Groningen (province)

Introduction

Martinitoren, Groningen

© All Rights Reserved Herr Bert

Groningen is the northernmost province of the Netherlands. Its capital city is also called Groningen. This name comes from a town called, 'villa Cruoninga', which was founded as early as 1040. ^[1].

Groningen even has its own anthem: “Het Grönnens Laid”, which literally means 'the song of Groningen'. The text, in the dialect of the province, was written in 1919 by Geert Teis Pzn. of Stadskanaal and the music was composed by G.R. Jager of Slochteren. The song was arranged by Frieso Molenaar.

The province has about 575,000 inhabitants, 181,000 of whom live in the capital city. ^[2].

Geography

Cities

• Groningen, the capital of the province with the Martini tower as its main landmark.

Sights and Activities

• Schiermonnikoog, one of the Wadden Islands and reachable by boat.

Events and Festivals

Eurosonic & Noorderslag

In the second weekend on January, there is one of the biggest music conventions of Europe coming to Groningen. The days of the business people are filled with seminars at the Oosterpoort, but on thursday and friday evening there is music in a lot of cafés in the center of Groningen. If you want to watch a couple of the upcoming European bands before they become big, this is the place to be. On saturday there is Noorderslag an evening at the Oosterpoort with only dutch bands. Tickets for both events are limited.

Weather

Groningen and other parts of the north have a slightly cooler summer as well as a colder winter on average compared to more central parts of the country. That said, differences are only little and the coastal areas enjoy more sun than inland parts.

Getting There

By Plane

Groningen has international and domestic flights leaving from Groningen Airport Eelde, about 10 kilometres from the city centre. Destinations include Aberdeen, Antalya, Corfu, Dalaman, Faro, Heraklion, Kos, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, Rhodes and Tenerife.

By Train

Although Groningen is the northern most city in the country, train connections are fast and frequent with travelling times about 2 hours from both Utrecht and Amsterdam. Check the National Railways website for details.

By Car

From Groningen the national highway A28 runs south to Utrecht. Also the A7 is an important highway running from Bremen in Germany all the way to Amsterdam through the northern provinces of the Netherlands, crossing the famous Afsluitdijk, built to prevent floodings from the sea. If is a short route from the province of Friesland to North Holland, passing by Groningen.

By Bus

Groningen is one of the places in the Netherlands that is a destination of Eurolines.

By Boat

There is a ferry connection between Eemshaven and the German island of Borkum.

Getting Around

By Train

Groningen does not have a lot of trainlines. There is one line going to the west connecting to Leeuwarden in Friesland, one going east, heading to Nieuweschans and from there into Germany, and two heading to the northeast with the destinations Roodeschool and Winschoten.

By Car

There are only two motorways in Groningen, one is coming from the south (A28) and connects the city of Groningen with places further south, like Assen, Amersfoort and Utrecht, and Apeldoorn and Arnhem (via A50). The second motorway runs from the west to the east through the province which is the A7, this one connects to the A28 in the city of Groningen, and crosses the German border at Nieuweschans. To the west the A7 connects to Sneek in Friesland and if you drive even further across the afsluitdijk to Noord-Holland. For the rest of the province you have to rely on N-road (National routes), and because apart from the city of Groningen itself there is not too much traffic this serve it's function.

By Bus

Regional buses connect the smaller villages to the bigger towns like Groningen and Veendam. There are different companies running different lines. There is a busstation at the ferry terminal in Lauwersoog for the the ferry to Schiermonnikoog, busroute 163 connects this terminal and the city of Groningen.

Public transport information and tools to plan your trips in Groningen (and the rest of the Netherlands) can be found on: www.9292.nl

By Boat

There are ferries from the mainland town of Lauwersoog to the island of Schiermonnikoog, one of the Wadden Islands and chosen in 2006 as the most beautiful place in the Netherlands. For details about schedules and fares of the ferry, check the Wagenborg website.

Eat

Drink

Sleep