Nominally a fiefdom of the Bishops of Utrecht from 1040 until 1536, the northern city of GRONINGEN was once an important centre of trade. Heavily bombed in World War II, it is an architectural jumble with few notable sights, but its large, prestigious university gives it a cosmopolitan feel quite unexpected in this rustic part of the country. The centre of town is Grote Markt , a large open space that was badly damaged by wartime bombing and has been reconstr... [More]