Groningen lies in the northern part of the Netherlands. It is one of the most important cities in the region, being a shopping and commercial centre with a considerable trade in cereals, oilseed, lumber, and cattle. Its industries include sugar refining, book printing, tobacco processing, and the manufacture of clothing, furniture, hosiery, machinery, and bicycles.
Background to Twinning
The link with Groningen began in 1946, originally for 'sporting exchanges'. However, in more recent years exchanges have largely had a 'cultural' or 'social' bias, and economic and trading links have also been established. In 1994 the Lord Mayor (Joan Lamb) led a delegation to Groningen as part of a collaboration between the two cities against Drugs Misuse. This subsequently became a European Cities Initiative. There have not been many school exchanges, largely because Dutch is not a language studied in English Schools.