Groningen ( , ;"Groningen" (US) and ; ; ) is the northeasternmost province of the Netherlands. It borders on Friesland to the west, Drenthe to the south, the German state of Lower Saxony to the east, and the Wadden Sea to the north. As of January 2023, Groningen had a population of about 596,000, and a total area of .

Historically the area was at different times part of Frisia, the Frankish Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Dutch Republic, the precursor state of the modern Netherlands. In the 14th century, the city of Groningen became a member of the Hanseatic League.

The provincial capital and the largest city in the province is the city of Groningen (231,299 inhabitants). Since 2016, René Paas has been the King's Commissioner in the province. A coalition of GroenLinks, the Labour Party, ChristianUnion, People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, Democrats 66, and Christian Democratic Appeal forms the executive branch. The province is divided into 10 municipalities.

The land is mainly used for agriculture. There are seaports in Delfzijl and Eemshaven. The Groningen gas field, one of the world's largest, was discovered in 1959. The province is home to the University of Groningen and Hanze University of Applied Sciences.

History

Groningen was originally a part of Frisia. It became a part of the Frankish Empire around 785. Charlemagne assigned the Christianization of this new possession to Ludger.

In the 11th century, the city of Groningen was a village in Drenthe that belonged to the Bishopric of Utrecht, while most of the province was in the Prince-Bishopric of Münster.

During the Middle Ages, central control was remote, and the city of Groningen acted as a city-state, exerting a dominating influence on the surrounding Ommelanden. In the 14th century, Groningen became one of the towns within the Hanseatic League.Hanseatic city , Toerisms Groningen. Retrieved on 27 January 2014. In the years after, Groningen expanded its influence. At its peak almost all of the current province Friesland was under the influence and control of Groningen.

Shortly before 1498, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor gave Groningen and Friesland to Albert III, Duke of Saxony, who could however not establish permanent control. In 1514/15 Groningen came to the Duchy of Guelders, and in 1536 as the Lordship of Groningen to the Habsburg Netherlands.

In 1594, Groningen was conquered from the Spanish by the Republic of the Seven United Provinces, precursor state of the Netherlands, to which it belonged henceforth.

During World War II, the Netherlands were occupied by Nazi Germany. In April 1945, the 2nd Canadian Division fought in the Battle of Groningen, which resulted in the liberation of the city and in the death of 130, the capture of 5,212, and the fleeing of 2,000 German soldiers. In May 1945, another 3,000 German soldiers were captured in the Battle of Delfzijl by the 5th Canadian Division, after which all of the northern provinces were liberated.Groningen, Canadiansoldiers.com. Retrieved on 8 April 2014.

East Groningen was the scene of a particularly fierce class struggle in the 19th and 20th centuries. Perhaps not coincidentally, Groningen boasts the only municipality (Beerta) where the Communist Party of the Netherlands has ever had a mayor (Hanneke Jagersma). "Hanneke Jagersma burgemeeste Beerta", Nieuwsblad van het Noorden, 1982. Retrieved on 8 April 2014.

Geography

Groningen is situated at in the northeast of the Netherlands. To the west is the province Friesland, to the south is the province Drenthe, to the east the German districts are Leer and Emsland in the state Lower Saxony, and to the north the North Sea, Ems, and Dollart. The northernmost point of the Netherlands is on Rottumerplaat Uitersten, Oude stafkaarten verzamelen. Retrieved on 2 June 2014. at ; the easternmost point of the Netherlands is in Bad Nieuweschans at .

Groningen is the 7th largest province of the Netherlands. It has a total area of , with of land and of water. About 80% of the land or is used for agriculture. The rest of the land is: 9% or of built-up or semi built-up area, 6% or of nature, 3% or of infrastructure, and 2% or of recreational area. Bodemgebruik; uitgebreide gebruiksvorm, per gemeente, Statistics Netherlands, 2013. Retrieved on 14 April 2014.

The land in Groningen is flat. A large area of the province is below sea level.Groningen province, University of Groningen, 2012. Retrieved on 14 April 2014. The Hasseberg near Sellingen of above sea level is the highest point. Hasseberg (Gemeente Vlagtwedde) , RTV Noord, 2011. Retrieved on 14 April 2014.

The Groningen gas field near Slochteren is the 8th largestRafael Sandrea, Global Natural Gas Reserves – A Heuristic Viewpoint , IPC Petroleum Consultants, 2005. Retrieved on 14 April 2014. natural gas field in the world. Since 1986, the exploitation of this gas field has caused earthquakes in the region with magnitudes up to 3.6. Aardbevingen door gaswinning in Noord-Nederland, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, 2013. Retrieved on 27 January 2014.

In the Wadden Sea of Groningen, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2009,The Wadden Sea, UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved on 14 April 2014. are the sandbank Simonszand and the natural reserve Rottum consisting of the three uninhabited islands Rottumeroog, Rottumerplaat, and Zuiderduintjes. The national park Lauwersmeer (IUCN category II) is located on the border between Groningen and Friesland.

Subdivisions The province of Groningen is also called Stad en Ommelanden, meaning "City and Surrounding Lands", referring to the eponymous city of Groningen as well as the "surrounding lands" of Fivelingo, Hunsingo, Oldambt, Westerkwartier, and Westerwolde.Bernardus Mourik, Staatkundige historie van Holland (in Dutch), 1768, vol. 25, pp. 7–9. Retrieved 2 June 2014.

