini Tower and its church, the 'Goudkantoor' (Gold office), and the City Hall were not damaged.

Art, culture and nightlife

Although Groningen is not a large city, it does have an important role as the main urban center of this part of the country, particularly in the fields of music and other arts, education, and business. The large number of students living in Groningen also contributes to a diverse cultural scene for a city of its size.

Museums

The most important and most famous museum in Groningen is the Groninger Museum. With the construction of its current building, designed by by Alessandro Mendini, the museum has been transformed into one of the most modern and innovative of its kind in the Netherlands. In addition, the city also has a science museum, a comics museum and a tobacco museum.

Theatre and music

Groningen has its own City Theatre (Stadsschouwburg), located on the Turfsingel, a big theatre and concert venue called "Martini Plaza" and another major cultural venue on the Trompsingel, called the "Oosterpoort." Then there is "Vera", located on the Oosterstraat, "Grand Theatre" on the Grote Markt and "Simplon" on the Boterdiep. Several cafes feature live music, a few of which specialize in jazz music, including "Jazzcafe De Spieghel" on the Peperstraat. The jazz music students from the Prins Claus Conservatorium have been known to hold regular jam sessions in cafes such as "Peter Pan" on the Voor Het Voormalige Klein Poortje.

Nightlife

Groningen's nightlife depends largely on its student population. Its cultural scene is vibrant and remarkable for a city of such a small size. In particular, the Grote Markt, the Vismarkt, and the Poelestraat and Peperstraat are crowded at night, especially on Thursdays and Fridays when some bars do not close until 7 in the morning. In 2006 Groningen was elected "de beste binnenstad" (the best city center) of the Netherlands.

Partner towns

The city is twinned with the following cities:^[1]

★ Graz

★ Jabalya

★ Kaliningrad

★ Katowice

★ Murmansk

★ Newcastle

★ Odense

★ Oldenburg

★ San Carlos

★ Tallinn

★ Tianjin

★ Zlin
and in addition with the state of Michigan

Politics

The city council has 39 members. The left-wing parties PvdA and GroenLinks are the largest. After the elections in 2002, they formed a coalition with CDA and VVD. Jacques Wallage has been the mayor since 1998. As a result of the elections of 2006, three left-wing parties (PvdA, GroenLinks and SP), decided to form a new coalition, which was appointed on April 26th, 2006.

Industry

There are two sugar factories within the municipality borders of Groningen, one operated by ''CSM'' and one by ''Suikerunie''. The factories produce around 600,000 tonnes of beet sugar annually (2005 figures).

Transport

Groningen has been called the "World Cycling City", since nearly 50% of journeys within the city are made by bicycle. The city is very much adapted to the wishes of those who want to get around without a car, as it has an extensive cycle network, good public transport, and a large pedestrianized zone in the city center.
The train station (served by the Nederlandse Spoorwegen and Arriva) has regular services to most of the major cities in the Netherlands, plus Schiphol Airport, and Germany.
There are also direct buses between Groningen (train station) and Bremen (airport), run by Public Express.

Football stadium

The football (soccer) stadium of FC Groningen is called Euroborg. Opened in January 2006, the stadium has 20,000 seats. The former football stadium of FC Groningen is the Oosterpark Stadion (12,500 seats).

Born in Groningen

★ Roche Braziliano (ca. 1635), pirate

★ Daniel Bernoulli (1700), mathematician and physicist

★ Jaap Eden (1873), athlete, world champion in speed skating and cycling

★ Julia Culp (1880), mezzo-soprano, the "Dutch nightingale"

★ Samuel van Houten (1837), politician, cabinet minister

★ Johan Huizinga (1872), historian

★ Jozef Israëls (1824), painter

★ Hendrik Willem Mesdag (1831), painter

★ Heike Kamerlingh Onnes (1853), physicist, Nobel laureate

★ Gerard Kemkers (1967), ice speed skater and coach

★ Ida Vos (1931), writer and poet

★ Wim T. Schippers (1942), artist, comedian

★ Corrie Winkel (1944), athlete, Olympic silver medalist

★ Joanna Gash (1944), Australian politician

★ Alfred Lagarde (1948), radio deejay

★ Jan Sloot (ca. 1945), inventor, claimed to have invented a revolutionary data compression technique

★ Rutger Smith (1981), athlete, world championship silver medalist

★ Stephan Veen (1970), athlete, Olympic field hockey champion

★ Kim Feenstra (1986), model, Champion of Holland's Next Top Model, Cycle 2

Trivia

★ The city is nationally known as the "Metropolis of the North" and as "Martinistad" referring to the Martini Tower.

★ The city is known as "Stad" in the local dialect, which simply translates as City, because Groningen is the only large city in the province of Groningen.

★ In the autumns months, the sugar factories produce a distinct sweet smell that can be detected from most parts of the city.

See also

★ Battle of Groningen

References

1. Partner towns on the city web site.

External links

★ Travelguide to Groningen from Wikitravel

★ Bus lines (PDF)

★ CSM sugar

★ Groningen Official Website

★ Groninger Museum

★ Publicexpress bus line

★ Tourist information

★ Map of Groningen

★ University of Groningen

★ Vera - club for the international pop underground

★ Webcam - shows Oude Ebbingestraat

★ Second World War History

★ Groningen on Google Maps

★ Shows 360°Fullscreen panos from groningen