page_title: Groningen
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Groningen / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Groningen 1565 by Georg Braun and Frans Hogenberg
context_page_description: Groningen is the main municipality as well as the capital city of the eponymous province in the Netherlands. It is the largest city in the north of the Netherlands and has 231,037 inhabitants on a total area of 180.21 km², and land area of 168.93 km² with a population density of 1,367 per km². It merged with Ten Boer and Haren municipalities on 1 January 2019. The Groningen-Assen metropolitan area has about half a million inhabitants. Groningen is an old city and was the regional power of the north of the Netherlands, a semi-independent city-state and member of the German Hanseatic League. Groningen is a university city, with students forming an estimated 25% of its total population.
context_section_description: The city was founded at the northernmost point of the Hondsrug area. While the oldest document referring to Groningen's existence dates from 1040, the city was occupied by Anglo-Saxons centuries prior. The oldest archaeological evidence of a civilization in the region stem from around 3950–3650 BC, and the first major settlement in Groningen trace back to the year 3 AD.
  In the 13th century Groningen was an important trade centre and its inhabitants built a city wall to underline its authority. The city had a strong influence on its surrounding lands and the Gronings dialect became a common tongue. The most influential period of the city was at the end of the 15th century, when the nearby province of Friesland was administered from Groningen. During these years the Martinitoren was built which is considered to be the city's most significant landmark.
  In 1536, Groningen accepted Emperor Charles V, the King of Spain and the Habsburg ruler of the other Netherlands as its ruler, thus ending the region's autonomy. The city was captured in the Siege of Groningen (1594) by the Dutch and English forces led by Maurice of Nassau. After the siege, the city and the province joined the Dutch Republic.
  The University of Groningen was founded in 1614 with initial course offerings in law, medicine, theology and philosophy. During the same period the city expanded rapidly and a new city wall was built. The Siege of Groningen (1672) led by the bishop of Münster, Bernhard von Galen during the Third Anglo-Dutch War failed and the city walls resisted; an event that is celebrated annually with music and fireworks on 28 August as "Gronings Ontzet" or "Bommen Berend".
  During World War II, the main square and the Grote Markt were largely destroyed in the Battle of Groningen in April 1945. However, the church Martinitoren, the Goudkantoor, and the city hall escaped damaged.
caption: Groningen in the 16th century
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