Groningen

GRONINGEN, a town of Holland, capital of the province of the same name, at the confluence of the two canalized rivers the Drentsche Aa and the Hunse (which are continued to the Lauwers Zee as the Reit Diep), 16 m. N. of Assen and 33 m. E. of Leeu warden by rail. Pop. (1930) 105,146.

History.

The town of Groningen belonged originally to the pagus, or gouw, of Triantha (Drente), the countship of which was bestowed by the emperor Henry II. on the bishop and chapter of Utrecht in 1024. In 1040 Henry III. gave the church of Utrecht the royal domain of Groningen, and in the deed of gift the "villa Cruoninga" is mentioned. At first the bishops were too strong for the townsmen, and down to the 15th century an episcopal prefect, or burgrave, had his seat in the city, his authority extend ing over the neighbouring districts known as the Gorecht. Gradu ally, however, the burghers, aided by the neighbouring Frisians, succeeded in freeing themselves from the episcopal yoke. The city was walled in 1255; before 1284 it had become a member of the Hanseatic league; and by the end of the 14th century it was practically a powerful independent republic, which exercised an effective control over the Frisian OmmeIande between the Ems and the Lauwers Zee. In 144o Bishop Dirk II. finally sold to the city the rights of the see of Utrecht over the Gorecht.

The medieval constitution of Groningen, unlike that of Utrecht, was aristocratic. Merchant gild there was none; and the craft gilds were without direct influence on the city government, which held them in subjection. Membership of the governing council, which selected from its own body the four rationales or burgo masters, was confined to men of approved "wisdom," and wisdom was measured in terms of money. This Raad of wealthy burghers gradually monopolized all power. The bishop's bailiff (schout), with his nominated assessors (scabini), continued to exercise juris diction, but members of the Raad sat on the bench with him, and an appeal lay from his court to the Raad itself. The council was supreme and in 1439 it decreed that no one might trade in all the district between the Ems and the Lauwers Zee except burghers, and those who had purchased the burwal (right of residence in the city) and the freedom of the gilds. In 1S36 the city passed into the hands of Charles V., and in the great wars of the i6th century suffered all the miseries of siege and military occupation. From 1581 onwards, Groningen, still held by the Spaniards, was con stantly at war with the "Ommelanden" which had declared against the king of Spain. In 1672 the town was besieged by the bishop of Munster, but it was successfully defended, and in 1698 its fortifications were improved under Coehoorn's direction. The French Republicans planted their tree of liberty in the Great Market in February 1795, and they continued in authority till 1814. The fortifications of the city were destroyed in 1874.

Buildings, etc.

The ancient part of the town is still sur rounded by the former moat, and in the centre lies a group of open places. The chief church is the Martini-kerk, dating from and an organ constructed by the famous scholar and mu sician Rudolph Agricolo, who was born near Groningen in The Aa church dates from 1465, but was founded in 1253. The provincial museum of antiquities contains interesting Germanic antiquities, as well as medieval and modern collections of porce lain, pictures, etc. The old Ommelanderhuis was built in 1509.

The university of Groningen, founded in 1614, has among its auxiliary establishments an observatory and a library which con tains a copy of Erasmus' New Testament with marginal annota tions by Luther. Groningen is the centre from which several im portant canals radiate. Hence steamers ply in all directions, and there is a regular service to Emden and the islands of Borkum and Schiermonnikoog. Groningen is the most important town in the north of Holland, with brick houses of the i6th and 17th centuries still standing. As capital of the province, and because of its natural position, Groningen maintains a considerable trade, chiefly in oil-seed, grain, wood, turf and cattle. The chief indus tries are flax-spinning, sugar refining, book printing, and it also manufactures beer, tobacco, cotton and woollen stuffs, furniture and pianos; besides which there are numerous goldsmiths and silversmiths.