Borgen
Mystique and beauty of estates
Surrounded by trees and perhaps even a moat, a stately building towers above the surrounding fields. It is one of Groningen's borgen, country houses inhabited by jonkers in previous centuries. Once there were over a hundred of them in the province. Only 16 of them made it to the present day.
Rain or shine, a visit to a borg is always a must. Is the sun shining? Then you can map out the most beautiful walks on the estates. Is it raining cats and dogs? Luckily, the borgen in this list all have a roof. During your visit, there are years of history to admire. You will find accommodation all year round, usually even with a cup of coffee and some goodies. They are the province's showpieces.
Menkemaborg
Uithuizen - Wondering how the Groningen nobility lived in the 17th and 18th centuries? Find out during a visit to the Menkemaborg. The Menkemaborg was built in the 14th century as a simple stone house. Over the centuries, it grew into the baroque splendour it is today. Even the gardens between the moats are almost as they were in the 18th century. The rose tunnel blossoms beautifully in July and you can wander through the large maze. The borg also has a schathus, a term derived from the word 'skat' or 'sket', which many years ago meant 'cattle'. So basically a farm, but of considerable size. Coaches were stabled there, horses found shelter and there was plenty of room for storing hay. Today, this is where you will find restaurant 't Schathoes.
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Fraeylemaborg
Slochteren - The history of the Fraeylemaborg goes back more than seven centuries. It is thought that the name of the borg is a corruption of 'woman Aeylema' in Old Dutch. At the end of the 18th century, the borg took on the appearance you can behold today. Enter and admire the many halls and rooms in Louis XVI style. Outside, you will find a special combination of two historical styles. The large garden is largely laid out in an English landscape style, with winding paths and trees growing freely. Yet many remnants of the earlier Baroque style can still be seen, such as the beautifully overgrown central axis. Typical of the estate around the borg are the so-called follies you find there. These are small houses with no practical function. They give you the feeling of walking through a fairytale forest.
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Borg Nienoord
Leek - Jonker Wigbold van Ewsum founded Borg Nienoord in 1525, to explore the surrounding peat bogs from there. During the Eighty Years' War, the borg was bivouacked by three hundred Spanish soldiers. Afterwards, Carel Hieronymus and his wife Anna van Ewsum had the borg restored. Jonker Folef and the Van Panhuys family also lived at Nienoord. After members of the family died in a tragic carriage accident, the borg was never inhabited again.
Today, the estate is home to a deer park, a swimming pool and the Familiepark Landgoed Nienoord. Highly recommended for children. Here you will also find the Carriage Museum, with carriages from the past and you can still visit part of the borg. Part of this is the fabulous shell cave. The story goes that a servant once stole silverware from the borg. As punishment, she was locked up in the small building. Here she had to work for many hours decorating the walls with mosaics of schelpen. Only when the job was done was the young woman allowed to leave Nienoord for good.
Borg Verhildersum
Leens - Here you can experience the rich history of north-western Groningen in close proximity to the Wadden Sea. The estate surrounding Borg Verhildersum brings to life the story of the Hogeland in the nineteenth century. The borg itself is set up as a museum. Here you will discover everything about the old nobility, the new borg residents, the rise of the peasantry and the life of the farm workers. Around the borg you will find an old orchard and some historic cattle breeds. Think cattle like Lakenvelders and Blaarkoppen. You will also come across the workers' cottage that was occupied until 1959. Even the old farmhouse is open to the public. It now has the function of a farm museum and is decorated after the summer of 1870. This was the time before the great agricultural mechanisation. The interior tells an impressive story about the harshness of living and working on a former farm. Also don't forget to browse the museum shop in the coach house for trinkets and delicacies, and visit Ons Schathoes restaurant.
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Iwema Steenhuis
Niebert - Many borgen used to serve as stone houses, but were expanded in later years to become the borgen of today. The Iwema Steenhuis is the only preserved stone house and dates back to the fourteenth century. Because no noble inhabitants lived here, the house was never expanded into a borg. This gives you the chance to delve even further into history. When you visit the stone house, you can see the museum. Within the walls of museum 't Steenhuus are two craft exhibitions. One for the baking craft and one for the painting craft. Farmer families have always looked after the stone house. It therefore owes its name to the first family that ever lived there; the Iwema family. Not much different by surname, Hendrik Ibema became the next occupant. When the unmarried Hendrik died, the house passed to his brother Tjeerd. This man was certainly not left alone and eventually had as many as eight children as heirs. Unfortunately, due to financial problems, they could not maintain the stone house and so they sold it to the lord of Nienoord.
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Ennemaborg
Midwolda - Ennemaborg as it looks today dates back to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Although its history really goes back even further to around the 1300s. Most characteristic is perhaps the huge driveway that originally belonged to the borg. Although most of it no longer connects to the borg, it can still be seen. From the beginning of the driveway, the borg almost looks like a dot on the horizon. This was, of course, fashion and a symbol of status in earlier times. The garden surrounding the borg was once a typical utility garden. The garden bore this name because it was not only beautiful, but also useful. Indeed, food was also grown here, including fruit trees and a kitchen garden. Although the utility garden is a thing of the past, you can still recognise traces of it. All trees are neatly lined up. The borg itself is not open to visitors, but a walk through the park in eighteenth-century baroque style is definitely worthwhile.
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Borg Welgelegen
Sappemeer - In 1647, the Borgercompagnie was founded by citizens of the city of Groningen to dig out the peat bogs around Sappemeer. From the Winschoterdiep, they dug for peat. On the east side of this canal is Borg Welgelegen. The house once had an apple orchard and the ornamental garden is still there today and open for visits. In this garden is a statue of an angel. Legend tells us that a child was once playing on the heath between Muntendam and Sappemeer. The child was suddenly attacked by a wild boar. It seemed helpless. Until an angel appeared from heaven with a sword. The angel beheaded the boar and thus saved the child. Now it stands forever with its foot on the boar's head cast in concrete.
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Borg Ewsum
Middelstum - The name Ewsum will probably look familiar to you. After all, this family name also appeared in the history of borg Nienoord. The former borg in Middelstum bears this name because the family owned it until 1610. After this, the borg changed hands many times. Borg Ewsum went through times of wealth and poverty. In those times, its appearance changed considerably. In the mid-fifteenth century, Groningers felt threatened by the Burgundians. Onno van Ewsum therefore had a turret built. You can still visit this on the estate today. Perhaps in a slightly different form than the original. It is suspected that the subsequent owner lowered the turret. He would have used the material to erect a tower on the borg. Times later, in 1863, the then owner decided to demolish the borg and carriage house due to severe decay. Besides the gun tower, the eastern treasure house has also been preserved. Where the borg used to stand, nature has made its appearance. Beautiful weeping willows cover the land.
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More borgen
Got the hang of it and want to visit more borgen? You can find them all on groningerborgen.nl.
