Groningen Landmarks and Architecture

Typically Groningen

Before I tell you more about Groningen Landmarks and architecture, here are some fast facts:

Groningen has 200.00 residents and the average age of it’s population is the lowest/youngest in the Netherlands. This has everything to do with the cities university and the 50.000 students that live in Groningen.

Lucky students, being schooled in the most amazing historical buildings of Groningen!

Anecdote:

I loved the liveliness and young atmosphere when I lived in Groningen. I was in my twenties at the time and went dancing in nightclubs at least three times a week. In summer, the bar-terraces around the Grote Markt (big market square) were crowded till way after midnight. Live music in abundance everywhere.
Good times, folks, good times.

Ok, back to the Groningen of today. Referred to as a water-city, since it is surrounded by water. And by the beautiful province Groningen. (More about Groningen province in another article.)

Groningen city is great for biking, walking and shopping. You can even do water-biking and kayaking!

Groningen’s charming center.

Narrow alleys and tiny underpasses definitely belong to Groningen’s charm, as far as I’m concerned.

Groningen Landmarks and Architecture

The city’s main landmarks are:

• Groningen Museum (read my next blogpost about this cool museum)
• Martini church and tower. You can climb this tower, but be warned: it’s quite the climb!
  

  Left: Martini Tower. Right: Grand Theatre.

• Grand Theatre (see picture above), a former cinema turned into a cultural center
• Vera, a club for the international pop underground.
  Anecdote:
  I worked at Vera for four years. At the time it was a pop temple, as it is now, but also a youth center and a place to buy weed. I was hired as a youth worker, introducing the city to new students. Some of my colleagues were hired as house-dealers, manning the weed-store. Others were concert-organizers or sound- and light-technicians.
  I never did drugs in my life; I don’t feel the need. But back then, many of my colleagues were smoking pot all the time. I remember meetings in which most of them were attending ‘under the influence’. They were very mellow (read: slow and passive), from time to time muttering a word: “Yeah…. Sure…. Groovy….What?…”.
• De Oosterpoort, the city’s main theater
• Main railway station
  

  Top: beautiful main railway station. Bottom: there’s some beautiful architecture near the station.

• Prinsenhof/Prinsentuin
• Goudkantoor (Gold Office)
  
• Synagoge
  

  I lived near this synagoge for years. It’s a beautiful building, don’t you think?

  Anecdote: the synagoge lies smack in the middle of the city center. When I lived there, this was also the Red Light district of Groningen. Everyday, doing my groceries, I’d pass by several ‘women behind their windows’, waving at each other while exchanging hello‘s and good-day’s.

Architecture

Architecturally it’s interesting that -apart from Amsterdam- no Dutch city has so many buildings from the gorgeous style period Amsterdam School (1910-1940).

I love Amsterdam School and this is a fine example!

Groningen also has it’s fair share of Art Nouveau or Jugenstil. (1890-1914). Another architectural period that I adore.

But the city’s history goes way back, so you also see buildings from e.g. the 17th or 18th century. Like houses with bell-gables.

And (ware-)houses with lifting beams.

So yes, there are many things to enjoy while walking through the streets of Groningen, especially for architecture buffs like myself.

Architectural misses - in my eyes

One thing that doesn’t impress me, is a lot of the new architecture next to pretty, old houses. Don’t get me wrong. I’m a very eclectic person with a broad taste for architecture. I like many styles and I also can appreciate exciting, bold experiments in which contemporary and historic architecture are mixed or being confronted with each other. A lot of what I saw in Groningen though, is just ugly and bad taste, in my opinion.

What a disgrace, these ugly buildings next to beautiful houses.

What do you think? Do you like these contemporary buildings and how they work in their environment, if you look at the examples in the collage above?

Architectural eye-candy

Anyhow, let’s forget about those misses quickly, shall we?! How about we shake off this ugliness by looking at pretty things. Here are some examples of architectural eye-candy in Groningen:

That’s all, folks. This concludes my tour along the landmarks and architecture of Groningen.

Anecdote: I took these pictures during a city trip in the winter of 2015. It was very cold, windy and we even had snow at one point. Not always the best light for photography. I hope it still gives a good impression of this great city.

What do you think of my anecdotes, my trips down memory lane? House-dealers as co-workers, prostitutes as neighbors, living in a commune…(oh, the numerous other stories I could tell you, and maybe will tell you one day…) ….quite atypical for a square like myself, right?!