Groningen (province)

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Province of Groningen
Provincie Groningen


Flag	Coat of Arms

Capital

Groningen

Queen's Commissioner

J.G.M. (Hans) Alders

Religion (1999)

Protestant 29%
Catholic 7%

Area
• Land
• Water

2,336 km² (8th)
623 km²

Population (2006)
• Total
• Density

574,042 (9th)
246/km² (9th)

Anthem

Grunnens Laid

ISO

NL-GR

Official website

www.provinciegroningen.nl

Map of the Netherlands, with red dots marking the capitals of the provinces and black dots marking other notable cities

Groningen pronunciation (help·info) is the northeasternmost province of the Netherlands with a typical Low Saxon dialect called Gronings (Grönnegs / Grunnegs in Gronings regional language), with local nuances. Nowadays, many inhabitants of the province do not speak the dialect, especially in the city of Groningen where many outsiders have moved.

In the east it borders the German state of Niedersachsen (districts of Leer and Emsland), in the south Drenthe, in the west Friesland and in the north the Wadden Sea.

Land use in Groningen is mainly agricultural, it has a large natural gas field near Slochteren. Local plans to stir economic development and create a city scene similar to New York are under way; rezoning hearings began in late 2005.

East Groningen has been the scene of a particularly fierce class struggle in the 19th and 20th century. Here is the only municipality (Beerta) where the Dutch Communist party has ever had a mayor (Hanneke Jagersma).

The capital of the province is the city of Groningen.

[edit] History

Originally a part of Frisia, Groningen was directly administered by the Holy Roman Empire in the 10th century. In the 11th century, it became a burggraviate. It then belonged to the Bishopric of Utrecht; Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor gave Groningen and Friesland to Albert, Duke of Saxony, who could however not establish permanent control. In 1514/15 Groningen came to the Duchy of Guelders, and in 1536 to the Habsburg Netherlands. In 1594 Groningen was conquered by the United Netherlands, to which it belonged henceforth.