Groningen

Groningen
Groningen
	— Municipality / Ceety —
	; Banner
	; Coat o airms
	Coordinates: 53°13′N 6°33′E / 53.217°N 6.55°E
Kintra	Netherlands
Province	Groningen
Municipality	Groningen
	Govrenment
- Mayor	Peter Rehwinkel (PvdA)
	Aurie(2006)
- Tot	83.69 km2 (32.3 sq mi)
- Land	79.59 km2 (30.7 sq mi)
- Wattir	4.10 km2 (1.6 sq mi)
	Indwallers (30 November 2010)
- Tot	190,166
- Densitie	2,324/km2 (Expression error: Unrecognised word "roond"./sq mi)
	Source: CBS, Statline.
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Simmer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)

For ither uses, see Groningen (disambiguation).

Groningen (Template:IPA-nl, locally Template:IPA-nl; Gronings: Grunnen; Wast Frisie: Grins) is the main municipality in as well as the caipital ceety o the eponymous province in the Netherlands. Wi a population o aroond 190,000, it is bi far the lairgest ceety in the north o the Netherlands. Groningen is a university ceety, inhabitit on average bi aboot 50,000 students.

Table o contents

1 History
2 Internaitional relations
- 2.1 Twin touns – Sister ceeties
3 References

[edit] History

Map o Groningen, 1925.

The ceety wis foondit on the northmaist point o the Hondsrug aurie. The auldest document referrin tae Groningen's existence dates frae 1040. Housomeivver, the ceety awready existit lang afore then: the auldest airchaeological traces foond are believit tae stem frae the years 3950 BCE–3720 BCE, although the first major settlement in Groningen haes been tracit back tae the 3rd century CE.

In the 13t century, when Groningen wis an important trade centre, its inhabitants built a ceety wall tae unnerline its authority. The ceety haed a strang influence on the surroondin lands an made its dialect a common tongue. The maist influential period o the ceety wis the end o the 15th century, when the nearbi province o Friesland wis admeenistered frae Groningen. Durin these years, the Martini Tower wis built, which loomit ower the ceety at (then) 127 metres tall, makkin it the heichest biggin in Europe at the time. The ceety's unthirldom came tae an end when it chose tae join forces wi the Spainyie durin the Aichty Years' War in 1594. It later switched sides, joining the Republic o the Seiven Unitit Netherlands.

In 1614, the University o Groningen wis foondit, initially anerlie for religious education. In the same period the ceety expandit rapidly an a new ceety waw wis built. That same ceety waw was testit durin the Third Anglo-Dutch War in 1672, when the ceety wis attacked fiercely bi the bishop o Münster, Bernhard von Galen. The ceety waws resistit, an event which is celebratit wi muisic an firewirks on 28 August (as "Groningens Ontzet" or "Bommen Berend").