Everything about Groningen City totally explained
Groningen is the capital city of the province of
Groningen in the
Netherlands. With a population of 185,000, it's by far the largest city in the north of the Netherlands.
Groningen is a University city with more than 45,000 students.
History
The city was founded on the northernmost point of the
Hondsrug area. The oldest document referring to Groningen's existence dates from
1040. However, the city already existed long before then: 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
3rd century AD.
In the 13th century, when Groningen was an important trade center, its inhabitants built a
city wall to underline its authority. The city had a strong influence on the 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 administered from Groningen. During these years, the
Martini Tower was built, which loomed over the city at (then) 127 metres tall, making it the highest building in Europe at the time. The city's independence came to an end when it chose to join forces with the
Spanish during the
Eighty Years' War in 1594. It later switched sides, joining the
Republic of the Seven 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 was tested during the
Third Anglo-Dutch War in 1672, when the city was attacked fiercely by the
bishop of Münster,
Bernhard von Galen. The city walls resisted, an event which is celebrated with music and
fireworks on
28 August.
The city didn't 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 Martinitoren, its church, the
Goudkantoor, and the city hall were not damaged. The battle there lasted several days.
Art, culture and nightlife
Although Groningen isn't 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.
University of Groningen
The University of Groningen (in Dutch:
Rijksuniversiteit Groningen) has a rich academic tradition which dates back to 1614. After the University of Leiden, it's the oldest university located in the Netherlands. The university educated the first female student and the first astronaut in the history of the country, the first president of the European Bank and a Nobel prize winner. They share their academic roots with around 200,000 people, who were either students, teachers or researchers at the university.
Museums
The most important and most famous museum in Groningen is the
Groninger Museum. With the construction of its current building, designed 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. Vera is 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 Spiegel 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 and café De Smederij on the Tuinstraat 2-4.
Nightlife
Groningen's nightlife depends largely on its student population. Its cultural scene is vibrant and remarkable for a city of its 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 don't close until 7 in the morning. In 2006, Groningen was elected "de beste binnenstad" (the best city centre) of the Netherlands.
Partner towns
The city is
twinned with the following cities:
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 26,
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 57% 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. In the Italian TV program of investigative journalism "Report" appeared a short movie
(External Link
), considering the use of bikes in Groningen a good practice to emulate in Italy.
The main 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. Besides the main station, Groningen has two additional smaller train stations.
There are also direct buses between Groningen (train station) and
Bremen (airport) in Germany, run by
Public Express.
The
A28 motorway connects the city of Groningen to
Utrecht (via
Zwolle and
Amersfoort). The
A7 motorway connects Groningen to
Friesland and
Amsterdam (South-West) and
Winschoten and the direction of
Bremen in the East.
Climate
Groningen has a moderate temperate climate, with relative warm summers and cool winters. Weather is influenced by the North Sea to the north-west and its prevailing north-western winds and gales. Winter temperatures are cool: on average above freezing, although frosts are not uncommon during spells of easterly winds blowing in from the inner European continent, i. e. Germany, Russia and even Siberia. Night-time tempuratures of -10 °C or lower are not uncommon during cold winter periods. The lowest temperature ever recorded is -26.8 °C on February 16th 1956. Snow occasionally falls, but rarely stays long due to warmer day-time temperatures. Summers are somewhat warm and humid. Temperatures of 30 °C or higher occur, but most average daytime high's are around 21-24 °C. Very rainy periods are common, especially in spring and summer. Average annual precipitation is about 900 mm.
| Month |
JAN |
FEB |
MAR |
APR |
MAY |
JUN |
JUL |
AUG |
SEP |
OCT |
NOV |
DEC |
Year |
Avg high °C
(°F) | 4.6
(41.7) |
5.2
(42.8) |
8.8
(48.6) |
12.4
(54.3) |
17.2
(62.8) |
19.6
(66.6) |
21.6
(70.5) |
22.1
(71.2) |
18.4
(65.1) |
13.7
(57.4) |
8.6
(48.6) |
5.7
(43.7) |
13.2
(56.1)
|
Avg low °C
(°F) | -0.6
(32.9) |
-0.6
(32.4) |
1.4
(36.3) |
2.9
(39.2) |
6.7
(46.0) |
9.3
(50.7) |
11.5
(54.5) |
11.3
(54.1) |
9.0
(50.4) |
5.8
(44.6) |
2.7
(39.0) |
0.7
(35.4) |
5.0
(43.0)
|
| Source: (External Link) |
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
Albert Eckhout (1610), painter
Jozef Israëls (1824), painter
Hendrik Willem Mesdag (1831), painter
Samuel van Houten (1837), politician, cabinet minister
Heike Kamerlingh Onnes (1853), physicist, Nobel laureate
Johan Huizinga (1872), historian
Jaap Eden (1873), athlete, world champion in speed skating and cycling
Julia Culp (1880), mezzo-soprano, the "Dutch nightingale"
A. W. L. Tjarda van Starkenborgh Stachouwer (1888), last governor of the Dutch East Indies (modern Indonesia)
Jan C. Uiterwijk (1915), Athlete, Shipping tycoon
Ida Vos (1931), writer and poet
Wim T. Schippers (1942), artist, comedian
Corrie Winkel (1944), athlete, Olympic silver medalist
Joanna Gash (1944), Australian politician
Jan Sloot (ca. 1945), inventor, claimed to have invented a revolutionary data compression technique
Alfred Lagarde (1948), radio deejay
Gerard Kemkers (1967), ice speed skater and coach
Stephan Veen (1970), athlete, Olympic field hockey champion
Rutger Smith (1981), athlete, world championship silver medalist
Kim Feenstra (1986), model, Champion of Holland's Next Top Model, Cycle 2
Robert Mulder (1943), photographer
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.Further Information
Get more info on 'Groningen City'.
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