The province (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics or NUTS level 2) is divided into three COROP regions (NUTS level 3): East Groningen, Delfzijl and surroundings, and the rest of Groningen. The COROP regions are used for statistical purposes.Indeling van Nederland in 40 COROP-gebieden (in Dutch), Statistics Netherlands. Retrieved 25 March 2014.

The province is also divided into ten municipalities, each with its own local government. Currently, Groningen is the most populated and most densely populated municipality, containing the largest city.

Municipality Population Total Area Population density COROP RegionEemsdelta Delfzijl and surroundingsGroningen Rest of GroningenHet Hogeland Rest of GroningenMidden-Groningen Rest of GroningenOldambt East GroningenPekela East GroningenStadskanaal East GroningenVeendam East GroningenWesterkwartier Rest of GroningenWesterwolde East Groningen

Climate The province of Groningen has an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfb).

Demographics

On 1 January 2023, the province of Groningen had a population of 596,075 and a population density of , which make it the 9th most populous province and 8th most densely populated province of the Netherlands. Bevolkingsontwikkeling; regio per maand, Statistics Netherlands, 2014. Retrieved on 12 March 2014. The city of Groningen is the most populous city in the province and the 6th most populous city in the Netherlands.

On 1 January 2013, 92.2% of the total provincial population was born in the Netherlands; and of the 7.8% that was born abroad, the ten most common foreign countries of origin are the neighbour Germany (1.09%), the former colonies and dependencies Indonesia (0.60%), Netherlands Antilles and Aruba (0.55%), Suriname (0.54%), and other countries Turkey (0.41%), Soviet Union (0.36%), China (0.32%), Poland (0,26%), Yugoslavia (0.26%), and United Kingdom (0.18%). Bevolking op 1 januari; leeftijd, geboorteland en regio, Statistics Netherlands, 2013. Retrieved on 25 March 2014.

Religion In 2015, 18.7% of the population belonged to the Protestant Church in the Netherlands while 4.9% was Roman Catholic, 1.3% was Muslim and 6.7% belonged to other churches or faiths. Over half (68.4%) of the population identified as non-religious.

Economy

The city of Groningen is the economic center of the province. Algemeen , Economie.groningen.nl. Retrieved on 8 April 2014. In the 14th century, the city became a member of the Hanseatic League. Currently some of the city's major employers are University Medical Center Groningen with 12,141 employees,Facts and figures , University Medical Center Groningen, 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2017. University of Groningen with 5,591 employees,Key figures, University of Groningen, 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2017. Municipality of Groningen with 3,063 employees,Concern en burgercontacten (in Dutch), Municipality of Groningen. Retrieved 28 January 2017. Education Implementation Service (DUO) with 2,000 employees,"Slechts 10 deelenemers aan cursus hoogtevrees DUO " (in Dutch), RTV Noord, 2011. Retrieved on 8 April 2014. and Gasunie with 1,748 employees.About us, Gasunie. Retrieved 28 January 2017.

The other economically important area is the Ems delta with the sea ports of Delfzijl and Eemshaven.The ports, Groningen Seaports. Retrieved on 27 January 2014. In 2015, a total of 11,589 cargo vessels arrived at the two Groningen Seaports combined, 7,111 sea vessels and 4,478 inland vessels. The ports had a cargo throughput of 11,309,000 tonnes.Facts & Figures 2015, Groningen Seaports. Retrieved 28 January 2017. The chemical industry near Delfzijl is located at the Chemie Park in Farmsum, with factories of AkzoNobel, Lubrizol, and Teijin Aramid. Over Chemie Park, Chemie Park Delfzijl. Retrieved on 8 April 2014. Both GDF Suez Eemscentrale , GDF Suez. Retrieved on 8 April 2014. and VattenfallVattenfall , Vattenfall. Retrieved on 25 May 2020. have a natural gas-fired power plant in Eemshaven, and Essent Eemshavencentrale , Essent. Retrieved on 16 April 2014. is building a coal-fired power plant there.

The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the province was 25 billion € in 2018, accounting for 3.2% of the Netherlands economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was €37,300 or 124% of the EU27 average in the same year.

In 1959, the Groningen gas field near Slochteren was discovered,Jane Whaley, "The Groningen Gas Field ", GEO ExPro Magazine, 2009. Retrieved on 27 January 2014. and the NAM started to exploit the field in 1963. This caused Dutch disease and induced earthquakes.

In 2013, Groningen had a labor force of 268,000 people and unemployment rate of 9.6%, which is the second highest unemployment for a province in the Netherlands. Beroepsbevolking; kerncijfers provincie, Statistics Netherlands, 2014. Retrieved on 26 March 2014.

Culture

Language

Groningen is home to the Low Saxon dialects (or language) called Gronings or Groninger (endonym: Grönnegs or Grunnegs). Variations of Groninger are also spoken in the eastern part of Friesland. The Gronings spoken in the eastern part of Groningen Province shown greater influence from German Low Saxon (Plattdeutsch). These local dialects are in decline, especially in the city of Groningen, to which many speakers of Dutch have moved.

Cuisine

Traditional dishes and delicacies from Groningen are boerenkoolstamppot, droge worst, krentjebrij, oudewijvenkoek, poffert, and spekdik. Traditional alcoholic drinks are boerenjongens, boerenmeisjes, fladderak, and heet bier.

Museums