Groningen (city)

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Groningen (or Grunn in the local dialect) is a municipality and a middle-size city in the north of the Netherlands, and capital of Groningen province. The city is regarded as the most important city of the northernmost provinces of the Netherlands. Groningen is also known informally as Stad (City) and Groot Loug (Big Village). Citizens of the city of Groningen are known as Stadjers.

Contents

1 Population centres
2 The city of Groningen
3 Sister cities
4 Politics
5 Industry
6 Transport
7 Football stadium
8 See also
9 External links

Population centres

Dorkwerd — Engelbert — Groningen — Hoogkerk — Leegkerk — Middelbert — Noorddijk — Noorderhoogebrug — Oosterhogebrug — Roodehaan — Ruischerbrug — Vierverlaten.

The city of Groningen

Martinitoren at The Grote Markt

The city is noted for its Martinitoren (Martini Tower), the fifth tallest church tower in the Netherlands. The 97 metre (318 ft) tall tower, which is known among locals as "d'Olle Grieze" (The Old Grey One), was completed in 1482. The spire then reached 127 metres (416'8"). The spire burnt down in 1577. The current tower dates back to 1627.

The tower overlooks the Grote Markt (Large Market) a large pedestrian square in the centre of the city. The Grote Markt is the heart of the city and hosts outdoor markets selling items such as clothes, jewellry and CDs several times per week. The adjacent Vismarkt (Fish Market) houses the city's regular food market.

Groningen is the home of the University of Groningen and the Hanzehogeschool Groningen. The city is also known for its large student community: about 40 000 students on a total population of 175 000 inhabitants. Because of this large number of students the city has a vibrant student nightlife, lots of cultural activities and a high participation of students which join a Student Union of which Vindicat is the biggest.

The city also has a strong underground culture. Groningen is home to the internationally renowned Vera nightclub. Local music scenes include punk, gothic and metal.

Another well-known place in Groningen is the Groninger Museum. Opened in 1994 the building became a well known highlight in the world of art. Designed by the architects Philippe Starck, Alessandro Mendini and Coop Himmelblau, the museum is built in the shape of a ship. Built as if floating in water in a very modern, futuristic and colourful style it is the home to various expositions of local, national and international works of art, most of them modern.

Groninger Museum

The public park Noorderplantsoen north of the city centre is a popular place for recreation and sports, especially for students. Annually, the theater and crossover festival Noorderzon takes place in the park.

In April 2005, the city of Groningen at the time set a new record for the World's Biggest Pillow fight with 2997 people.

Sister cities

The city is twinned with the British city, Newcastle.

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

Groningen has two sugar factories, operated by CSM and Suikerunie. The output of the factories is large with around 600,000 tonnes of beet sugar produced in a year (2005 figures).

Transport

Railways:

(East) Winschoten, Nieuweschans, In Nieuweschans possibility to change trains to Leer, Lower Saxony, Germany.
(North) Roodeschool/Delfzijl
(West) Buitenpost, Leeuwarden
(South) Zwolle, Amersfoort, Schiphol/Utrecht/Rotterdam/The Hague

Buses:

local lines operated by Arriva.
Publicexpress, connecting directly to Oldenburg (Germany)

Road (Motorways):

(West/A7) Drachten, Leeuwarden, Amsterdam
(South/A28) Assen, Zwolle, Utrecht
(East/A7) Winschoten, Nieuweschans, Oldenburg

Airport:

Groningen Airport Eelde in Eelde (Drenthe province)

Football stadium

The former football (soccer) stadium of Groningen is called Oosterpark Stadion (12,500 seats). This stadium used to be the home of the football club FC Groningen. As of January 2006, the club plays home games in the new stadium, the Euroborg (20,500 seats). The Euroborg is nicknamed "De groene kathedraal" (the green cathedral) and also called "De groene hel" (the green hell) by opponents of FC Groningen.

redirect [[Template:Groningen Province]]

[[nds-nl:Grunnen (stad)]]

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