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An unusual fortress, a trail that crosses the whole country and a dialect all of its own. Ten questions about the province in the far north-east of the Netherlands.
Northern newcomer 0–4 · Borg explorer 5–8 · Honorary Groninger 9–10
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Groningen is the most north-easterly province of the Netherlands. Its neighbours are Friesland, Drenthe and, across the border to the east, Germany.
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Sick, injured or orphaned seal pups found along the coast are nursed back to health there. When they are strong enough, they are released back into the sea.
Photo: Serassot at Dutch Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
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The Groningen gas field turned out to be enormous, and within a few years almost every Dutch home cooked and heated with its gas. Coal was mined in the Netherlands too, but far to the south, in Limburg.
Photo: Overheid.nl, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.
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Arjen Robben was born in Bedum and started out at FC Groningen, before starring for Chelsea, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. Robin van Persie comes from Rotterdam.
Photo: Sven Mandel, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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Fort Bourtange was built in 1593 as a star fort, with pointed walls and moats so that every side could be watched. It was carefully restored between 1967 and 1992 and looks again as it did centuries ago.
Photo: arch, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.
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The Pieterpad runs about 500 kilometres through the east of the country and ends on top of the Sint-Pietersberg near Maastricht. Many people walk it in day stages, bit by bit.
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In Groningen they are called wierden. Some villages still sit on their old mound today. Barrows are mounds too, but they were built as ancient graves.
Photo: Sandra Buhmann, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
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A famous example is the Menkemaborg in Uithuizen, a museum since 1927, with its gardens and moat. In neighbouring Friesland the same kind of house is called a stins.
Photo: Gouwenaar, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
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Gronings is a Low Saxon dialect, a close cousin of the Low German spoken just across the border. A famous Gronings word is 'moi', which people use to say hello.
Photo: Gruna 1, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
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Until 1969 the Lauwerszee was an inlet of the sea. Then a dam closed it off, the water became a lake and the new land turned into a paradise for birds. The park is also known for its very dark night skies.
Photo: Theun, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
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