Artigenda
Liberation of Groningen (Groningens Ontzet)
When: annually, August 28.
On or around 28 August, the city of Groningen is celebrating, as is the Groningens Ontzet. Unlike the 3 October Festival in Leiden (Leidens Ontzet) or the Liberation of Alkmaar (8 October, Alkmaar Ontzet), this is not about an event related to the Eighty Years’ War. Groningens Ontzet, Bommen Berend, Gronings Ontzet or simply Achtentwintigsten has everything to do with the Disaster Year 1672 and how the Groningers managed to hold out during the siege that lasted from July to August.
What was it again, the Year of Disaster?
The year 1672 entered the (Dutch) history books as “Het Rampjaar” (Year of Disaster). The events that unfolded that year were so dramatic for the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands that the country became embroiled in a war with England, France and the dioceses of Cologne and Münster.
De gebeurtenissen leidden tot de val van een land dat een rol van betekenis speelde in zeventiende eeuws Europa. Daarnaast werden twee vooraanstaande Nederlandse politici vermoord door een uitzinnige menigte in Den Haag.
So was there nothing positive to report at all? Perhaps it was the end of the Siege of the city of Groningen that same year and during the Dutch War (1672 – 1679).
Prince-Bishopric of Münster was one of the parties who wanted to claim a certain territory of the republic. This territory involved the city of Groningen and the surrounding area. The reason for this had to do with the situation till 1559. The surrounding area around Groningen, de Ommelanden, belonged to the Diocese of Groningen. The Diocese of Groningen was under the rule of the Diocese of Münster. Therefore, during this war, the bishop of Münster saw a window of opportunity to claim de Ommelanden and the city of Groningen.
Everything is explained in a one-minute documentary. The language of this documentary is Dutch. Therefore, use the subtitling options to learn what happened during the Siege of Groningen.
The First Münster War
In 1665 war broke out and the area around Westerwolde played an important role. This war is refered to in Dutch as the Eerste Münsterse Oorlog, the First Münster War.
On paper, the area once belonged to the Diocese of Münster On paper, this area once belonged to the diocese, but only when it came to property. Not when it came to ecclesiastical division. So before there was talk of the Dutch War in 1672, war had already broken out with the diocese. Where the diocese would take advantage of another situation, by making things even more complex. The republic was at war with England in the Second Anglo-Dutch War (Tweede Engels-Nederlandse Oorlog, 1665-1667). The Second War was the successor to the First Anglo-Dutch War (1652-1654) and, like it, the Second War was mainly fought at sea.
The First Münster War (September 23, 1665 – April 18, 1666) was a different war. This was a war fought on land in which Westerwolde and its immediate surroundings played an important role. In addition, it was a showdown between the republic and the diocese. Who was in charge of that area?
The republic’s army suffered a sensitive defeat and with it had to settle for a humiliating peace. Such was the peace agreement that concluded in the German city of Cleves on 18 April 1666 (Peace of Cleves). It was an ending that seemed interesting for the diocese, but on the other hand, was less positive. The funding of the battle was partly made possible by the English king Charles II, who wanted to stop this funding. Based on the peace treaty, the diocese had to renounce claims to places like Borculo, Bredevoort, Doetnchem, Enschede, Winschoten and several more places in the east of the republic. Some of these well-known places were not only damaged. They were completely razed to the ground by the violence of war.
The Second Münster War
Then, you may consider the advance towards Groningen as a continuation of the First Munich War. The question, of course, is whether a Second Munich War then also exists. There is! It began on May 26, 1672, and lasted until April 22, 1674. So that includes the Siege of Groningen. So with this siege, the Siege of Groningen is also part of the Second Münsterian War.
So, while events unfolded in the west of the Netherlands in July that would eventually lead to the literal end of the brothers Cornelis de Witt (June 15, 1623 – August 20, 1672) and Johan (September 24, 1625 – August 20, 1672) de Witt, the siege of the city began in Groningen.
Several cities in Twente, Salland and Overijssel had fallen before, so it was time to take Groningen now. Probably fuelled by the rapid fall of Coevorden (July 7, 1672), the expectation was that this would also be the case for Groningen. Less successful was the capture of Bourtange. Unlike Coevorden, this proved to be a hopeless task. The army moved on and as the march through the Drenthe countryside progressed, they began to be increasingly hampered by the inundations. By then, they had been reinforced by the troops of the Elector of Cologne, who had suffered a heavy defeat at Nordhorn.
On 21 July, they reached the city from the south. One failed to directly encircle the city, leaving the north side still accessible. Nevertheless, the city had to deal with a new tactic. Something it had already had to deal with in Bourtange. Something that would eventually return in the name with which we commemorate it all: Bommen Berend. That name is best translated as Bombs Berend or Bombshell Berend.
"Bommen Berend"
The name Bommen Berend (Bombs Berend/Bombshell Berend) refers to Christopher Bernhard Freiherr von Galen (October 12, 1606 – September 19, 1678). This was the bishop of Münster, but you wouldn’t say so when you sometimes see him depicted. He could also pass for a military leader. Indeed, he simply was. As a military leader, he invaded our country twice. The nickname he was given, Bommen Berend, is one that is not illogical. He was not only given the name in Groningen. Groenlo, Bredevoort, Coevorden and Bourtange – to name just a few places – also suffered from his way of going to war. Another name, a German one, he got was Kanonenbischof, after his fondness for cannons. Bottom line. You may think of this militant bishop as the man who used the military resources of the time to bomb the cities he besieged.
Yet the tactic did not succeed. Not at Bourtange, but not at Groningen either. There is talk of a ‘siege’ when in fact it was not. The city was accessible from the north side. The city walls proved resistant to the bombardments. After almost a month, the army dropped out. It is a reason for residents of Groningen to celebrate annually on or around August 28. That is, they have been doing so since the nineteenth century (1874).
More information
More information about the day is available in Dutch at the website of the Volksvermaken Groningen. The automatically translated version via Google Translate can be found at this link.
