Groningen, city, capital of Groningen
prov., NE Netherlands. It is an important trade and transportation center.
Manufactures include clothing, food products, furniture, and machinery.
Among its prominent industries are sugar refining, book printing, and
tobacco processing. In the 11th cent., Groningen came under the temporal
power of the bishops of Utrecht. It soon rose to prominence and in the 12th
cent. supplied ships for the Crusades. In 1284 it joined the Hanseatic League and later gained
control over the central section of Friesland, which now constitutes
Groningen prov. The city remained loyal to the Hapsburgs at the beginning of
the revolt of the Netherlands against Spain, but was captured by the Dutch
under Maurice of Nassau in 1594. A picturesque city, Groningen has several
churches, notably the Martinikerk (15th cent.) and the Nieuwe Kerk (17th
cent.), as well as the Groniger Museum of Art and many other museums. It is
also the site of the Univ. of Groningen (1614).
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