The Groningen Train Station building
'Since 1866, the municipality of Groningen has made do with a station building that no longer meets even the most modest requirements of the traveling public. Not only that the entire interior is much too cramped, so that people crowd around when taking place cards and cannot find a seat in the waiting room, but also from a hygienic point of view, the building leaves almost everything to be desired. .'
The chairman of the Chamber of Commerce in Groningen clearly needed a new station building when he wrote this in 1889. In the same letter, addressed to the Minister of Water Management, Trade and Industry, he 'politely but urgently' asked for the replacement of the existing station.
1896 The Opening
Seven years later, in 1896, the much-desired station was opened. We still use it now. A lot has changed in the building and the immediate surroundings over the past 112 years. Yet the original design is still clearly visible, especially on the outside. Thanks to a major restoration since 1999, part of the interior has also been returned to its original state. The richly decorated hall of the old building has now become a real tourist attraction.
If you enter via the main entrance and take a look above you, you can admire the beautiful painted ceilings. The colorful tiles are also very nice to see.
At the front of the building, you'll see a typical Groningen artwork: the ‘Peerd van Ome Loeks’. It was created in 1959 by artist Jan de Baat and stands in the middle of the station square. According to tradition, the statue was made in memory of the racehorse of a man named Lucas (Loeks) van Hemmen. Loeks was a horse driver and owner of the café and stable De Slingerij in Groningen. His horse died in 1910. When the horse butcher came to collect the animal, a few boys sang: 't Peerd van Ome Loeks is dead'. This marked the beginning of a well-known Groningen folk song.
