Groningen is a city in The Netherlands with 180.000 inhabitants and is the capital of Groningen. Since 1614 the city has its university: the `Rijksuniversiteit Groningen'. The city Groningen was founded around 1100 A.D. and has a rich history, which can clearly be told from the old medieval buildings in the down town area.
Get in
By train
Groningen has two train stations, the central station (Centraal Station) and the northern station (Station Noord). Most trains arrive at the central station. There is a direct connection from Amsterdam and from Schiphol airport to Groningen. The direct train ride from Schiphol/Amsterdam takes about 2:30 hours. Utrecht - Groningen city takes exactly 2 hours by train and puts you in the middle of the city.
By bus
All buses going to Groningen go directly to the central Station.
So only a bus that is going to another direction does not go the the central station.
By car
Driving in the old city is not the best option; parking is not always easy to find, none of it free.
There is a P&R facility to the east of the city, near the sports fields/hall. It is clearly marked when driving on the ring road. Parking there is free, and for a couple of euros a regular bus service takes you right to (and from) the Grote Markt, the heart of the city, within a couple of minutes.
Get around
By bike
Getting from any place in Groningen to the centre will take at most 20 minutes by bike. This makes the bike a fast, cheap and easy way to travel Groningen. Don't get scared by the overwhelming amount of bicycles. The city houses tens of thousands of students, whose primary means of transportation is the bike. Be advised though; bicycle theft is pretty high so use a good lock.
See
Like most cities in The Netherlands, Groningen's city center is surrounded by a canal.
Do
Buy
Eat
The centre of Groningen has many nice little cafes or restaurants where you can eat.
Groningen is a real university city, so there are plenty of cafe-restaurants where you can eat for less than €10.
You can find all restaurants on IENS, here are a few nice ones;
Drink
Groningen's reputation as university town is borne out in its nightlife, which is comprehensive, with numerous options for drinking and clubbing. There are also several places to play pool/billiards. Most bars have the standard Dutch beers, but more and more international, especiall Belgian, beers are beginning to have a presence. Bars in the down town area do not have fixed closing hours. Theoretically they can stay open for 24 hours a day, which a few bars do.
Coffeeshops
Groningen also has a few excellent coffeeshops, where you can buy and smoke cannabis products at a reasonable price.
The Glory, just off Zuiderdiep at the end of the Steentilstraat, is popular with lots of foreign students, and close to all major busstops on the Zuiderdiep. Dees (Donkergang), above which is a cool bar, de Zolder (where you can smoke), Metamophose (Oude Boteringestraat), Driemaster (Nieuweweg), which has the same owner as Dees, Dr. Anders (Gelkingestraat), Upper 10 (Steentilstraat) and Oasis on Meeuwwerderweg (only open till 7pm and not on Sundays) - which has good marijuana but is quite expensive, and also check out de Vliegende Hollander on Zuiderdiep opposite the Pathé cinema. Alcohol is not served in any of the coffeeshops. This is prohibited by law in the whole of the Netherlands.
Sleep
Camping Stadspark is a camping ground in the Stadspark.
NH Hotel De Ville****, Oude Boteringestraat 43, 9712 GD GRONINGEN, T: +31 (0)50 3181222,
F: +31 (0)50 3181777, E-mail: nhhoteldeville@nh-hotels.com, Url: www.deville.nl
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 Netherlands. Approximately 40,000 students are enrolled at the city's educational institutions Hanzehogeschool and Rijksuniversiteit.
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:
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
Trivia
See also
External links
