SW CH-195 Groningen, capital of Groningen Province

Groningen is the capital city of Groningen Province in the Netherlands. It is the largest city in the north of the Netherlands with close to 200,000 people. Groningen is an old city and was founded around 950 A.D.  It has a rich history, which can clearly be seen from the old medieval buildings in the down town area. Groningen used to be the regional power of the northern Netherlands which was in those days a semi-independent city-state and member of the German Hanseatic League.

Groningen has been called the "World Cycling City" because 57% of journeys within the city are made by bicycle. Like most Dutch cities, Groningen is well adapted to the high number of cyclists. Also like most cities in the Netherlands, Groningen's historic city center is surrounded by a canal, the Diepenring. This canal can be seen in the main panel of this postcard.

Groningen is a university city.  The University of Groningen (about 28,000 students) and Hanze University of Applied Sciences (about 25,000 students) are both located in this city.  The University of Groningen has a rich academic tradition which dates back to 1614. On the postcard, the University is shown on the top left panel.

This postcard was sent by Diana1 (16 July 2014) Swap-bot.