Card 3

Left side of the card:

Discover the rest! Do you understand what is being said?

Maybe by the end of this tour you will also be able to leez’n (to read) and proat’n to talk) a bit!

Extra assignment

It's time to tell your walking partner why that person is such a good friend, date or partner! Tell the other what you love about that person!

Singels (Canals):

Did you know that we call the water around the city the Singels? Often it is a remnant of the medieval defence moat of a fortified city. In contrast to canals, a Singel usually has no masonry quay walls, but sloping quaysides. The road next to a canal is often also called a Singel. 

Artworks Singels:

Various works of art can be seen on the route along the canals. Would you like to know more about this? click here 

Dronkenmanstoren (Drunkenmanstower):

This tower is located at the corner between Radesingel and Verlengde Oosterstraat.

Fancy seeing something typically Gronings? Do not walk any further and just read the text about the Sint Anthony Gasthuis.

At Dronkemanstoren turn right into the Rademarkt, and on your left you should find the Gasthuis (guesthouse). Click here for the exact location

Sint Anthony Gasthuis (Sint Anthony Guest house):

At a short distance from the Dronkemanstoren you will find one of the most famous guest houses in Groningen. This is the Sint Anthony Gasthuis, which was founded in 1517. Whereas in other cities people speak of 'hofjes'(courtyard), Stadjers (locals) refer to these places as guest houses. This directly makes clear what the original function of the guest houses is. In the Middle Ages, poor and sick people were taken care of here. Pilgrims also found shelter here. In the city you will also find the Pelstergasthuis, which was founded as a place of pilgrimage. From the 17th century the guest houses have been used as retirement homes. Many guest houses are now privately occupied and a few more are national monuments. You are now at the Sint Anthony guest house. This guest house is known as the oldest guest house in Groningen. This guest house has also served as a madhouse. In the past, citizens would come here for a fee to watch the madmen or 'crazy'. Hence the name dolhuis.

Walk back to the Singels and turn right at the first junction to continue this route. Walk into the Heresingel and keep walking!

Groninger Museum:

In 1987, the Nederlandse Gasunie donated 25 million guilders (roughly €50.000.000 Euros) to the Municipality of Groningen. This made it possible to build a completely new museum. The old museum building no longer met requirements of the time. In 1990 this location was chosen for the construction of the museum. The design of the museum looks like an elongated island and consists of three large volumes in the water that are connected by corridors and two squares. An important principle of the design for the new building was that it had to match the atmosphere of the museum's collections. These are the four diverse collections: archaeology, history of Groningen, applied arts and old and contemporary visual art. The striking architectural building, with postmodernism influences, was designed by the architect Alessandro Mendini and opened in 1994. 

Groningen Central Station (Groningen Central Station):

Because the city of Groningen grew considerably, the current station was built between 1891 and 1893. A special attraction of the station is the station hall.  With its special paper collé ceiling decorations, this hall, which can be found in the main building, is definitely worth a visit. The architect of the station building, Isaac Gosschalk (1838-1907), was a lover of both the neo-Gothic and the neo-Renaissance movements in architecture and chose to design the station building in Groningen combining both styles. 

Statue station square:

On the station square you will find the statue 't Peerd of Ome Loeks (The horse from uncle Loeks). This statue can be seen as one of the most famous symbols of the city. The statue derives from a Gronings folk tune with the same title. Over the years, several men have been designated to be Ome Loeks. The most famous candidate is Lukas 'Loeks' van Hemmen. He was a picker and owner of café and livery stable De Slingerij in Groningen. At the end of July 1910, his famous racehorse Appelon was rather restless and kicked at the groomsman. Van Hemmen drove the horse back with a fork, causing the horse to suffer an injury and become ill. It died of colic a few days later. When the horse butcher came to get the carcass, there were a few boys who sang: "t Peerd van Ome Loeks is dead". And that's how the song was born. You must have become curious about this Groningen folk tune. You can find the text below in the video. We challenge you to sing along. Do you recognize the melody in this song?