Rabenhauptstraat monument
Take a look
Groningen has its very own holiday: Bommen Berend (Bombing Berend). This day is all about commemorating the battle of Groningen in 1672 when c…
Groningen has its very own holiday: Bommen Berend (Bombing Berend). This day is all about commemorating the battle of Groningen in 1672 when commander-in-chief Carl von Rabenhaupt defended the city against the invasion of the bishop of Münster (Bombing Berend). Over 20,000 of his soldiers besieged the city from the south, in the area where currently the Rabenhauptstraat and the Kempkensberg are located. The invasion lasted for weeks and cost the lives of about 4,600 soldiers from the Münster-Cologne army and about 100 residents. Groningen was liberated on 28 August, and Bommen Berend is still celebrated every year on this date. The green copper ball in this monument symbolises a cannonball and the rusty surface of the tablet refers to the passing of time. The brass letters read the following: ‘Groningen Constant, Behoudt van ’t Landt’ (Groningen perseverant, retaining of the land). This sentence was on one of the emergency coins that were minted during the siege of Groningen. The division in the tablet symbolises the city and its environs. Large parts of the Ommelanden – the Groningen countryside – were flooded to defend the city.
Nearby
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Station hall
Station hall
Monument
We can already hear you saying, ‘How is a centuries-old station hall off the beaten path?’. Yet in the hustle and bustle of modern life, we’re all compelled to just hurry from one appointment to the next, taking the beauty around us for granted.
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Second Thought
Second Thought
Monument
Many a townie in a rush to catch their train has bumped their head on this inverted snowglobe in the bike parking garage. This ‘underground’ work of art features the familiar silhouette of the Central Station.
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Tschumi pavilion
Tschumi pavilion
Monument
The Tschumi pavilion was designed by the deconstructivist architect Bernard Tschumi and was part of an art exhibition in the ‘90s in Groningen. Five architects were invited to the city to design temporary pavilions, but this one remained standing.
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Portal
Portal
Monument
Artist Gert Sennema placed a door and a bluestone step in front of it in a blank wall, which is not very unusual in itself, but the door does not have a door handle and therefore cannot be opened.
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Galgal Hamazalot
Galgal Hamazalot
Monument
It’s too easy to miss this work by Joseph Semah because it can be seen only when you look at the paving bricks. The artist created eleven bronze moon shapes in the Folkingestraat paving: a lunar cycle from full moon to new moon.
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The pre-cut parade horse
The pre-cut parade horse
Monument
This artwork in the Folkingestraat is the (pre-cut) parade horse by Marijke Gémessy, located in wall between Folkingestraat 23 and 25.
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Public lavatory by Erwin Olaf
Public lavatory by Erwin Olaf
Monument
When you’ve gotta go, you’ve gotta go. And what better place to answer nature’s call than in this unique urinal.
